The courier and logistics company DPD, in cooperation with the Maltese company Locus, is developing the system, which helps to plan the transport resource based on both the history of parcel volumes and real-time data.
With the new system, DPD can initially plan its transport resource needs more precisely on a monthly, weekly and daily basis based on historical parcel volumes. However, in the second phase of the project, in addition to historical data, real-time data will be used for transport resource planning, i.e. data on parcels sent by customers across Europe.
"Based on this data, we can forecast and plan the need for a resource, i.e., couriers, vans, transport circles. We can also consider the specifics of the customers, if, for example, the system states that the customer only is present in the office during 10-12 o’clock, the system also takes this into account when setting up traffic. The system allows you to make the necessary dynamic corrections when sorting packages. This, in turn, helps to balance the volume of goods between regions and couriers,” said Remo Kirss, the head of DPD Estonia.
Kirss explained that previous data for a certain period show how many and which parcels were sent to which area at that time. "By analysing these data and adding the expected growth percentage, we get a good idea of how much transport resources would now be needed in the same period this year," Kirss added.
In the second stage of development, the possibility to monitor and analyse data in real time is added: data analysis and optimization of transport routes can be started already, for example, before the goods start moving from Europe to Estonia, i.e., before the goods physically reach the DPD sorting centre.
"The program considers the length of the courier's working day and optimizes the best possible freight rates based on it. In addition, the system analyses, for example, traffic conditions. If it is known that there is always a traffic jam on Liivalaia Street at the end of the working day, the program takes this into account when planning transport routes and can better plan the time it takes for couriers to deliver parcels,” Kirss explained.
The volume of parcel shipments at DPD increased by more than a million parcels last year, and the number of orders for courier homes increased by more than half. According to Kirss, the new planning system will help ensure a high-quality, accurate and fast parcel delivery service. In addition to soaring volumes, this system also helps to cope with volatile trade flows.
