Mail Center Management

The e-commerce boom has changed student buying habits. Many schools are learning how to receive, sort and deliver an exponentially higher number of packages, quickly and accurately, to thousands of students every day. This high volume of incoming packages is the new normal that is straining campus mailing services, increasing operating expenses and overwhelming mail center employees.

Smart mail center managers cope via tracking systems. No more handwritten package-delivery notices. An inbound package tracking system scans packages the second they arrive, prints a barcoded label for the package and generates an email notice for the student recipient. Students receive the email in real time, which encourages fast pickup and reduces the amount of time that packages pile up in your mail center.

An inbound package tracking system also gives you another huge benefit: real-time data. You can see the exact number of packages your mail center receives daily by carrier as well as the amount of time a package sits in your mail center before a student picks it up. Instant data at your fingertips translates into stronger reporting up to management.

Finding packages during the pick-up process gets easier, too. Packages with barcode labels facing out can be stacked to maximize shelf space and can be accessed easily for checkpoints in the process. Plus, barcode tracking reduces the number of lost or missing inbound packages to almost zero.

Grab end-to-end control by automating your inbound parcel management today. Who wins? You. Your mail center staff. And, most importantly, your school’s students.

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

About the Author

Christopher M. O'Brien is executive vice president, Communication and Shipping Solutions, for Neopost USA (www.neopostusa.com). He can be reached at [email protected] or 203/301-3400.

Featured

  • Spaces4Learning Launches 2026 Education Design Showcase Awards

    Spaces4Learning has opened submissions for the 2026 Education Design Showcase! The awards program launched in 1999 with the goal of celebrating innovative, practical solutions in the planning, design, and construction of K–12 and higher-education facilities. EDS recognizes new developments that help achieve optimal learning environments, as well as the architecture firms that brought the ideas to life.

  • Massachusetts K–12 District Selects Architect for New Junior High

    Swansea Public Schools in Swansea, Mass., recently announced that it has selected Finegold Alexander Architects to design a new junior high school for the district, according to a news release. The firm will create the Feasibility Study and Schematic Design for Joseph Case Junior High School after a lengthy selection process by the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA).

  • University of Kentucky Receives $150M Gift Toward New Arts District

    The University of Kentucky’s Board of Trustees recently received a $150-million gift from The Bill Gatton Foundation, according to a university news release, to build a new arts district on the campus in Lexington, Ky. The new district will feature a new College of Fine Arts building and a multi-hundred-seat theater, among other amenities.

  • El Paso District Breaks Ground on New Elementary School

    The Canutillo Independent School District in El Paso, Texas, recently announced that construction has begun on a 119,000-square-foot elementary school, according to a news release. The district partnered with Pfluger Architects, Carl Daniel Architects, and LDCM Solutions on the new Davenport Elementary School, which has an expected completion date of 2027.