DHL trials postal service machines in Germany

Deutsche Post DHL Group has begun a trial of new parcel machines in Germany that allow customers to do several things that would normally require a trip to the post office.

The new machines, dubbed Poststations, allow customers to purchase postage and stamps, pick up and drop off letters and parcels, and even speak to a DHL representative via video link. Some of the machines have more than 100 compartments.

Payments can be made with not only all the usual credit and debit cards but with Google and Apple Pay.

For the trial, Poststations have been rolled out across 20 locations in the North Rhine-Whestphalia region, including Cologne.

“With the Poststation we would like to offer our customers our postal services at even more locations – and in the most convenient way possible,” said Holger Bartels, the Group’s head of multichannel sales, post and parcel Germany.

“This means that the new machine can be used around the clock and is easy to operate. This enables us to respond directly to the wishes of our customers who regularly report these needs back to us in surveys.”

While still being tested, this has obvious benefits in the context of a global pandemic, too, as it reduces face-to-face interactions, while still having the option to speak to a human.

Source: Parcel and Postal Technology International