22.10.2024
Parcel Lockers That Deliver, No Matter the Weather
Germany leads Europe in parcel deliveries, with a staggering 4.2 billion parcels handled in 2022—equivalent to around 50 shipments per person, nearly quadruple the EU average. This impressive growth, mainly driven by the e-commerce boom, has led parcel delivery companies, retailers, and postal services to grapple with space limitations in high-traffic indoor locations like shopping malls. As a result, they are being forced out into the cold.
Outdoor parcel lockers offer far greater flexibility and cost efficiency than indoor sites, allowing businesses to expand into remote or underserved areas. They support scalable operations, enabling higher parcel volumes and lower operational costs. Moreover, outdoor lockers address last-mile delivery challenges, promoting sustainability by reducing the carbon footprint of parcel transportation.
The Rise of Off-Grid Parcel Lockers
Despite their advantages, outdoor lockers bring logistical challenges. For instance, running power cables to distant parts of a parking lot can cost thousands of euros just to lay cables under the asphalt. Multiply this by hundreds or thousands of locker units, and the costs become prohibitive. In response, logistics firms are embracing off-grid, battery-powered parcel lockers as a more viable solution.
Off-grid systems eliminate the need for extensive infrastructure, such as power connections, giving companies the flexibility to place lockers anywhere and move them as needed during peak shopping periods like Black Friday or Christmas. These lockers are easy to transport and quick to deploy—once activated, they’re online within seconds, ready to handle the increased parcel traffic.
“Punta offers a pre-configuration tool via a web application. Customers can configure the locker in advance, and once deployed and powered on, the locker connects to our system and instantly loads. Within minutes, it’s fully operational. We designed it to be simple and effective, ensuring a seamless experience for our customers,” explains Marko Siiskonen, Product Owner, Unplugged Online Technology.
Weatherproofing: A Key Challenge
Outdoor lockers must be built to endure harsh weather conditions, particularly in challenging climates like Finland’s, where “extreme weather” can mean an ordinary Tuesday in February.
In regions such as Lapland, where heavy snowfall and temperatures as low as -30°C to -45°C are common, the lockers must use industrial-grade components rated for sub-zero conditions. Protective coatings on the exterior are essential to guard against condensation and corrosion that could damage the internal mechanisms.
Off-grid systems also face challenges in power management under these extreme conditions. Battery performance drops significantly in freezing temperatures—systems that rely on radio connectivity instead of local area networks can lose up to 50% of their capacity at -20°C to -30°C, even with advanced battery types like lithium-ion. This makes energy consumption management a critical concern.
Promising Solar-Powered Solutions
Solar-powered lockers are an innovative approach to powering outdoor units sustainably. They align with global sustainability goals, especially when using long-lasting, recyclable batteries. However, solar energy can be unreliable in regions with limited sunlight.
For instance, Riga, the capital of Latvia, experiences about six months of cloud cover and nearly five months of snow each year, significantly reducing solar panel efficiency as they are often obscured by snow or clouds.
“We rigorously test our systems in both lab settings and real-world environments. While some off-grid solutions claim to work at -30°C with solar power, deploying them in places like Lapland would expose their limitations. We prioritize understanding our customers’ environments to ensure our systems perform flawlessly, even in the most demanding conditions,” emphasizes Anssi Suominen, Chief of Business Development.
Expertise in Every Aspect
As end-to-end designers, developers, and manufacturers of the entire lifecycle, Punta possesses deep expertise in mechanical design, software, hardware, and firmware. This comprehensive understanding allows us to create solutions that meet the diverse needs of parcel operators. For instance, our API interface is highly adaptable, enabling customers to integrate their existing backend systems with our lockers seamlessly.
Taking inspiration from the resilience of postal workers braving snowstorms to play “parcel Tetris,” the informal motto of the United States Postal Service comes to mind: “Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.”
In the same spirit, Punta’s smart lockers are designed to operate reliably, no matter the weather, ensuring parcels reach their destinations smoothly—even under the most challenging conditions.
