Drowning in a sea of boxes: how college mail centres can automate package tracking

Thanks to the increase in parcel shipping that stems from the boom in online shopping, places that receive a large number of packages face unique challenges. This is particularly true where there is a large population in a defined space—perhaps the ultimate example is university campuses. The increased volume means storage space is at a premium and thus, quick turnaround of the parcels is a priority. It also means more work for employees on the back end—more work to field emails and calls about a package, more work sending delivery notifications and even more work if the package can’t be found.

A recent Forbes Insights report, “The Art and Science of Shipping: How the Increasingly Complex World of Shipping Is Being Simplified,” sponsored by Pitney Bowes, examines this problem, among other shipping challenges.

College and university students do a lot of online shopping. All-inclusive shipping offerings like Amazon Prime have fuelled parcel mail volume. Add in all the care packages sent from home and mail centres struggle to keep up. And all those packages combined with antiquated receiving, notification and pickup procedures can lead to disgruntled students and parents.

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