Australian Post - why are we doing their job?



I have a problem

​My issue concerns automation and human-based services. The Australian postal service was originally based on the daily delivery of mail, however, with email and automated billing fewer mail is delivered. So the efficiency of maintaining a full fleet of mail persons is questioned - fewer posties are required.
However, corresponding automation of delivery has occurred - that is buying consumable products through online services such as Amazon. Online services require fewer retail staff, however, they need people to deliver the order to complete the order.

My problem is that we (the customer) are using our resources to complete the transaction. Both companies are relying on our time and cost to complete the transaction.

In Australia much of the online delivery is achieved by the Australian Postal services, however, the manual delivery method hasn't much changed to accommodate online orders. There are perhaps more delivery vans than ever before and fewer mail bikes, however, logistical timing has not changed. Delivery is still restricted form 9:00am to 5:00pm.

Delivery occurs within the hours when the bulk of customers are at work. If the parcel is left at the door the risk of theft is high - so more people have door security cameras (user cost). If a notification of parcel pickup occurs the time of pickup is also when most are at work. There is no online interface to the cardboard notification. So then the cost of transportation becomes the user cost.

I like many people-users become frustrated by this catch-22 cycle to have ordered a product online to then have to find the time to pick-up the product. The national collective impact on productivity needs some research.  When I go to pick up I often stand in queues (my time and perhaps even work time). 

Overall, this failure to make the transaction as intended almost removes the purpose of having an automated service. If convenience is one of the essential drives of automation the delivery service is not meeting the efficiency intention. 

So my question is - Why have drivers deliver products when a high percentage of drop-off customers are not at home to accept the transaction? 

I believe that the current delivery service has built-in people-based problems. So my solution is to identify the best times for drop off and best times for pickup. Customer service research is required by the Australian Post to enable proper automation. My gut feeling is that the 9:00 am to 5:00 pm service is not user-friendly, however, a 5:00 am to 9:00 am and a 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm could be.

Comments

Post a Comment

Check out these posts

Life Force

Image
  Spores of Life As God's prototype With effort and intent Lower your eyes Claim the benefits of living Existence is not a commodity Society is not a business The Colonialist Storm Over and Over Again End   One-off sponsorship You Tube
Read more

Jingili Circumnavigated Apical

Image
  Remembering what the imperial powers set in place. Civilization, Christianity, and Commerce. The essential values justify achievement and superiority. To inflict an ideological belief of inferiority. And to punish cultures into subservience and dependency. Masters and soldier ants. Each time we try to free ourselves. Sovereign power adjusts its grid of discipline. A correction to form a new normal. A nation of docile subjects. Humanising pest control. From less suffering to more suffering. From pest controller to pest and back again. Forming another correction and resetting our new normal. Who controls our benefactor? According to the Gospel of Wealth. Our pests make our life difficult Miserable We need solutions The door behind the curtain Trying to controlling them From and then to Until domestication becomes Apical dominance One-off sponsorship You Tube
Read more

Digital Literacy Tools

Image
This is a list of on-line tools that can be used in education. It is an extensive list with many ways of application. The list is not complete. Bookmarking Tools Clip Clip www.clipclip.com -> ClipClip is, essentially, a social bookmarking tool that allows you to save and collect the sites and stuff you treasure most. you can ‘clip’ pictures, applications, and paragraphs without having to take from the whole website itself. ClipClip works, more or less, as your own personal scrapbook. Del.icio.us http://del.icio.us -> Delicious is a social bookmarking service that allows users to tag, save, manage and share web pages from a centralized source. With emphasis on the power of the community - Bookmark any site on the Internet, and get to it from anywhere Share your bookmarks, and get bookmarks in return Discover the most useful and interesting bookmarks on the web Diigo www.diigo.com -> Diigo provides a browser add-on that can really improve your research producti
Read more

Jingili Water Gardens The Fall

Image
  From behind this veil I can see everything and everyone You only see me as a shadow  I sometimes get lost in the camouflage You try to remain civil and courteous Inside, I have no need Outside, you have no idea Here I am on my crafted net In my domain Waiting for you to enter To select the choice Convinced  As unconstrained And Free It is not sufficient. To ransom our future on exponential growth. A future of class division. Where the unprofitable is marginalized. Structural policy indicators database for economic research Money never sleeps The Fallen Spider video One-off sponsorship You Tube
Read more

The Inception of Capital

Image
  A Colonialist Storm Over and Over Again Start With void Then add inception of capital A Colonialist Storm  Over and Over Again  Capitalize on this Void The backbone is irony Of superior culture One-off sponsorship You Tube
Read more

Are you on the bus

Image
  Are you on the bus? What is your destination? Will you cross the road? What is behind the machine? The privilege of possessing a curious mind and an urge to make sense. When Flinders circumnavigated New Holland. He took Trim. Suitable for service. Faithful and affectionate. So it became. Forging ahead and getting around restrictions. Breaking national protections. Cutting the red tape. To this day Encroachments are made to preserve Australia's prosperity. And maximizing returns, by reorganizing structures. To maintain productivity and continuous growth. Video Remembering what the imperial powers set in place. Civilization, Christianity, and Commerce. The essential values to justify achievement and superiority. To inflict an ideological belief of inferiority. And to punish cultures into subservience and dependency. Masters and soldier ants. Each time we try to free ourselves.  Sovereign power adjusts its grid of discipline. A correction to form a new normal. A nation of docile s
Read more

My favourite image of the Week 003

Image
Death Note Shinigami Ryuk From above Watching, casting and preying Crossing boundaries of belief Interpretations of self, questioning justice, making profound decisions Buried deep within, a want to make meaningful action Lost in transversed boredom Lost within duty There is no care whilst self seeking empathy Accepting the forbidden to forsake folly, deceit and corruption This game is deception In this game temptation is formed by opportunity and the seeking of help The partnership of do good and the intent Place, situation and delusion
Read more

Being too Busy to Think

Image
The BIG Issue: Exhausted Teachers cannot reform For so many reasons most teachers I talk to say that they are busy. Busier year after year.   Burnout Burnout often affects people in helping professions: lawyers, doctors, social workers, managers and teachers, among others. For teachers, working with students means constantly trying to respond to their needs while simultaneously meeting the various demands of the organisation. When teachers feel that there is a mismatch between all these demands and the available resources they have for coping with them, stress is induced. The usual culprits mentioned are: lack of time, ideas, materials, expertise and support. https://goo.gl/k8vzJY This is not unusual Almost half of new teachers leave the profession in their first year because of an excessive workload and 'exhausted and stressed colleagues', a union leader has warned. The number has tripled in six years, according to an analysis of figures by the Association of
Read more