Challenges Faced by University Mailrooms and Their Solutions

Due to an increase in the number of websites offering online shopping, people are increasingly buying stuff online over the past few years. This means that the number of packages that an average organization receives has now increased manifolds. The situation is no different for universities. Where a few years ago, there were only some occasional packages and regular letters, the university mailrooms are now flooded with personal packages and books ordered online. As a result, the traditional mailroom fails to comply with the increasing expectations of efficiency from the students. Because today’s digital savvy generation doesn't like to stand in long lines to pick up their packages.

Also, there are a couple more challenges faced by the mailroom workforce that causes overwhelm in both, the staff and the employees. Let’s have a look at the common challenges faced by the university mailroom and their solutions.

Challenges

The number of packages received by university campuses is increasing by 15% every year now. The speed at which the packages are pouring in has caused the mailroom systems to lag behind. As a result, there’s an increase in the amount of waiting time. Plus, several packages go undelivered and the precious mailroom estate is kept occupied.

Decreased volume of traditional mail

With an increase in the number of incoming packages, the number of traditional mail has decreased tremendously. The traditional mailroom estate that’s been designed with individual lockers for students goes largely unused.

Missed deliveries, long waiting times

Due to manual mailroom operations, it has become increasingly difficult to handle the influx of incoming packages. As a result, there are long lines outside mailroom and often lost deliveries, because it’s now difficult to keep track of each package manually. This has resulted in frustration in both, students and staff.

Solutions

Package tracking apps

The easiest way to keep up with the technological advancements in the world of online shopping is to turn to technology itself. Delivery management apps have made it very easy to manage 100s of deliveries in minutes. One such app is PackageX. PackageX is a package management app that lifts all the weight off your shoulders and does the tiresome task of managing deliveries for you. All you need to do is scan the delivery label, and PackageX will automatically identify and notify the correct recipient. Every delivery that’s logged into the app can be tracked easily and the recipients can simply leave a digital signature at the time of pickup. This whole system brings waiting time down to almost zero. Plus, it makes sure no package is lost.

Intelligent lockers

Another great solution to mailroom woes is to introduce Intelligent Lockers in your university. Unlike traditional, individually assigned lockers, Intelligent Lockers are large, shared lockers. Students simply need to be sent a notification via SMS or email with a unique one-time code to unlock the locker. This not only saves up a lot of space in the mailroom real estate but also reduces the chances of missing deliveries and waiting for long hours.

Running mailroom operations is no easy feat. There are several challenges faced by the management which, if tackled efficiently, can turn a mailroom into a very well-operated and productive.