Kerli Ats, the CEO of the Farm Association, also talked about the project in more detail – listen to her in a Vikerradio broadcast. PS! The broadcast is in Estonian.
As part of the pilot program, the Parcelsea smart mailbox was installed at Tänava farm in Lääne County. Margus Maripuu, the owner of a farm that produces various mustards and syrups, said that a smart mailbox in the yard makes life easier for a small producer. Previously, Maripuu had to drive to the Haapsalu parcel machine at least once or a week to send out orders to customers living farther away or tried to arrange things in such a way that when he came to Tallinn, he would take customers’ orders with him. However, when he ordered the courier to pick up the shipment from the farm, he had to wait the whole day at home, because you never know exactly when the courier will arrive.
“But now I put the shipments into a smart mailbox in my yard and I can calmly focus on my activities and be away from the house if necessary. It doesn’t matter when the courier arrives. He himself receives the parcels from the mailbox on the basis of the code,” describes Maripuu’s smart mailbox advantages.
The smart mailbox is also helpful in serving customers living closer to the farm – previously, local customers used to receive the goods at a pre-agreed time, but now you can also leave a package in the smart mailbox for the local customer and simply forward the correct PIN code to the customer. “Although it’s always nice to talk to customers, I can now plan my time more flexibly. I don’t often have to wait at home anymore, but I can go to collect forest plants at any time, for example. Considering the current corona situation, it is more reasonable not to meet many people,” said Maripuu.
For a customer living in a city, a smart mailbox works on the same principle, providing similar benefits. Once a person has ordered a parcel by courier, they no longer have to wait for the courier at home or pick up the parcel at the parcel machine. “The courier will put the parcel inside the box, click the lid to lock the box and when you arrive from work yourself, delicious mustard is already waiting for you. In addition, you don’t have to worry about the fact that if you are receiving multiple parcels a day – the mailbox has several separate boxes of different sizes, where the parcels can be put” says Tanel Raun, Business Development Manager at Parcelsea.
As part of a pilot project, Parcelsea and Tänava Farm are experimenting with each other from the point of view of making life easier for a small producer. “We are interested in the experience of both the farmer and his old and new customers,” says Raun. The knowledge gained from the pilot project is planned to be applied to improve the process of ordering, installing and using Parcelsea parcel boxes according to the user experience.
EN 
ET 
DE