Of the 4.8 million dwellings in Sweden, 2.6 million of those are residential apartment buildings. Of those 2.6 million, 1.3 million already have mailboxes – and a vast majority of them are still analogue, meaning they are not connected and instead are locked with a key. So, if we look at the mailbox picture for apartment buildings in Sweden, there are still more than a million who will eventually have a mailbox setup in the lobby of the building, and there are also around 50 thousand new apartments being built annually. This is where Sweden’s Loxess comes in. Their sister company Boxicon makes and distributes locally produced mailbox setups for apartment buildings and Loxess connects them and the entrance door easily while retrofitting existing boxes. This provides controlled digital access for both residents and delivery people in building lobbies, where most mailbox setups are located. This is important in Sweden, where most apartment buildings have an entry code that is used by residents, as well as by delivery people, postal workers, and others, to gain access to the building.
“Giving that entry code to numerous different people who often don’t live in the building reduces security,” explains Anders Årman, Product Specialist, Loxess. Loxess shares a temporary or one-time access to the building via our API or app and access to the mailboxes. This addresses the convenience in having delivery at home, because residents don’t need to go to a local service point to fetch small packages. This also benefits delivery companies, where every minutes counts, because they no longer have to run up and down stairs to deliver to different apartments, and then photograph the delivery outside the apartment door or get someone to sign. And because the mailbox is connected deliveries are recorded, as are when the recipient takes possession of the package. The digital record works for both the delivery company and the consumer, simplifying everything and making it safer. Also, the solution is 24/7, so deliveries can be made at any time, making it more convenient for everyone.”
So, why is this an important piece to the logistics puzzle? Like much of the rest of the logistics industry, digitalization of mailboxes is the way forward and while many of us may no longer send letters via snail mail these days, we are still sending and receiving plenty of packages. In China, 2643 parcels are shipped every second, while in Europe, more than 77 million packages are delivered every day. Some of these packages are big and bulky, but the majority are less than 5 kilos. By connecting mailboxes in residential buildings deliveries can be tracked nearly right to your door and you don’t even need to be home to accept that delivery.
