This is a newly established protocol, the Computer Component Transfer Protocol. It describes the interchange of non-digital information between two agents (client/vendor relationships, for example).
Formerly know by any number of sometimes synonymous definitions: UPS, DHL, FedEx, USPO (deprecated) and a handful of lesser-used mechanisms.
So, anyway, I ordered some info chips from Dell. Dell – along with Amazon – have invariably given me satisfaction with both their delivery time frames and tracking tools.
Dell had to backorder the chips – don’t ask; not germane – but followed up with message saying it was delayed, and finally shipped and all that.
Yesterday, I went back to the “shipment en route” e-mail to see where things were.
To my surprise, the shipment was in the Chicago (my) area. Great. Should be at my house (home delivery, for this order) by end of the next day tops.
A couple of hours later, I head a truck pull away from my house. I looked out the window to see a DHL truck pull away. Wow. The chips had arrived.
I happened to have that order page still open in a browser window; I refreshed the page and the status didn’t update. Whatever. I guessed that the order would be updated when the truck returned to the depot.
I grabbed the delivery, checked out that all was well, and then refreshed the page again: The order reflected the delivery.
So the trucks/units DHL uses has wireless that updates orders virtually instantaneously (the time gap was roughly 10 minutes and I don’t know of any depot that close to my house).
How cool. So, when I see an order updating (checked in to Memphis station, checked out of same…), it’s pretty damn close to real time. That’s impressive.
It also makes me wonder about the future – when/if RFID is accepted and inexpensive, can we expect to be able to track packages like a Mapquest search, where we can watch the package slowly move down the street so we know when to go to the front door/loading dock to pick up the package?
Hell, if there is geocoding in the order (of the customer’s location), an e-mail/page/SMS can be sent when the package X miles from its destination. In addition to the MapQuest concept.
Is this technologically possible? Absolutely.
Will people want this? Absolutely.
Will it be necessary to keep customers (i.e., if FedEx does it, will UPS have to offer same)? I don’t know.
The real $10,000 question is this: Will such capabilities become like a cell phone – expected nowadays, and not the toy/cool gadget it initially was – or will its allure be considered overkill and, frankly, annoying, like PointCast (remember Push [which, ironically, RSS is picking up on in a Pull manner])?