Taiwan’s first facility featuring the next generation of iBOX terminals would be launched at Chingtian Post Office in Taipei in February, Chunghwa Post said yesterday.
The new service is to be launched to boost the usage rate of iBOXes, the company said.
It added that the service would increase its competitive edge against online shopping operators such as Shopee, which waives delivery fees if buyers pick up items at its retail stores.
Photo courtesy of Chunghwa Post
IBOX terminals are installed at 2,408 locations, with the usage rate being about 50 to 55 percent, Chunghwa Post chairman Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) told reporters at a luncheon, adding that most people use iBOX to pick up mail or packages.
The fifth-generation terminals would have their storage capacity increased to 130 compartments in some locations with high usage rates, up from 40 to 120 compartments, and separate compartments for senders and recipients, Wang said.
People can pick up packages without concern for personal data leaks, while individual sellers and small and medium-sized businesses can select larger storage spaces for their products, he said.
“All iBOX terminals would eventually function as uncrewed facilities,” he said. “Along with 1,295 post offices across the nation, we will have about 3,700 service points nationwide.”
Department of Mail Business and Operations director Ke Ching-chang (柯清長) said that a trial of an uncrewed facility featuring the new iBOX system would begin on Feb. 14 at Chingtian Post Office, which is near National Taiwan Normal University.
On March 20, the same facility would be launched simultaneously at Guoji Road Post Office in Taoyuan, Siangshan Post Office in Taichung, Shanhua Post Office in Tainan and Yushan Office in Chiayi City, Chunghwa Post said.
The next-generation system is part of the postal firm’s efforts to further digitize its operations amid a decline in its mail and package delivery business, Wang said.
Last year, Chunghwa Post lost NT$1.65 billion (US$50.51 million).
The company’s online shopping site, Postmall, would be transformed into a seller of specialty products produced across Taiwan, Wang said, adding that a new app would allow people to buy postal life insurance plans.
To boost its mail delivery business, the company has produced stamp folders and other postal service products featuring Taiwan’s Premier12 baseball championship team, Olympic boxing gold medalist Lin Yu-ting (林郁婷), and badminton gold medalists Lee Yang (李洋) and Wang Chi-ling (王齊麟), it said.
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