The German-based package delivery service DHL has launched a pilot project in which customer’s Amazon orders are delivered directly to the trunks of their cars.
The partnership between DHL-Parcel, Amazon, and the German car manufacturer Audi is being rolled out this summer on a trial basis throughout Germany. If it’s successful, it could be used in the US and elsewhere to connect Amazon customers with their orders more quickly and efficiently.
Automated Delivery Service
The way it works is this: Amazon customers who own Audis place their orders on Amazon.de, the German version of the world’s largest online retailer.
DHL drivers then use a specially developed smartphone GPS app to locate the Audi. Once they do, the trunk is automatically opened byAudi via a remote computer. Once the DHL driver places the package in the trunk, the car automatically locks itself.
An email is then instantly generated and sent to the customer notifying them that their package has been safely delivered to the trunk of their car.
German Engineering and Efficiency
The service will first be rolled out in the greater metropolitan Munich area over the course of several months. Amazon customers who also are Audi owners will be invited to take part in the trial program.
Jurgen Gerdes, a board member of DHL’s German Post, eCommerce and Parcel division, said the package delivery company is constantly seeking new ways to improve the quality of the experience for its customers.
“As an innovation leader in the parcel industry, we continually work with our partners to develop innovative solutions for the ever-growing number of parcel customers and to set new trends,” Gerdes said in a DHL news release. “This pilot project for car trunk delivery for private customers is unique in the German parcel industry. It demonstrates once again our market and innovation leadership as well as our commitment to parcel delivery services tailored more and more to the individual needs of our costumers.”
‘Hey, My Order’s Here!’
The service is expected to be popular among commuters who park their cars in Park & Ride lots. Once the service becomes popular, the DHL delivery person can theoretically deliver dozens of packages to cars in the same lot at the same time.
From the customer’s perspective, the service is designed to be simple, transparent and easily manageable throughout the entire process –from the ordering, to transport, to delivery to the trunk of their car.
Plus, who wouldn’t love finding a package in the trunk of their car when they get home from work?