About PostNL
A dynamic company in a changing market
Working in a constantly changing market, the Dutch postal service, PostNL is a dynamic company delivering logistics services internationally. With a retail market that exists increasingly online and a marked growth in parcel deliveries, PostNL has adapted and grown to provide of all-in-one solutions for logistics and other online retail support services.
PostNL offers its customers solutions that start with setting up online stores and end with delivering orders to a customer’s front door. PostNL even take care of goods handling, storage and the entire administrative side of the online retail buying chain.
As a result of these changing market trends, there are now increasingly more expensive goods being sent by post. Security is therefore an increasingly important issue, and PostNL wanted to ensure items did not disappear en route to their destination, while at the same time, needed to carefully assess the cost implications of upgrading its security provisions. As a result, he PostNL security team drew up a comprehensive business case clearly defining existing ongoing costs, the amount to be invested in any upgrade project and the related return on investment they needed to achieve.
Challenges
Improved surveillance and cost savings
At first glance, the challenge for PostNL security appeared to have contradictory objectives: reducing cost, while maintaining at least the same level of security, and improving the monitoring of its six post sorting centres, eight parcel depots as well as other critical facilities. Their existing surveillance operation was controlled from a central control centre, which already achieved massive savings by reducing manned guarding at each individual site, yet operational challenges and gaps in security were caused by operators needing to monitor disparate systems. Therefore, PostNL recognised the need to integrate these systems into one security management platform, whereby all surveillance monitoring, alarms and alerts and reporting were run from one unified solution.
Solutions
Efficient centralised monitoring
PostNL engaged Beveco Gebouwautomatisering to develop and install software for integrating a variety of disparate security systems, which the leading Dutch systems integrator then unified into IDIS Solution Suite (ISS). ISS presented PostNL with the powerful functionality of a server-based security management solution, which presents a cost-effective modular design, and allowed PostNL to choose only the modules they needed including admin, monitoring and video wall services. As well as upgrading the surveillance of critical areas, with IDIS DirectIP™ full-HD cameras, ISS also allowed PostNL to integrate legacy IDIS analogue digital video recorders (DVRs) that were over twelve years old, to avoid a costly rip and replace methodology that would have required a highlevel of upfront capital investment.
ISS is now providing PostNL with a centralised security management solution that allows security operatives to manage events in real-time, from the opening of gates across all its facilities, efficiently deal with every-day security operations through to executing a fast and appropriate response to suspicious behaviour or full-scale emergencies.
Results
Reliable image quality
when it comes to the detail
Monitored 24/7 by two operators and overseen by a security manager, PostNL have increased the security of both its staff and facilities as well as safeguarding its customer goods, ensuring a premium quality of service for online retail customers. At the same time, the company has significantly increased operational effectiveness, with the IDIS solution integrating around 3,000 cameras from a range of manufacturers that are now all managed and controlled via the user-friendly ISS interface.
Marc Kleiberg,
Service and Operations Manager, PostNL Security said:
" The IDIS solution does exactly what it says on the tin. In our line of work, it often comes down to detecting the smallest level of detail. The new IDIS full-HD, networked cameras are providing us with crystal clear images with little to no latency, allowing operatives to detect the slightest level of suspicious behaviour. The ISS solution is also giving us a staged and affordable migration path from our existing analogue systems through to full-HD networked surveillance across all of our sites with these upgrade projects already underway. With IDIS technology, we knew we were guaranteed high-quality and reliability. PostNL continues to use 12/13-year-old IDIS recording devices, which are still functioning well with very few outages such as failed disks or malfunctions, which is testament to IDIS quality and reliability. It’s this long lifespan that also makes IDIS the logical and reliable choice for all our future surveillance requirements. "
