References
Over 2,500 terminals in more than 1,500 towns and cities throughout Germany, roughly 250,000 compartments for over five million registered customers. When considering the DHL Packstation, the numbers alone are jaw-dropping and show just how important this solution is for shipping and picking up DHL package consignments. After accumulating over 10 years of experience, DHL Paket decided to take the bull by its horns and introduce a new Packstation line.
DHL initiated a large-scale tender, and management at DHL Paket ultimately selected Polygon as its service partner for the new terminals from a pool of 20 bidders. It was our distinct expertise in the development and manufacture of innovative mechatronic products that clinched the deal.
The project came with an extremely tight schedule, and its complexity – involving up to 8,000 components – was staggering. Yet still the new DHL Packstation significantly outstripped the requirements in a series of tests and inspections. Ten pilot systems were produced, installed and tested at record speed. Operating in close cooperation with DHL Paket, Polygon is responsible for all aspects of product development and series production through to rollout and installation.
Besides the housing modules themselves, the project involved an entirely new hinge system and a mechatronic lock, substantially boosting service friendliness and also security. Polygon developed the control electronics for the hardware, also the compartment module interfaces and the software interfaces with the backend, on behalf of DHL Paket. Manufacturing itself involves a broad variety of different methods – from aluminium casting and plastic injection moulding through to aluminium extrusion processes and sheet metal bending technologies.
Afterwards, the close, outstanding cooperation between DHL Paket and Polygon led to a series of additional, innovative projects and enhancements, for instance the DHL package boxes in the Modern version.
Link to the Deutsche Post press release on the new DHL-Packstation:
http://www.dpdhl.com/en/media_relations/press_releases/2014/dhl_packstation_success_story_continues.html
"The venture we are currently engaged in with Polygon represents a significant milestone and paradigm shift in our 'Packstation history' to date. Our collaboration with Polygon enables us to introduce substantial diversification to our model range and to create a system suitable for use anywhere in the world."
Dr Thomas Ogilvie
Senior Vice President DHL Vertriebs GmbH
Find out more about this project
