Parcel pickup spots set up in Shanghai

Workers in the parcel courier industry have been urged to protect customers' personal information, as there has been a rise in thefts of goods and information in recent years. Li Ga / Xinhua

Worried about not being around to sign for a parcel?

Two new developments in the world of parcel delivery may have the answer.

Recognizing the need for safe places to leave a parcel when there's nobody home to sign for it, several solutions have been rolled out recently based around secure parcel pickup points dotted around neighborhoods.

In Shanghai's Pudong New Area, a self-service parcel pickup machine has been installed in the lobby of the Lujiazui Haiyi Garden residential building.

The machine has what looks like an ATM in the middle with a closet on either side. Couriers log into the computerized system, leave the parcel in one of the closets, then send a pass code to the recipient by e-mail. The recipient can pick up the parcel by entering the pass code into the machine to gain access to the closet and collect the package.

However, while the system seems simple and secure, there is some skepticism among parcel couriers.

"The usual solution is to leave the parcel at the reception or at the neighbor's place," said a courier from Quancheng Express who gave his name as Chen.

He said he is not happy with using such machines before their security has been proven.

"We normally need the signature from the recipient. If anything goes wrong, we're the ones who get the blame from our company," Chen said.

Another new system can been seen is at the city's convenience store chain FamilyMart, which has set up about 100 pickup sites for online orders at stores since April, in cooperation with e-commerce giant Amazon.

China Tech News quoted Yao Zhongen, vice-president for transportation and distribution at amazon.cn, as saying the collection service in 24-hour convenience stores ensures timely delivery of products and allows customers to pick up goods at their own convenience.

Deliveries for amazon.cn and FamilyMart are handled by Shanghai Jiaoyun Hubei Logistics Development Co. Yang Yanzhen, who runs distribution operations in the Pudong district, said: "We start to deliver goods to FamilyMart's warehouses as early as 4 am. Employees from FamilyMart then distribute goods to each pickup site."

Yang said if the buyer does not pick up the goods within three days, he has to return the package to Amazon.

Lu Bin, shop manager of a FamilyMart outlet in Pudong's Rushan Road, said an average of four to five customers, mainly local young people, use the pickup service at his shop each day.

"I sign the goods for them personally," he said, adding that about 60 percent of the packages are books from Amazon.

"Buyers need to take their ID cards and visit our shop anytime within the first 72 hours of receiving the e-mail notice from Amazon," he said.

A clerk at the FamilyMart outlet in Pudong's Shangnan Road, who declined to give her name, said gifts, such as laundry detergent, are offered to attract customers to use the pickup service.

Pudong has 15 FamilyMart stores that offer such pickup services. FamilyMart already operates a similar service in partnership with Amazon in Japan.