From the user's point of view, the delivery process works as follows: a Russian Post courier picks up the parcel in the destination city and delivers it to an automated delivery terminal. The user receives an SMS notification when the order has been delivered. They then go to the terminal, enter a confirmation code, and the box opens for pick-up.

Our task was to automate this entire system to facilitate communication between the three parties: postal terminals, Russian Post, and users.

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Security

We implemented a system to securely transfer data between postal terminals and postal partners. Server data is strictly confidential and inaccessible externally. SigFox's private network is used to connect to Russian Post. Data sent to Russian Post goes through closed VPN servers for added security.

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Room for potential partners

Since Russian Post is not the only potential postal partner, we designed a flexible system that can integrate other partners. For example, Russian Post required two-way VPN configuration, as described above. Of course, handling sensitive customer data is a major responsibility, so safety is crucial. However, other postal companies may have different integration requirements than Russian Post, so we implemented a separate VPN server.

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SMS control

A potentially controversial part of the user-partner interaction is the SMS with a code to open the appropriate locker. To ensure that messages are received, we integrated with GreenSms, which notifies us of successful deliveries. If a message fails, the service retries sending.

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Results

Collaborating with two partners simultaneously can make a project challenging. However, our project management and product approach enabled us to handle every aspect successfully. To facilitate data exchange and terminal operations, we implemented a multi-level admin panel for SigBox. This panel provides comprehensive statistics on terminal use and status, allowing managers and IT specialists to track processes and make the postal operations more efficient than they were before our project was completed.

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