Credits: Smart City | DB, DB AG / Oliver Lang
With Box – Die Abholstation customers can easily and contactlessly collect and return parcels and other goods at a pick-up station at the railway station. Whether it is orders from online shops or stationary retail, the flexible Click&Collect service is available to any retailer and can be used conveniently and flexibly by end customers at public transport stations. Box – Die Abholstation is currently active at around 450 railway stations, with plans to open up more than 800 pick-up stations across Germany.
Box – Die Abholstation is a sustainable and convenient service for receiving and returning parcels. And best of all, retailers can decide whether to deliver their orders by their own logistics department or by a parcel service provider of their choice. By using the service, shipments can be delivered flexibly in terms of time and bundled at highly frequented public transport stations throughout Germany. A sustainable and efficient solution for the logistical last mile.
How can retailers connect to the service?
There are two ways for retailers to use the Click&Collect-service:
1. Online booking portal: With the online booking portal, retailers can immediately use the service regardless of the operating system via PC, smartphone or tablet. With this option, shipments can be created and managed manually via a web application – particularly suitable for retailers without an existing online shop or with low to medium usage volumes.
2. Checkout integration: Checkout integration enables the fully automated integration of pick-up stations as a shipping method in your existing eCommerce system using application programming interfaces (APIs). This option is particularly suitable for online shop and marketplace operators.
Credits: Smart City | DB
Fully automated integration using the Merchant API
The Merchant API enables the fully automated creation and management of shipments as well as integration into the merchant’s existing applications and eCommerce systems. This enables retailers to initiate actions, conversely, receive notifications of shipment status changes. The automated connection via API is recommended for operators of online shops and marketplaces that are expected to have a high volume of use.
By integrating the merchant API, retailers have the great flexibility in terms of integration. The direct integration allows the retailer to enable end customers to independently select the nearest pick-up stations. New shipments and the associated shipping labels in various sizes and opening codes for the pick-up stations can be automatically retrieved via the API for further processing. For example, labels can be printed and notifications sent to customers automatically. All communication with the end customer remains with the retailer.
Sandbox mode as a test environment
A sandbox mode is available for the integration with the merchant API. This simulates the behaviour of the production system with virtual shipments and notifications. The sandbox mode thus offers a flexible and risk-free option for comprehensive tests when integrating the system into your own processes and solutions. The status of the sandbox shipments can also be changed independently by retailers in order to simulate the deposit and collection. The entire location network with all the associated information is available in the test environment.
The sandbox mode is used with a specially generated API key. Optionally, a callback URL can also be stored for the sandbox mode.
Developer Guide
The Developer Guide is the documentation for the Merchant API described above. It documents the API interfaces and system processes that are relevant for their integration and use.
In addition, a so-called “Swagger UI” is integrated into the Developer Guide. This is an open source tool that provides an interactive user interface for visualising, exploring and interacting with the Merchant API. The Swagger UI enables developers to understand and try out the API endpoints, parameters, responses and error messages without having to use additional tools or write code.
The advantages of checkout integration at a glance
- With this option, Box – Die Abholstation can be flexibly integrated into existing checkout or fulfilment workflows using the merchant API.
- The management of shipments can be fully automated.
- You receive notifications about status changes to your shipments, for example when they are successfully delivered to a pick-up station or collected by the end customer.
- You also have the option of automatically retrieving and processing delivery and collection codes as well as delivery labels in various sizes.
If you are interested in a co-operation, please contact the sales team at Box – Die Abholstation. They will deal with your enquiry promptly and get back to you. After the technical activation, you can create a customer account and benefit from the Click&Collect service as well as the comprehensive network at highly frequented public transport locations.
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