Summer 2009

A drop-box system for unattended home deliveries that promises to take electronic proof of delivery to a new level of sophistication has been launched under the brand name 24-7Box.

Superficially the 24-7Box looks similar to previous delivery boxes. It's a top-hinged powder-coated steel box that can be bolted to the floor or a wall outside the user's house. It is secured by mechanical key.

However, some rather clever bits of technology have been built in. One is a small battery-powered electronic module that generates a one-off random number when the lid is closed. This number is displayed on a small LCD screen, and can be read and recorded manually by the delivery driver, serving as the proof of delivery.

Allied with this is a feature on which a patent is pending – a transparent internal lid just beneath the secure steel external lid. On returning home to collect a delivery from the box, the householder can open the outer lid and check visually that the item is actually present without opening this inner lid.

 

So long as the inner lid is not opened, the randomly-generated code stored in the box's display does not change, but as soon as the lid is lifted, the code is cancelled permanently. Therefore if the goods are missing but the delivery company claims it has supplied them, the consumer can leave the inner lid shut, preserving the code as proof that that the box has not been fully opened and the goods were never there in the first place.

Conversely, once the goods are removed, the code is no longer displayed, so it can't serve as the basis of a false claim of non-delivery.

The code includes a time and date stamp and a serial number, and the number can be quoted by the consumer in the ordering process to tie the consignment to the box and the delivery date and location. We understand a version of the system using a barcode in addition to a digital code could be developed later, so long as cost targets can be met.

Managing director Andrew Nesling, whose background is in secure data transmission in the power industry, has been working on the concept for several years, and says he has researched the legal issues surrounding proof of delivery extensively.

'This system is actually more reliable than when a neighbour signs for a delivery without authorisation,' he points out.

He is currently in talks with several carriers including Royal Mail and Home Delivery Network about running consumer trials in his local area of Banbury. He says the trial boxes have been built and are ready, and he hopes the trials will start over the summer.

The product has been developed with the help of seed funding, and won the Banbury Innovation Award after the concept was first floated in 2007.

Nesling told Fulfilment & e.logistics he is open-minded about ultimately commercialising the product, and would consider either licensing it to a company already active in this field, or possibly marketing it direct.