Most of us aren’t sitting around thinking about the mail, everything seems to run like clockwork. Given how routine everything is, I wonder how often you think about your mailbox. Dronedek, now rebranded as Arrive, is hoping to create the first Mailbox As a Service. The company is partnering with Autonomous Delivery Networks to allow for packages to be delivered seamlessly by robot, drone or vehicle. The company is evolving as it seeks to offer the best value proposition for stakeholders. The question remains about how much these mailboxes of the future will penetrate the market.
The Dronedek stock offering has attracted over $720k on the Start Engine crowdfunding site where it is seeking investors. One of the main selling points of the Arrive platform is the security of the package once delivered. Once a package is safely dropped into the mailbox, it will remain until the person it is intended for picks it up. 260 million packages were stolen in the last year, about fifteen percent of people have been victims to package theft.
The costs of the thefts is staggering. In Montclair, New Jersey, a package was recently stolen that contained an eighteen carat ring encrusted with diamonds. This one package alone accounted for $1,300 in damages for the victim. Stories like this are all too common. Some victims have even resorted to vigilante justice, booby trapping the packages to teach the thieves a lesson. Organized theft is on the rise.
The situation worsens when the victim is deprived of medication or delivery of some important item. The thieves who are engaging in this activity are brazen, sometimes armed. In California last year a pregnant woman and a man were arrested in a vehicle which contained bags of mail, the car was littered with drugs. Situations like this highlight the need for more security in the supply chain. The internet and news also went viral with a story about organized gangs robbing packages off trains. Videos and photos of railroad tracks in California, where package thieves had been robbing trains looked like a landfill. The discarded cardboard boxes and packaging material stacked into huge piles alongside the tracks.
Besides offering a solution for dealing with rampant package theft, the Arrive mailbox does have some nice benefits. The system makes sure that packages are safe and disinfected. The mailbox offers a climate controlled atmosphere keeping grocery and medical deliveries at the right temperature. The mailbox is powered by solar and hardwired. The platform can charge drones that land on top of the unit through induction charging.
One of the most important selling points in my opinion is the emergency light on the top of the mailbox that can really help fire and police units find the right address. A lot of mailboxes are in bad condition. In rural areas, this reality often causes rescue units to spend crucial time trying to locate the proper address. The process is more difficult than it should be. In the event of an emergency where every second counts, the Arrive unit is capable of saving lives.
The Arrive mailboxes look similar in stature to the blue postal boxes common in the US. However, the units have better curb appeal to go along with the modern features. It remains to be seen how these units can be integrated into neighborhoods that have HOAs.
The commercial space seems to be the first area that Arrive should be focused on. The units seem like they would be a good fit for hospitals, schools and other large organizations. The mailboxes have the capability of improving people’s lives, Arrive is doing what they can to assure they become part of people’s lives. The team at Arrive is passionate about the work they are doing. It remains to be seen how receptive the market will be to their offering. It should be noted that Dronedek Competitors had the same idea, but Dronedek beat them to the patent office. Will the all new Arrive become our go to smart mailbox?
