Ferrum College, a private institution located in rural Virginia, serves a small, tight-knit campus community of students. Jo Smith, who manages the college’s mail center operations, oversees a mailroom that processes varying volumes of packages for students, faculty, and staff throughout the academic year.
Like many college mail centers, Ferrum’s plays an important role in supporting campus life, with students relying heavily on packages for both essential supplies and everyday items. As package volumes continue to grow on college campuses nationwide, efficient management of these inbound items has become increasingly important.
Challenge
Prior to implementing Received Digital, Ferrum College used QTrak for their package tracking needs. This traditional system, while functional, presented several operational inefficiencies that are common among conventional package tracking solutions. The standard process required mailroom staff to scan a carrier barcode, manually key in recipient information, and then select the correct recipient, a multi-step approach that was time-consuming and prone to human error.
Jo agrees that with traditional mail tracking systems, manual data entry is one of the most common sources of errors. Mistyping recipient information can lead to misrouted items and incorrect notifications, which ultimately wastes valuable time as staff must research and reroute packages.
This not only creates inefficiencies but can also lead to student dissatisfaction. For a small mail center like Ferrum’s where staff often wear multiple hats in a given day, these inefficiencies were particularly challenging. With limited resources and varying seasonal package volumes ranging from 200 to 1,200 items per month, the college needed a more streamlined solution.
Solution
After evaluating their options, Ferrum College adopted Received Digital to modernize their mailroom operations. The implementation process was straightforward, and the system proved to be intuitive for both administrators and student workers. Jo noted,
I have found it to be a fairly easy system to learn … The work studies that come in new … they were able to catch on to it really quickly.
Received Digital differs fundamentally from traditional package tracking systems by simplifying the entire process. Rather than the conventional multi-step approach, Received Digital employs image capture and automated recipient recognition and assignment, significantly reducing manual data entry and the associated errors.
The college’s implementation included setting up proper user management for over 1,500 users, configuring the system to require proof of pickup for security, and establishing efficient workflows for the mailroom’s small but dedicated team. Fortunately, Received Digital’s organized settings and flexible workflow options for receiving mail and packages made the entire setup process a breeze.
Benefits
Since implementing Received Digital, Ferrum College has experienced several significant improvements in their mail center operations.
First, the streamlined process for logging packages has reduced the time and effort required to record incoming items. Jo emphasized the system’s impact on daily operations, remarking,
I can't imagine running the mailroom without it.
Second, the image-based notification system has proven particularly valuable, providing students with visual confirmation of their packages. This visual element enhances the student experience in a few ways: It helps students make informed decisions about when to visit the mailroom, reducing unnecessary trips and wait times, and the visual confirmation also helps students identify important or time-sensitive deliveries that may require immediate attention.
Finally, both administrators and student workers have found the system intuitive and easy to adopt. This has made training new student workers more efficient and processing items less mentally taxing.
Conclusion
Ferrum College’s adoption of Received Digital demonstrates how institutions of all sizes can enhance their mailroom operations with the right technology. By implementing a more modern, efficient system, the college has been able to better serve its community while optimizing their limited resources and staffing. The streamlined workflow not only improves operational efficiency but also enhances the overall campus experience for students, faculty, and staff.
Jo Smith’s endorsement speaks to the system’s value:
I would definitely recommend Received Digital to other mailrooms.
For Ferrum College, the transition to Received Digital has transformed what could have been a logistical challenge into a streamlined process that effectively serves the needs of students and staff in their unique rural setting.
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!
