An often heard critique of our increasingly connected society is the claim that we are losing track of real human connections. While we are more connected to the rest of the world than ever before, we are all living more and more isolated lives. This problem has now also been recognized by the largest mail & delivery corporation in the Netherlands; Royal PostNL. Also according to them, the world is changing due to urbanization, increasing individualism and an aging population. Read on to learn more about their digital transformation towards a truly connected society.
PostNL is one of the largest employers in the Netherlands with over 44,000 employees and an average delivery volume of 675,000 parcels and 8 million letters per day! However, their traditional business model has been under a lot of pressure from global digitalization and other threats. This has moved PostNL to overthrow their distribution model and go beyond their traditional delivery operations, expanding into additional value-adding services for their business partners. This proved very successful and led to the implementation of cross-doorstep services such as kitchen and furniture assembly.
However, in recent years this transformation has taken a more humanitarian turn and PostNL now envisions their mailmen to become the eyes and ears of their local neighborhoods, offering so-called ‘smart city propositions’. The Smart Society division of the delivery company hired Deloitte Digital to imagine & deliver a new platform which can realize this vision. The new MyWork platform won a renowned silver Dutch Interactive Award (DIA) because it does not only connect their own employees, but also allows them to be connected to new (societal) assignments. The first trials included tasks such as monitoring the public space by recording trash and damages throughout the neighborhood, measuring water levels, and executing surveys to prevent loneliness among elders, but of course the possibilities with this initiative are endless. What a great example of digital transformation!
References
AD | Postbode 2.0 meet ook waterstanden
AD | Postbodes moeten ‘ogen en oren’ van wijk worden
Deloitte | How the MyWork app helped PostNL become more future-proof
DIA | Silver Award 2017 for PostNL
Emerce | E-Guide PostNL MijnWerk Case
PostNL | Who are we
PostNL | The connected society
note: some references are only available in Dutch unfortunately
