As of next week, students and staff at the University of Twente will have the opportunity of having items purchased online delivered to unmanned lockers, from which they can then be collected. It will also be possible to return packages using the lockers. The UT is working with De Buren Afhaalcentrum, which will be opening a collection and delivery point on the University's campus on 1 May. The 60 unmanned lockers will remain on the campus for a minimum of a year. The idea is that they will prove to be a useful amenity for both UT students and staff and will also help to reduce the number of logistical movements on the campus. The University of Twente will be the first university in the Netherlands to offer this service.
These days, many more purchases are made online. At the same time, consumers are looking for increasing levels of convenience and, with busy diaries and full timetables, students and staff do not have the time to wait for the postman to call. De Buren (which translates as 'The Neighbours') offers a solution consisting of unmanned lockers to which webshops and carriers can deliver packages. The advantage is that deliveries and collections can take place at any time of the day or night. The University is currently preparing a room in the Sky building (next to the Bastille building) in which the lockers will be placed.
Increasingly better facilities
The Facility Department works to achieve increasingly better, sustainable facilities on the campus. "We have noticed that more and more students, and staff too, are ordering goods online and having them delivered to the campus. This means that the number of logistical movements on the campus is on the increase. We hope that a central point will increase convenience and mean that the number of logistical movements will decrease," explains Eveline Kuypers from the UT's Facility Department.
How does it work?
A growing number of webshops now give consumers the option of indicating that they want to have their parcel delivered via De Buren. An app allows consumers to follow their packages online. Once a package has been delivered to a locker, the purchaser receives a notification. Entering a personal code opens the right locker. If a recipient is not happy with a purchase, then he or she can also use the lockers for sending the item back. De Buren also rents out lockers for personal storage for a fixed amount per day.
Refrigerated lockers
The lockers on the campus will, for the time being, be standard ones, but in the future the Facility Department will look at the option of installing refrigerated lockers so that groceries ordered online can be delivered. "We would also like to talk to pharmacies about the possibility of having repeat prescriptions and other medication delivered to and collected from the lockers," says Kuypers. The pilot will last for a year and will be evaluated during that period. Students and staff can submit any ideas they have to the Facility Department Service Desk.
De Buren
De Buren operates fully independently and has unmanned collection points, consisting of secure lockers and the option of refrigerated lockers that can be used for various purposes, at locations with good access. The company now has more than 50 locker locations, which are generally open 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.
