Stand and deliver: RENZ

The “dead letter office” is the U.S. Postal Service facility that deals with undeliverable mail. Today, the expression “dead letter” seems to be taking on literal meaning as actual letter-writing nears extinction. Digitisation is transforming package shipment as well, however, with traffic in parcels on an upward trajectory, primarily as a result of the growth in e-commerce. Changing purchasing behaviour is also bringing changes in the delivery of goods. When we no longer go shopping, the things we buy must find their way to us.

This everyday matter, which we generally pay little attention to in our busy lives, can quickly lead to snarls in our tight schedules. For example, when in the lead-up to a holiday trip we realise that a new swimsuit or some other urgently needed item must be ordered on the internet. But that nobody can be at home to take delivery (and the only neighbours we know have inconveniently already left town) and we don’t have the time or patience to queue for 20 minutes at the post office the next day to collect the package ourselves. Because by then we will be lying on the beach – in last year’s bathing suit, which has grown a bit too tight. How aggravating…

There must be a better way, we have all thought at one time or another. And there is. The Renz company has developed an intelligent parcel box. Erwin Renz Metallwarenfabrik GmbH & Co KG is Europe’s market leader in post-box systems. The reliable, family-owned company, based near Stuttgart and now in its third generation, supplies customers with over 100,000 letter and parcel boxes annually. In response to the e-commerce trend, it sought a practical solution for receiving and sending packages. Three years ago, it began developing electrically controlled parcel-box systems that take the complication out of both the delivery and the pick-up process. The first pilot installation went into service in the autumn of 2015. But how does it actually work?

myRENZbox is a modern parcel-box system designed to benefit companies as well as individuals. This post box of the future offers a wide range of functions. It is not only user-friendly, but in aesthetic terms, too, a bright spot in a field of otherwise mostly unattractive boxes that adorn any larger housing complex. And it employs the latest information technology to allow access by various user groups.

When a courier wants to deliver a parcel, the process integration allows authentication by handheld device or a code. An appropriately sized compartment opens and the parcel is deposited in it. Via the myRENZ app, the registered user and addressee is informed of the delivery by SMS, email or push message. And the innovative box has a particular capability that really sets it apart: it can also be used to return a parcel to the sender.

After all, out of frustration, elation or on a whim, we have all ordered things on the internet that turned out to be the wrong size, the wrong colour or, on second thought, unnecessary. With myRENZbox, merchandise can simply be deposited in the designated compartment and the system informed via the touch display – that’s all there is to it. The box can also be used by suppliers of more critical goods, such as medicines. “In the near future, delivery of fresh food may even be possible,” says marketing manager Ralf Benzler. The virtual expansion of shopping hours to 24/7 could substantially simplify everyday life.

Alongside the core market – newly constructed and renovated buildings – the boxes can also be installed on existing properties, significantly enhancing the attractiveness of the residential units for the occupants. And making buildings fit for our future lifestyle also increases their value to the owner. Since the launch of myRENZbox, numerous residential developments have already been equipped with the smart system. All activated processes can be tracked on the Renz internet portal, www.myrenz.com, giving the building management, too, an overview of the system’s use. Feedback has been positive across the board. Bring on the future!

© Architonic