Optus’ battery asset tracking solutions, powered by Thinxtra’s 0G Network and Internet of Things (IoT) devices will support ongoing growth for the parcel delivery service.
The online shopping boom – brought on by nationwide lockdowns – raised CouriersPlease’s business by 80 per cent in the last two years, which now moves more than 30 million parcels per annum.
To support this growth, CouriersPlease partnered with Optus to implement cost-effective asset tracking devices connected to the IoT. The devices will be fixed to 3500 cages, providing real-time data for unprecedented visibility over its national fleet.
“With demand for our services on the rise, we found our transport cages – which can carry between 60 to 600 packages each – were increasingly going walkabout. They were disappearing due to theft, or simply left sitting in our commercial customers’ facilities, unidentified for return,” Phil Reid, Chief Operating Officer at CouriersPlease says.
“We have doubled our assets, and that introduces increased risk. As our business continues to expand, it has become crucial we can track their whereabouts in real time. This will nullify losses of the expensive cages, which cost $1000 per unit, while allowing us to keep pace with higher volumes of deliveries. We looked at various vendors, including 4G options, and partnered with Optus and Thinxtra as they offered collaborative asset tracking backed by battery powered LPWAN-based IoT sensors, that we don’t need to mess with or replace for years, making it an extremely cost-effective value proposition.”
Nicholas Lambrou, Chief Executive Officer at Thinxtra, says by digitalising its delivery services with efficient, low-power sensors connected to the IoT, CouriersPlease is bolstering its rapidly-growing business to support the increasing number of Australians shopping online, while eliminating the risk associated with an expanding set of assets.
“Through our partnership with Optus, we are enabling real-time visibility for CouriersPlease’s national network so its franchises and delivery partners can ensure high-value cages, responsible for carrying millions of parcels monthly, aren’t left unseen or ultimately lost after transit,” Nicholas says.
CouriersPlease commenced deploying Thinxtra’s IoT devices in October, with all units to be installed ahead of an anticipated second peak parcel boom. Once implemented, the devices will send location information from the cages to a dashboard where CouriersPlease can see their location in real time. Every pre-configured Thinxtra device has a battery life of more than five years, eliminating the need for ongoing maintenance – and associated costs – for the lifetime of the sensors.