Concept

What is an intelligent pickup point?

An intelligent pickup point is a space built into a shipping container that handles the work unmanned retail normally demands from people. The point regulates temperature, records origin, recognises the collector, and reports its own state to the platform continuously. A standard 20-foot container becomes a point you can replicate in another city and for another product range. The platform is the same one running willit.fi and lahikalaa.fi in production. The first point opens in Oulu, and the same package is available to other operators.

What can move through the point

The point is not built for one product category but for handling requirements. Once the cold zone, traceability, and access are solved, the product type only decides which zone it goes into. The selection is curated per location.

Products needing deep freeze: a dedicated -18 °C zone, continuous monitoring, and alerts on deviation
The most sensitive fresh products: a 0-2 °C zone for short shelf life
Other chilled products: a 0-6 °C zone, adjustable to the selection
Dry and ambient goods and preserves round out the selection in the same point

Sizes and configurations

The first point starts with a 20-foot container, and the concept is designed to scale to larger formats as demand grows. Fittings are modular and interchangeable, so the same shell serves different selections.

20 ft

6058 × 2438 mm, a compact point for a single location

40 ft

12192 × 2438 mm, larger capacity and more sellers under one roof

High Cube

Taller container for bigger shelving and a more visible exterior

Custom

A modular set of multiple containers, tailored to the location and the selection

The first point opens in Oulu

The concept was born in Oulu, and that is where the first point opens. It is being designed with producers, local designers, and commercial partners. The pilot exists to prove the whole package in practice and to produce the numbers the next points need: utilisation, shrinkage, restocking trips, and what a point really costs per month.

First location in Oulu, exact site to be confirmed with the partner
Every point gets its own branded online store that mirrors the local offering
The selection is always curated to the location
Pilot metrics are documented from day one, so the next point can be calculated in advance
Interested operators, producers, and site partners can sign up to take part now

Location strategy

Points are not placed at random. Finland's most visible unmanned shops closed because of low footfall, not because the technology failed. So every location is calculated against an existing route, the demand, and the selection. Points work as a network that scales from city to city: one point rarely carries itself, a network does.

Technology

Cold chain and monitoring

Adjustable cold zones for frozen goods, the most sensitive fresh products, and other chilled items. BLE sensors log temperature continuously and a deviation raises an alert immediately. The point is designed to run on a standard 32A connection.

Platform and online store

Every point gets its own branded online store on the same platform as willit.fi and lahikalaa.fi. Orders, payments, inventory, pickup codes, and reporting live in one system.

Access without staff

The door opens with a pickup code or a door button. Rights are role-based: a buyer reaches their own order, a producer a restocking visit, maintenance the hardware. Every opening is logged.

Remote management and device monitoring

Devices report their state to the platform every five minutes. Door, lock, temperature, and connectivity are visible remotely, so a fault is caught before a customer notices it.

Food safety and compliance

Willit handles self-monitoring plan (omavalvontasuunnitelma) requirements for you. The system meets EU Regulation (EC) 852/2004 and Finnish Food Authority (Ruokavirasto) requirements. Only packaged products are sold in unmanned self-service.

Temperature monitoring

IoT sensors log temperature continuously at least every 15 minutes. Adjustable zones: -18 °C for frozen products, 0-2 °C for the most sensitive fresh products, 0-6 °C for other chilled products. Automatic alerts for deviations.

HACCP hazard analysis

Critical control points (CCPs) identified, limits defined, and corrective actions documented automatically.

Traceability

Every product traceable to the seller and the production or harvest date. "One step back, one step forward" implemented automatically.

Expiry management

Products are automatically removed from sale after their use-by date. No manual tracking needed.

Frequently asked questions

A delivery covers the point, its own online store, the cold chain, the devices, access control, payments, and food-safety compliance. You can take the whole package or only the part you are missing: the platform alone, the devices alone, or both for your own container.

Yes. The same platform and the same devices are available to another operator, another city, and another product range. We go through the location, the selection, and the timeline, and tell you what is realistic.

The location is calculated against the route people already take, the demand, and the selection. In unmanned points the site decides utilisation more than the lock or payment technology does, so this is the first thing we do together.

The point is refrigerated and temperature is monitored by IoT sensors at least every 15 minutes. Adjustable zones: -18 °C for frozen products, 0-2 °C for the most sensitive fresh products, 0-6 °C for other chilled products. A deviation raises an alert immediately.

The door opens with a pickup code or a door button. Rights are role-based: buyer, producer, and maintenance reach different things. Every opening is logged, so what happened at the point can be verified afterwards.

In unsupervised retail, shrinkage typically runs at 2-8 percent early on. Here every opening is logged and the point locks outside opening hours, so an open shelf is never left unwatched overnight. Shrinkage is measured from the start of the pilot.

Only packaged products are sold in unmanned self-service, and for food the seller needs a hygiene passport. Willit handles the self-monitoring plan in compliance with EU Regulation (EC) 852/2004 and Ruokavirasto requirements.

Payments run through the platform, and settlements and reports are generated automatically. No cash is needed, and no manual bookkeeping is left to whoever runs the point.