Bits Helping Move Atoms (Less)

Thanks to Internet in general and e-commerce in particular, package delivery should be the most healthy growing business. Parcel companies should be the best organized by investing in IT. And it is hard to imagine how bad they are at it.

I buy a lot of stuff around the world from my computer and it has been interesting to see how the couriers struggle with deliveries. Some of these companies make some improvements. For example UPS has recently allowed paying custom duties using electronic payment systems. Before they required cash (!) or bank money transfer.

FedEx seems to be the most behind.

When I order private stuff that will likely result in going through customs, I am obliged to provide my residential address as the delivery address. So without any notice the delivery courier knocks at my apartment's door during working hours, when obviously nobody is home. But only after this first delivery attempt they even allow to redirect the package to a place they are likely to meet me (the office). I simply need the "door tag":

Door tag will provide the time and address of the FedEx location where you may pick up your shipment, and also indicate if another delivery attempt will be made.

Yes, the door tag!

To redirect I had to call their hotline. Where an IVR system told me to call a different number, since I was calling from a mobile phone and the official hotline is only for landlines. How come this makes a difference in 2020!?! SO actually I had to call this IVR twice, as it was not repeating the other number and I was slow to write it down.

Then I called that other number, went through the IVR menu to reach the agent. She was helpful to register the redirect address. But could not tell me how much money (cash!) I need to have at hand to cover the import duties.

So the courier arrived, I did not have enough and he went away.

During a lunch break I took my electric scooter and went to an ATM. The nearest one was "temporarily out of service", so the trip took a bit longer. But I brought the cash.

The courier arrived for the third time, collected the payment and I got my package.

Just because they could not communicate (they have my email as well as the phone number on file and on the shipment record), the poor guy was driving up and down three times. Burning fuel and rubber, wasting time. All that was needed was a simple notification telling me the amount to be paid and asking for reconfirmation of the address and the time window I would be able to meet the delivery guy. But no. Instead we were chasing each other,  with an avalanche of status "delivery exception" messages that were just a sad sequence of records of all those failed attempts...

Putting bits to work to save time and energy on moving atoms around is the key concept of a digital business. And nowadays every business is digital (to an extend). Really hard to imagine that FedEx don't get it...