Canadian Companies 1VALET and Snaile Partner to Solve Multi-Family Parcel Delivery Management

OTTAWA & MISSISSAUGA, Ontario--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Smart building solution provider 1VALET and parcel locker company Snaile announced today a partnership to improve package deliveries to residents in Canadian multi-family buildings. The partnership will see the two Canadian companies combine their contactless entry system and automated parcel lockers respectively, to offer a re-imagined solution for package deliveries to multi-family buildings.

Access to non-concierge multi-family buildings has traditionally been limited to Canada Post. In Canada, all buildings are required by law to have letter mail receptacles and low-tech key locks for Canada Post to gain entry. This process is severely restrictive, and disproportionately impedes access for other prominent courier companies such as Purolator, UPS, DHL, FedEx, Canpar, and Intelcom, one of Canada’s major Amazon delivery companies. Unsuccessful deliveries are also an ongoing financial burden for these organizations, and contribute to unnecessary pollution and traffic across Canadian cities.

Together, 1VALET and Snaile have re-imagined this process.

Located in the vestibule of a building, the 1VALET Entry Console grants smart and secure building access to major delivery companies by allowing them to scan the barcode of “in-transit” packages specific to that building. Through integrations with courier-specific APIs, the Entry Console first affirms a list of specialized safety criteria before unlocking the lobby door for courier access.

“In light of the global pandemic, this is the perfect time to introduce an innovative and contactless solution for package delivery,” said 1VALET Founder & CEO Jean-Pierre Poulin. “Our joint solution will not only solve many of the delivery issues plaguing courier companies, but will also vastly improve the resident experience by eliminating the need to pick-up missed packages at third-party locations. The traction we’ve received as a result of this solution is just further validation for our limitless smart building ecosystem.”

From there, Snaile takes over the rest of the process. Once in the building, carriers use the Snaile parcel lockers to select the required compartment size and delivery unit address. The compartment then opens automatically, with Snaile taking custody of the parcel and storing it safely. The Snaile smart locker generates a one-time contactless QR pickup code and sends it to residents via SMS, app, or email.

“This innovative solution by Snaile and 1VALET enables convenient, secure, and contactless parcel delivery & retrieval” said Snaile CEO Patrick Armstrong. “Snaile lockers eliminate a number of potential security issues, including theft, excessive parcels which are combustibles in common areas, and encumbered egress routes which attribute to fire code violations caused by overflowing package rooms.”

The parcel problem is well-known in Canadian multi-family buildings. There has been a double-digit rise in parcel volumes over the last few years — a trend driven by millennials with rising disposable income and increased online spending habits. COVID-19 has accentuated this problem, causing a massive uptick in parcels flowing into condominiums and apartments across the country.

According to StatsCan, retail e-commerce sales reached a record $3.9 billion in May — a 2.3% increase over April and a massive 99.3% increase over February ($2 billion). Year-over-year, e-commerce sales have more than doubled at an increase of 110.8% compared with May 2019. Snaile is already operating in 24 Canadian cities and has seen a 57% increase in same building volumes compared to the year before.

More e-commerce sales mean more parcels and greater demand for a better solution. The 1VALET and Snaile system has been tested over the last year and is ready for deployment. Initial commercial installations will begin in Ottawa, ON in September 2020, with each system available separately.