Hamburg (Germany), 26 August 2015 - Zetes (Euronext Brussels: ZTS) has supplied a fully managed mobility solution to  around 5,000 GLS ParcelShops across Germany in order to speed up and reduce errors for the handling of inbound and outbound parcels. All ParcelShops have been equipped with mobile devices and printers. The project has been deployed in just 9 weeks, and is planned to be rolled out across other countries. 

Optimisation of ParcelShop service for customers

Located within stores, GLS ParcelShops serve as local shipping and collection points. Previously, incoming and outgoing parcels were managed via a paper-based process, which was error-prone and time-consuming.  GLS wanted to optimise the process with an ergonomic solution that would increase efficiency at the shipping stage, and thus improve overall customer service. The solution needed to be rolled across the GLS’s network in an extremely short time-span of just 9 weeks.

Mobile infrastructure and managed services

Zetes has supplied each ParcelShop with Zebra GX420d printers and TC55 mobile devices running a mobile application designed by GLS. Thanks to this new system, operators are now able to accept and hand over parcels more quickly and eliminate sources of errors. To ensure uptime of the system, Zetes will provide a fully managed service, including user helpdesk support, maintenance, repair and swap services. A mobile device management module allows GLS to remotely install new versions of its mobile app on all mobile devices.

Roll-out in 9 weeks

Following a pilot phase, the solution has been rolled out end of 2014 in about 5000 ParcelShops across Germany.

"A major challenge for this project was to equip all ParcelShops within a short time frame and to train all the users at the same time. Thanks to Zetes we succeeded in doing so", explains Jens Minneker, Director Product Management E-Commerce & Sales at GLS IT Services GmbH.