East Tennessee State University (ETSU) is home to numerous departments and administrative units, all working to support campus life. Within the bustling mail department, Don McCarty, the Director of Postal and Passport Services, faced a significant challenge: ensuring department mail was picked up in a timely and efficient manner. Recognizing the need for a modern solution to streamline mail management, Don turned to Received Digital to revolutionize the university’s mail handling processes.
Challenge
Before adopting Received Digital, ETSU encountered several hurdles in managing departmental mail efficiently. The traditional process required department administrators to visit mail lockers daily to check for incoming mail. This routine led to inefficiencies and made it impossible for those working remotely to obtain their mail in a timely manner. Don McCarty explains,
Each department didn’t know if they received mail on any given day and had to physically go and check each day only to find out there was no mail. In this day and age, when so many people are now able to work from home, many of the people who pick up the mail only come in once a week.
This situation resulted in unnecessary trips, wasted time, and delays in addressing important mail items as they sat in a locker for days. Additionally, the lack of a tracking mechanism for mail made it difficult for the mail department to answer queries about missing items. Don further noted,
Many of these departments don’t pick up their mail daily, which would leave other members of the department asking us if we had seen certain items, which we wouldn’t be able to answer.
Identifying these challenges as opportunities for improvement, Don sought a solution to improve mail retrieval rates, give remote faculty access to their mail, and enhance accountability for mail received.
Solution
The integration of Received Digital heralded a transformative shift in ETSU’s mail management practices. With its user-friendly interface and intuitive workflow, Received Digital empowers Don and his team to quickly and effortlessly capture images of inbound mail and notify recipients digitally. Don explains,
...[Received Digital] has allowed my office to record what was received and delivered every day. More importantly, it allows the person receiving the mail for the department to see exactly what comes in each day.
The system’s automated, image-based notifications to recipients ensure timely communication, prompting them to collect their mail as soon as it arrives. This feature is particularly beneficial for those working from home, as they can see what has arrived and arrange for someone else to pick it up if necessary. Meanwhile, wasted trips to the mail lockers have been eliminated.
Moreover, Received Digital’s detailed event tracking provides a comprehensive chain of custody for every item, enhancing accountability and helping resolve issues promptly. Don shared a specific benefit:
Several times we have had calls about missing mail, and we have been able to look into the system to see exactly when it arrived and dispatched. Every time the system has shown the mail in question to still be in the locker cabinet.
Benefits
The adoption of Received Digital yielded tangible benefits for ETSU’s mail department. Departments exhibited improved mail retrieval rates, resulting in a reduction of buildups in the campus mail lockers. This decrease in unclaimed items translates into a lighter workload for Don and his team, enhancing operational efficiency and reducing the need for manual intervention. Don says,
The support on setting the system up and working to improve or change the system to exactly meet our needs has been outstanding. The system is simple to use but robust enough to accommodate future possible changes and additions.
Additionally, the ease of use and reliability of Received Digital garnered praise from Don’s colleagues, who found the process straightforward and beneficial. For recipients, less trips to the mail lockers and better visibility into their inbound mail has resulted in even greater satisfaction with Don’s exceptional services. Don explains,
I truly love the ability to see exactly what has arrived and when and where it went all in one program. Departments have commented how beneficial it has been in letting them know exactly what is coming their way.
Conclusion
East Tennessee State University’s adoption of Received Digital marks a significant milestone in the evolution of its mail management practices. By leveraging the platform’s advanced features and intuitive interface, Don McCarty and his team have successfully addressed the unclaimed mail problem while also improving operational efficiency and enhancing the overall experience for departments. As ETSU continues to prioritize innovation and efficiency, Received Digital remains a vital tool in optimizing campus mail operations and fostering a seamless experience for all stakeholders.
About Received Digital
Received Digital has reimagined the inbound mail and package receiving process, bringing a new and modern application to mailrooms big and small. The core of Received Digital is the virtual mailbox for recipients, which creates an interactive platform between the mail center and its recipients. With image-based notifications and a proprietary machine learning algorithm to automatically assign items to recipients, the entire inbound mail and parcel management process is modernized for greater efficiency.
In an industry where innovation is not expected, Received Digital stands alone, innovating with a customer-first approach. Learn more about how it works here, or request a demo from one of our experts to see it in action!
