The United States Postal Service handled 158.4 billion pieces of mail last year. UPS added another 4.3 billion to that tally and FedEx another 1.2 billion. For many of those the sender had to wait in line to fill out all the paperwork necessary to get their package sent and on the other end many who were not home when their package was delivered had to wait in line to pick it up.
What if all this waiting in line were eliminated? What if you could drop off or pick up your package hassle free with the tap of a few buttons. That’s the idea behind Swapbox, a San Francisco start-up that aims to take the pain out of the $1 trillion mailing industry.
CEO and founder Neel Murthy says his company solves the first mile and last mile problems that cause so much frustration for consumers. When a Swapbox customer wants to send a package they go to the nearest kiosk (there are 21 in San Francisco, the only city with the service for the time being). Using a touch screen they answer a few questions about the package and mailing information, swipe their credit card and leave it in one of the locked boxes where it waits for Swapbox to process and ship it.
Murtha says of his company, “The concept is it’s fully automated and the hours of operation fit your schedule. All of our places are open til 10 or 11 pm, a lot of them are open 24/7 because they are in places you already go - convenience stores, gas stations and grocery stores.”
Picking up a package is just as easy. Instead of giving an ecommerce site, for example, your home address you have them ship it to your local Swapbox. When the package arrives you are notified by text or email. You go back to the kiosk, swipe your card and remove your package from its assigned locker.
To be fair, the concept is not a new one. Mailboxes Etc. or even regular Post Office boxes have been around forever. Murthy says his company sets itself apart by focusing on customer experience and convenience. “Because we can accept packages from all these different carriers (they use UPS, FedEx and the U.S. Postal Service), all the different e-commerce sites, we really offer a value prop there that no one else can compete with.”
Critics would argue Swapbox is setting themselves up to become the first choice of the nefarious, shipping goods they shouldn’t with a new sense of anonymity. Murtha says his company is depending on the shipping services themselves (FedEx, UPS and the Postal Service) to police what is being sent, just as they do now.
While Swapbox was founded and expanded in the start-up friendly confines of San Francisco, Murthy hopes to begin expanding the business bringing his company’s brand of convenience to cities from coast to coast.
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