About Smart Point
What is Smart Point and how is it different from other smart locker systems? This Catalan company, with a presence in several Spanish (including Barcelona and Madrid) and European (London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Lisbon and Copenhagen) cities, has given an innovative twist to the smart locker sector. They have designed an ecosystem of lockers that provide a solution for all parcel companies (from distribution giants to local couriers), maintaining the highest security standards. They have also developed a marketplace that opens up a world of possibilities for users, from requesting dry cleaning services to having your car inspected, to ordering succulent delicacies from different pastry shops.
In summary, here is the value of Smart Point across it’s two focussed lines of business:
- Smart lockers for parcels in public locations that, unlike other smart locker services, are universal; They can be used by any of the affiliated courier companies, offering an easy and sustainable solution to the complex logistics challenge of the last mile.
- A complete marketplace with a wide range of services and products that users can request and manage through their nearest Smart Point. Users have categories as diverse as health and food, office supplies, florists or key copies.
Its commitment to new technologies, digital transformation and smart buildings also extends to health centres, providing exclusive services for hospitals. The best example is the Smart Point at the Sant Joan de Déu hospital, which allows employees to save time on errands and paperwork, and improve the balance between their personal and professional lives.
Smart Point’s innovation was rewarded in 2020, when its forward thinking Butler service won the first MIPIM® Proptech of The Year award, an award that recognises the most disruptive projects in the real estate sector.
How does Smart Point help improve urban sustainability?
Smart Point was born with a mission as green as its logo: to convert European cities into sustainable cities, through a double objective of offering useful and comfortable solutions to the user and decongesting traffic in urban areas. How does this young company approach such an ambitious goal?
The universal locker system allows a 100% guaranteed delivery, compared to the 70% national average; this saves parcel companies many unnecessary miles, contributing to a substantial reduction in vehicle emissions. In addition, Smart Point has a fleet of electric vehicles for deliveries with zero emissions which contributes to sustainability and cleaner air in urban spaces .
On the other hand, the Smart Points are low consumption and their configuration options include the possibility of adding charging stations for bicycles or electric scooters, favouring the use of sustainable mobility in cities .
Although they are still in the growth phase, they already have a good number of Smart Points deployed in public locations in cities such as Madrid, Barcelona or Girona and a notable growth in the number of locations is expected over the next year. Thanks to their flexible and modular solutions, they can install their smart lockers in a wide variety of locations, from offices or commercial establishments to residential areas.
Secure cellular connectivity is key in the operation of Smart Points
From the very beginning of the project, at Smart Point they were clear that connectivity was an essential part of their product, and they opted for cellular technology for two main reasons:
- It is necessary to guarantee connectivity and ensure data integrity so that packages can be delivered and picked up only by the recipient. It is this connectivity that allows delivery to be 100% guaranteed.
- It is impractical to depend on external connections, such as WiFi in commercial establishments. They add an additional layer of complexity and uncertainty. “Will I need to reconfigure the firewall or open specific ports?” Cellular connectivity offers the customer a plug and play solution, independent of the network infrastructure available in each location.
Multi-operator SIMs with private APN to connect smart lockers
After some initial prospecting, Smart Point stumbled across Wireless Logic. We proposed a solution tailored to their needs: M2M SIM cards with private APN to provide communication between the smart lockers and the cloud-based application. In addition, Conexa’s multi-operator coverage allows the Catalan company to offer its customers a maximum guarantee of connectivity, whatever the location.
For optimal connectivity, it is necessary to maintain control. The SIMPro connectivity platform offers maximum flexibility to the customer, facilitating order requests, online activations and checking the status of each of their SIMs. As Smart Point’s fleet of smart lockers continues to grow, the strengths of the platform will become more apparent as they can manage all of their deployed assets from a single interface.
When we found Wireless Logic, Ander gave us great advice from the start. The relationship has always been very fluid, and we highly value the service and customer support