Sustainable Tying of Postal Bags
Context
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Lithuanian Post serves residents, businesses, institutions, and organizations. Also provides postal, courier, financial, international, and other services. In 2020, with the start of operations of the new logistics center in Vilnius, the existing parcel distribution processes have changed. From now on, all at the local post office collected parcels and correspondence (both national and international) travel to the logistics center before reaching the final recipient. In the logistics center parcel and correspondence are redistributed and re-sent to the relevant post offices.
All parcels and correspondence both to and from the logistics center are transported in reusable bags (up to 20 kg) (bag accounting is not performed), which are tied with disposable plastic fastening straps – zippers, and the bags are attached with disposable directional tags with a special barcode. Up to 3,000 bags are prepared in one day in the new Vilnius logistics center. Several bags can be prepared for one postman (or post office) (according to different types of items, dates of receipt, etc.).
Challenge
When parcels and correspondence are brought to/from the logistics center to/from the designated post offices, the disposable plastic straps and tags to which the bags are tied are cut and discarded. In this way, about 600,000 straps and tags are used per year in Lithuania. The main challenge is to replace plastic disposable straps and tags with reusable and more sustainable solution.
Solutions
The solution shall be adapted to the current software and management systems used in the logistics center.
The solution shall be more sustainable and easier to recycle than the current method of labeling and tying.
The solution should be reusable, as opposed to the current one-off approach.
The solution shall help ensure the security of the mail bags and inform if the bag is opened before reaching the final destination.