The rise of parcels and the current system.

[fishtank]

The solution will be a natural evolution of the park&loop system with the driver delivering more parcels and the walker(probably part-time) taking on the bulk of the letter delivery.

There is still a major issue with the high volume of parcels undelivered and returned to office, this is one area that RM needs to addressed (no pun intended) before the competition does.

Delivery to neighbour was supposed to address this issue but with RM taking the short sighted and frankly ridiculous view that this system takes no added time they have failed to engage the staff over the initiative and missed an opportunity. This needs to be readdressed as a priority, Sometimes trying to do something on the cheap can be an expensive mistake.

[Postie45]

with my walk failing daily, "delivery to a neighbour" would in most cases just add much more time thus i never do it anymore. Walking up one long driveway to deliver to the customer to find they are out takes long enough, walking up to neighbour driveway to find they are also out and then walking back to original customer to fill out P739 is just a huge waste of time.
RM should try and promote (and sell and install) the use of the large safe boxes, a couple of my customers own these and theyre ideal for pretty large sized packages which can be left inside and secured. Im sure these wouldnt work everywhere, but I think many customers who tend to receive packages on a daily basis would rather have one of these installed than have to trudge to the delivery office every day.

[dvbuk55]

Well it wouldn't surprise me if a mini starburst system was instituted whereby 2 walkers per vehicle did delivery whilst the driver delivered the extended route parcels plus delivery and because of the larger area replenishment for the walkers. Of course over time larger vehicles will be used and less of them will be required.

[ihatedogs]

/

[cyclemech1]

Well it wouldn't surprise me if a mini starburst system was instituted whereby 2 walkers per vehicle did delivery whilst the driver delivered the extended route parcels plus delivery and because of the larger area replenishment for the walkers. Of course over time larger vehicles will be used and less of them will be required.

That sounds like a good idea, the driver duty could perhaps be called ' Packet Duty' and how about giving the walkers cycles to deliver the rest of the mail , being replenished by the driver?

[dvbuk55]

Well it wouldn't surprise me if a mini starburst system was instituted whereby 2 walkers per vehicle did delivery whilst the driver delivered the extended route parcels plus delivery and because of the larger area replenishment for the walkers. Of course over time larger vehicles will be used and less of them will be required.

That sounds like a good idea, the driver duty could perhaps be called ' Packet Duty' and how about giving the walkers cycles to deliver the rest of the mail , being replenished by the driver?

No! They're looking for more work not less.

[CharlesSpooner]

the best system would probably be to take ALL parcels that wont fit through letterboxes off of walking postman, and have actual separate packet deliveries. Of course this wont happen now that RM have put so much money into the current system with van sharing.

Makes far too much sense ...

There is still a major issue with the high volume of parcels undelivered and returned to office, this is one area that RM needs to addressed (no pun intended) before the competition does.

Taking parcels off walks won't address undelivered parcels. And when talking of the best system you have to clearly define best - the best system for a postie is when he or she gets done early with everything cleared and a couple of hours OT in the pocket. It's a system we had many moons ago and I loved it.

When you're a business though, as RM is, the best system is a combination of cost effectiveness, productivity and hitting standards of service - with a heavy lean towards cost effectiveness. As a postie I definitely don't like this "best" system.

Me and my loop partner tried a little experiment for a week where he'd do the first couple of loops of mail and I'd drive round and drop off all the large packets, Specials, Recordeds etc then come back and jump in with the letters. We were convinced it would be quicker - it wasn't. If you've got a driver going somewhere with a parcel and then a postman goes over the same ground with a letter that's unproductive.

The current system is hard work and early finishes are a thing of the past but when it comes to getting as much productivity from an individual as possible and cutting down on employee numbers and hours paid it's a hell of a lot more cost effective than the old way of working.

[Glenno]

Another salient point to add to this debate is that a lot more people request their parcels to their workplace

[lewesspudgun]

Adopt the denial system, send the lads out with no parcels, then use overtime in the afternoon to deliver them.Then pretend that the revision has worked

[datasaint]

Get rid of Recorded Delivery for a start so much time is wasted obtaining a pointless scribble (which is easily disputed) for items that can fit through the letterbox.

Upgrade the scanners so they print the specifics of the item for you to stick on the 739.

Those two things are what account for much of the expended time with packets, carrying them around in the bag makes no odds to me.

On top of that I strongly believe RM should start an evening delivery service 5pm to 9pm for large parcels for a small additional charge, same as tracked identify them with a green sticker, I'm sure a lot of people would use that.

[Budfrog]

Get rid of Recorded Delivery for a start so much time is wasted obtaining a pointless scribble (which is easily disputed) for items that can fit through the letterbox.

Upgrade the scanners so they print the specifics of the item for you to stick on the 739.

Those two things are what account for much of the expended time with packets, carrying them around in the bag makes no odds to me.

On top of that I strongly believe RM should start an evening delivery service 5pm to 9pm for large parcels for a small additional charge, same as tracked identify them with a green sticker, I'm sure a lot of people would use that.

Agree with the first 2 points however there have always been concerns with regard to Health & Safety when it come to evening deliveries.

[datasaint]

Agree with the first 2 points however there have always been concerns with regard to Health & Safety when it come to evening deliveries.

Tesco/Sainsburys do evening delivery? If RM want to grab a bigger share of the parcels market this is something they'll have to consider, for a courier company it's not really profitable because their depots are few and far between but with so many RM offices on P&L now and the vans sitting idle after 4pm it's worth pursuing.

[Budfrog]

Agree with the first 2 points however there have always been concerns with regard to Health & Safety when it come to evening deliveries.

Tesco/Sainsburys do evening delivery? If RM want to grab a bigger share of the parcels market this is something they'll have to consider, for a courier company it's not really profitable because their depots are few and far between but with so many RM offices on P&L now and the vans sitting idle after 4pm it's worth pursuing.

Personally I can't see the difference between a dark evening and a dark morning and late shift allowance would be payable so it is worth considering.

[confusednewpostie]

I think later deliveries is the way forward!!
5pm-9pm would catch the vast majority of people first time every time, the current setup is flawed beyond belief.
Sick of being compared to TNT, Yodel, UPS etc etc, they companies deliver parcels only, which is why they can send you a text saying "jimmy" will be at your door between 1pm-2pm.
Add the fact our posties are out delivering a FULL duty of mail and try to offer a similar service with parcels is just not possible.
Big push of deliver to a neighbour, reality is posties do NOT have time.
Blank safeplace sections on tracked items in my office are interpretated differently by almost every postie.
Some think this means they have to choose a safeplace of their own.
In fact if it states "leave in shed" this should take priority over deliver to a neighbour.
This in itself has raised questions in my office, what if in going to the shed the postie trips or cuts their hand opening the shed.
The FAQ on RM's website says its at the discretion of the postie, IF they choose to do it at all!
The push is on deliver first time every time, addressed customer, safeplace, deliver to a neighbour.
Most collect + options are places open till 10pm, some even 24 hours, yet we have callers offices open till mid day in many places.
Even our own local collect sent to a post office really only gives people up till 5:30pm.
Amazon are moving to get away from using RM at all in many places, even offering a same day delivery service in some cases.
Could you imagine your depot without any Amazon parcels?

[SpacePhoenix]

RM are probably going to have to bring in some degree of automation of parcels in MCs (are they already automated in RDCs?)