Thailand Post says it is switching to smart mailboxes in an effort to make the state enterprise more in line with the current digital landscape.
Thailand Post Co Ltd, a state enterprise under the Digital Economy and Society Ministry, is collaborating with CAT Telecom Plc to develop smart mailboxes for more efficient service provision.
Thai Post will work with state-owned telecoms company CAT Telecom to produce mailboxes that will use “Internet of Things” technology to detect when parcels are deposited.
Korkit Danchaivichit, Thailand Post president, says the initiative has been designed to postal collections being more efficiently managed.
The boxes will be fitted with special sensors. When someone drops a letter or package into a box, the data will be transmitted to the nearest Thailand Post office for action.
Staff will monitor the mailboxes’ status via personal computers, smartphones, or tablets.
The platform can also log the number of items being dropped in the box along with the date and time stamp. This will help collection staff manage their schedules more efficiently.
The system is also being introduced to promote users’ confidence that their mail is monitored and accounted for at all times, reducing the risk of lost mail.
Korkit said that the postal service currently deals with over 1.6 billion items each year and that the new initiative will eventually see up to 22,000 smart mailboxes installed around the country.
With Thailand Post handling billions of mailings and packages each year, Thai Post is planning to install 1,000 smart mailboxes in Bangkok and its perimeter areas within 2020 to streamline the collection process.
By the end of 2021, they aim to install up to 22,000 smart mailboxes nationwide to cover the increasing needs of customers, especially those in e-commerce and logistics industries.
Besides the smart mailbox project, CAT Telecom is additionally offering high-speed internet via Wi-Fi at all branches of Thailand Post free of charge. This is to allow users access to Thailand Post’s online services, such as tracking their packages.
