What happens to your packages when you’re not at your desk?

Busy post rooms and staff awaiting parcels want all incoming mail to be delivered quickly and efficiently. When this happens, business can continue unimpeded by awaited items and the post room is kept clear of mail backlog.

Unfortunately, the reality of incoming parcel management can be something else entirely. Package addressees may be temporarily away from their desks when the post room attempts delivery or calls to inform them their parcel is waiting. With increasingly flexible ways of working, parcel recipients may be working from home or other offices or may be continually away from their desks at the time/s deliveries are attempted.

This can result in packages being signed for by colleagues or returned to the post room. Without a robust means of tracking deliveries, intended recipients may not even be aware their parcel has arrived at all. Packages can go missing, be unaccounted for or even returned to sender if they are not collected.

The problem of missed deliveries

All of this makes for inconvenient time spent trying to trace items and post room staff having to handle the same delivered item multiple times. If parcels cannot be located, their contents may have to be replaced, possibly at unnecessary expense to the company.

Manual, paper-based mail handling processes that are heavily reliant on staff are often to be found at the root of the problem. Here, an intelligent parcel management system, with automation, can help. It won’t change the fact that people aren’t always at their desks when parcels arrive, but it can alleviate the inconvenience that can cause, and help overcome the security issue that uncollected goods present for post rooms.

How parcel lockers can help

Instead of tracking down an individual to deliver a package to them, it’s placed in a secure parcel locker and the recipient is sent an email informing them of the delivery. They can then go to the designated locker to retrieve the parcel when it suits them. They gain access by entering the code/barcode they received in the email into the locker’s touchscreen.

In this way, the location of the parcel is traceable, multiple delivery attempts are averted and the item is held securely in a known location until the addressee can collect it. The electronic data trail provides traceability and post room staff are alleviated of the stress of protecting potentially valuable goods.

Above all, parcel lockers save time at each stage of the delivery cycle; time that can be spent on more productive pursuits for the business.

As more business is conducted online and the volume of parcels delivered to places of work increases, an efficient way of handling incoming packages is needed. Intelligent parcel lockers can provide an effective solution, as part of a move towards electronic, traceable processes, alleviating frustration and increasing efficiency for post room staff and parcel addressees. Find out what parcel lockers can do for your business.