In 2019, Sameday brought the experience of parcel delivery to Romania and created the country’s widest ever parcel vending machine network in accordance with the most innovative technological solutions. The goal was to introduce a fast, convenient, less polluting and less traffic-intensive transportation culture.
The use of easybox parcel machines significantly reduces the number of kilometers traveled by a courier, which can thus have a significant positive effect on reducing emissions. The Sameday courier, who personally delivers packages to different addresses, delivers an average of 70-120 packages per day. On the other hand, his colleague who fills easyboxes delivers 400-500 packages a day, as he does not have to drive a lot. Circular delivery always means fewer kilometers traveled and fewer stops – considering the average size of an easybox machine, a driver can deliver more than 50 packages to one machine.
The beginnings
The innovative project started with the installation of 30 parcel machines in major cities in Romania. In 2018, the second phase of the program involved reducing the number of kilometers traveled by couriers. In 2019, the technology was further perfected, which showed itself in the strengthening of the contactless delivery method by 2020, and then in a 250% increase in the number of installed easyboxes within a year. With the clear increase in customer demand, the number of packages delivered to easyboxes also increased linearly.
During an average courier service, the successful delivery of the package results in an average of 300 grams of CO2 emissions. This carbon footprint always depends on the distance traveled between the parcel warehouse and the recipient, the load of the transport vehicle and, in many cases, multiple delivery attempts. Similarly, parcel deliveries to shops or the post office result in up to six times more carbon dioxide emissions than deliveries to easyboxes. The increase in CO2 emissions is related to the fact that customers are forced to travel (typically by car) to collect packages. The use of automatic machines, on the other hand, is an innovative and environmentally friendly solution, since delivering a shipment to easybox produces only 14 grams of CO2!
In the four years since its launch, the easybox network not only exceeded the number of 4,500 cabinets, but also crossed the borders of Romania. easybox is already available in Hungary and Bulgaria, in exactly the same environmentally conscious implementation. In addition to the usual easyboxes, there are currently 33 solar-powered, so-called There are also “green cabinets”, the number of which is increasing.
Sameday aims to reduce the CO2 emissions generated by the parcel delivery and logistics industry to zero.
Methods
Studies show that the highest CO2 emissions1 in e-commerce are closely related to the so-called for “last mile” delivery 2 – which is nothing more than the classic home delivery courier activity itself – we can define three main pillars of the carbon footprint of online shopping: 1. last mile delivery (42%), 2. packaging (27%) ) and 3. energy consumption of buildings (19%).
In order to reduce the carbon footprint of last-mile delivery, Sameday launched the easybox package delivery service, which, with its national and cross-border expansion, contributes to the reduction of urban traffic and the mitigation of last-mile emissions.
In the Bucharest-Ilfov area, customers can find an easybox machine an average of 4 minutes’ walk from their residence. Within the Romanian national easybox network, the average walking distance a customer takes to pick up their package is about 7 minutes. Sameday Romania – in partnership with a local software company – uses artificial intelligence to decide where an easybox is most needed, thus helping to maximize the capacity of the cabinets. When the courier puts the package in the locker, the system automatically sends an SMS to the consumer with the code to open the locker, so the need to use paper is reduced to zero.
Results
The problem of CO2 emissions is an important environmental issue, the importance of which has increased significantly in the last years among customers between the ages of 25 and 35 when choosing a service company. 3 If we compare the use of easybox with the standard delivery services (classic courier, postal or store deliveries) of our two largest partners, eMAG and Fashion Days, we see that the proportion of customers using easybox is growing very quickly. In the period under review, 37% of eMAG and Fashion Days online customers ordered via easybox, compared to 19% the previous year. This increase also means a net decrease in the CO2 emissions of “last mile” deliveries, i.e. traditional home delivery.
By using the easybox service, the Sameday group managed to significantly reduce your carbon footprint from fuel consumption. In 2022, more than 27 million parcels were delivered to easyboxes, which is about 47% of all Sameday domestic deliveries in Romania. As a result of investments in technology and state-of-the-art solutions, the Sameday Group increased the number of packages delivered this year by 38% compared to the previous year.
Romania’s eMAG, as the country’s largest online shopping platform, was able to help Sameday avoid 2,522 tons of carbon dioxide emissions by consciously increasing the routing of orders to easybox, which means a 19% reduction in Scope1 emissions in terms of carbon footprint.
Lessons learned
In four years, easybox has become the preferred out-of-home delivery method for most online shoppers. In Romania, 67% of online customers prefer webshops that include easybox as a delivery option 4. One of the reasons why young people prefer delivery to easybox is the “green” approach of the method.
In order to further reduce the carbon footprint associated with last-mile deliveries, in October 2021, Sameday launched its first vending machine powered by photovoltaic solar panels. The goal is to expand the technology nationwide and significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions (there are currently 31 such solar easybox cabinets in the Romanian network). Sameday aims to increase the number of self-contained cabinets and focuses its efforts on ensuring that at least 10% of newly installed cabinets are equipped with solar panels.
Reducing the electricity consumption of easybox cabinets has a significant impact on the environment due to the reduction of the carbon footprint associated with last-mile deliveries. A single solar cabinet saves 50 kWh per month, which is 600 kWh per year. As a consequence, the solar easybox automatic network currently corresponds to annual savings of 18,600 kWh, thereby avoiding approximately 4.9 tons of CO2 emissions.
The development of the easybox network, the introduction of green cabinets, the expansion of the electric car fleet, and the abandonment of the use of paper have made Sameday synonymous with sustainability for business partners. Green shipping has now become a distinguishing selling feature of online commerce.
Sources:
[1] Is E-Commerce good for Europe? Oliver Wyman, 2021. is-ecommerce-good-for-europe.pdf (oliverwyman.com)
2 In supply chain management and transportation planning, the “last mile” or “last kilometer” is the last stage of the journey (transportation), which includes the transportation of passengers and goods from the transportation hub to the final destination./Wikipedia/
3 ANCOM – Quantitative study on methods of providing postal services to individual end users, October 2022
4 As reported by Sameday in April-May 2022.