SendSuite^® Tracking provides speedy delivery service to UConn students

Executive Summary

“Students can be expecting multiple packages, and if they have something specific they’re waiting for, the ability to see an image of the package before they even come to the mailroom is valuable.” Lori Nye, Manager Logistics Administration
University of Connecticut

The University of Connecticut, known universally as UConn, includes 10 schools and colleges at the flagship Storrs campus, separate schools of Law and Social Work in Hartford, five regional campuses and the schools of Medicine and Dental Medicine at UConn Health in Farmington. With 30,000-plus students, more than 13,500 reside on-campus. Residential Life plays a vital role in the success of UConn and its students by providing quality facilities, personnel, services, and programs. That’s why finding a solution to a backlog in parcel delivery to students became a top priority when the problem was escalated to the University President.

Business Challenge

The traditional concept of students eagerly awaiting packages from home still holds true. Incoming packages have multiplied with the increase of online ordering, including diverse items such as books, groceries, medical prescriptions and scooters. From Autumn 2014 to Spring 2015, 143,801 student packages were delivered to eight mailrooms. While USPS delivered to the mail services facilities, FedEx and UPS delivered directly to students’ dorm rooms. The result was delayed, erroneous or lost deliveries and unhappy students. With articles in the local and student newspapers publicizing the problem, the challenge was to consolidate mail services and provide accurate, timely delivery.

Solution

SendSuite Tracking met UConn’s need for a system designed for a large-scale, multi-location solution. Made-to-order features such as a sophisticated notification system, security-driven technology, advanced reporting and chain-of-custody accountability, addressed current process challenges. The solution sends email and text to recipients notifying them of package delivery, automates receiving areas, provides real-time package status, and facilitates re-routing requests. The OneSort Pro solution performs as the data on-ramp, greatly reducing the need for manual data entry. Integrating the two systems provided UConn’s mail services with the powerful one-two punch it needed to sort out its parcel delivery problem. 

Benefits

“When students come to the counter for a package, they swipe their ID and the system pulls up any packages that have arrived for them along with exact shelf location.” Lori Nye, Manager Logistics Administration
University of Connecticut

The improvement in the parcel delivery situation was almost immediate. The solution has eliminated the need for FedEx and UPS trucks to deliver to eight different locations. Everything is now delivered to the main mail services facility, inducted using the OneSort Pro and tracked throughout the campus until final delivery via SendSuite Tracking.

Lori Nye, Manager of Logistics Administration for UConn, cites the reduced wait time in mail rooms as another benefit. “Pitney Bowes helped us tag and barcode all the shelving the packages go into,” she said. “When students come to the counter for a package, they swipe their ID and the system pulls up any packages that have arrived for them along with exact shelf location.” If the student has multiple packages, the system provides a list of locations, significantly reducing the time it takes to locate packages.

Student feedback indicates that the image-capture feature of the OneSort system is a hit. “Students can be expecting multiple packages,” says Nye, “and if they have something specific they’re waiting for, the ability to see an image of the package before they even come to the mailroom is valuable.” When students know whether the package is Love from Home (parental goodies) or medication or a product from Amazon, they’re more likely to pick up the package more quickly, freeing up storage space and resulting in fewer uncollected packages. The solution also ensures the validity of a student’s address. The OneSort system captures the data on the package and passes the information to SendSuite Tracking, which interfaces with the most current student directory. “So if a student moves today,” says Nye, “and gets a package the next day, that package will be delivered to the correct place.”