GLS introduces smartphone-based shipping notification services into 5,000 parcel shops

The company, owned by UK postal operator Royal Mail Group, said the EUR 7 million investment will help make its parcel services in Germany benefit from faster delivery, postandparcel.info reports. GLS said the move will mean parcel shops can be operated with less requirement for specialised equipment because outlets need only a smartphone with a bluetooth-enabled printer, and the use of a parcel shop application.

The information about shipments can be sent to recipients’ phones, cutting out the need for notification cards. Parcel shop owners can now use smartphones to scan all GLS packages they receive, print out receipts for customers shipping items with GLS and scan items that are collected by recipients. Those collecting parcels can also sign for them through the smartphone, with all data uploaded to the central GLS database for confirmation through the company’s tracking system.

GLS, which has 39 hubs and 662 depots across Europe, transports about 404 million packages a year to turn over EUR 1.96 billion a year.