PostNord Group is a leading provider of parcel and logistics services in the Nordics. In 2020, the Group had around 28,000 employees and sales of SEK 38.7 billion.
Challenge
PostNord’s shifting from an archaic sorting and distribution process to one that offers live delivery updates has meant huge changes in IT infrastructure, software, and apps. These all need to work in unison to ensure information flows unhindered from the point of a customer making an order to a package being handed over. Constant updates and enhancements are needed that must be tested to ensure the smooth running of the entire system. Like many organizations, PostNord has agile development methods. Automation of testing in this context is vital because there is never enough time to stop and test manually. Many developers were using it and the company wanted to accelerate that across the business.
Solution
PostNord embarked on a proof-of concept project with UiPath Test Suite to check a vital system for traceable items. At the start of the process, a sender creates a label for their letter. Information flows into the business. That data goes into the track and trace software, which is accessed by the sender and the recipient. The addressee then receives a pre-notification of delivery and may choose to change the time or place of delivery. A postal worker scans the delivery at the doorstep, which creates a confirmation alert. The recipient can then offer feedback.
Over time, software upgrades are made, new apps created, and extra functionality added. In doing so, a minor change in one area can have knock-on effects in others. Automation, conducted by software robots at night, allows for thousands of virtual test items to be processed at high speed. Any bugs in the system can be spotted and fixed instead of customers experiencing a glitch.
Automation Prospects
“We will continue in the same direction, finding new processes to check. There are so many that we must prioritize the important ones. We can’t cover everything. We’ll never be short of things to do and are also preparing to get more developers onboarded with the UiPath tools.”
Erik Kaare Andersen, Senior Test Architect, PostNord
Automation by Numbers
- 20 end-to-end processes under constant testing
- 30 developers using UiPath Test Suite
- 10 software robots running UiPath tests
