PRCL
48hr Hackathon | Nov 2021 Product Forge | Edinburgh, UK
PRCL aims to tackle the challenge of climate change and the emissions that result from the high volume of deliveries made to residential areas. This solution leverages the power of community, by utilizing neighbors as a hyper local delivery hub.
Sponsored By:
The Team
Taylor (Me)
UX Design
Front-end Development
Data Science
David S.
Back-end Development
The Challenge
We’re ordering more products than ever before. How can we reduce the number of repeated courier visits to each address, with a particular focus on residential locations?
This challenge could be taken in many directions, and there were a variety of approaches, from focusing on changing consumer behaviour to streamlining city-wide logistics. We looked at addressing both but narrowed in on a segment of the logistics supply chain: The redelivery. The recipient isn’t home for that first delivery, and either the logistics company has to deliver it to a local convenience store, return it to the depot, or try to redeliver at a later date.
In 2020, there were approx. 700 million packages that needed to be redelivered
These redeliveries generated approx. 75, 682 tonnes of CO2 emissions
It would take a forest of at least 12 million trees to absorb that amount of CO2
The equivalent of the area in blue ->
It is also equivalent to the amount of CO2 generated from heating 27,000 homes
The Cost of Redeliveries is ~£0.85p/parcel
(that’s just the cost of fuel and wages for the drivers, it doesn’t take into account the running costs of the vehicle)
What's already being done?
Logistics and delivery companies are working to implement various innovations and solutions when it comes to reducing their carbon footprint, especially in the "last mile". Specifically looking at alternatives that address redeliveries there are some viable solutions but they have some shortcomings:
Parcel Lockers
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Guaranteed First Delivery
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Not always in an easily accessible location
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May need to still drive to location
Nearby Shops
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First Delivery attempt still made at the house, then courier has to drive to shop
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Not always easily accessible
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May need to still drive to shop
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Restricted Hours
Neighbour
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Convenient location for both courier and recipient
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No guarantee that the neighbour is home
The Idea
Utilize the neighbourhood as a hyper-local hub and redirect packages to neighbours that we know will be home, in order to gurantee delivery the first time.
With the shift in working styles, more people are at home during the day than ever before. When you know that you aren't going to be home for your delivery slot, you can choose from a list of neighbours that are and have your package redirected, and available for pickup on your way home. This idea also presents an opportunity for people receiving packages to earn a little bit of money on the side, in exchange for space in their hallway, front room, garage etc.
Proto-Personas
Our proto personas represent the person who is expecting a delivery, won't be home to receive it and needs to redirect the parcel to a neighbour, as well as the neighbour that will be receiving the parcel, and is looking for some supplemental income.
John
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Frequent online shopper
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Never home during the day
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Concerned about getting his parcels on time
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Wants to make sure that his parcel is safe
Mary
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At home most days
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Likes to get to know her neighbours
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Looking to supplement her income
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Concerned about her safety and security
Watch the presentation here
Time stamp: 07:47 - 17:11.
**We were originally called Good Neighbour, but rebranded to PRCL
Outcomes and Next Steps
The solution is innovative in that it reimagines local delivery and makes it hyper-local. It draws on existing networks and communities and therefore doesn't require additional infrastructure or continued maintenance of infrastructure like parcel lockers do.
With e-commerce continuing to grow, and deliveries becoming a more and more convenient option, the number of deliveries being made is only going to continue to rise. However, by reducing the number of redeliveries, we can still have a massive impact on reducing the carbon footprint for delivery companies.
For the users, and people like John, gone are the days of chasing after packages, driving to the next town over to pick up packages from the depot, or receiving damaged packages because they've been left in the rain, or thrown over the fence. Each delivery would be guaranteed on the first try.
As this is a concept, further research needs to be done, it needs to be tested and a few questions need answering:
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Is this a problem that logistics companies are actively facing? What are they doing internally to currently address it? What are the shortcomings of the current solution?
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Are there enough people like Mary, that are willing to accept packages daily for their neighbours?
*Further development on this project is currently halted, though happy to hear any and all feedback, or guidance
