After Nicolaus Gray gained some experience as the Mail Services Supervisor at Pacific University, a private university located in Forest Grove, OR, he identified a growing need for a more efficient and scalable system for managing inbound packages for students, faculty, and staff. With the start of a new academic year looming and package volumes growing, Nicolaus turned to Received Digital to streamline operations and improve accountability in the mailroom.
Challenge
The process for managing inbound packages that Nicolaus inherited when he became the Mail Services Supervisor was very time-consuming due to all of the manual steps that were required. Nicolaus summarized the process:
The biggest issue was we had to type up a slip for every package we received for a student listing their name, mailbox number, package description, and initials of who typed it up and then put it in their mailbox.
While this system technically worked and satisfied the basic requirement of having a record of every package that was picked up, it was not sustainable. Processing packages each day was a tedious task, and getting them to students in a timely manner became a concern. Nicolaus described,
...it was increasingly becoming aware to me with the volume of packages we were receiving daily that this system would not be a realistic approach forever if we wanted to get packages truly processed and picked up by students in a reasonable amount of time.
When students came to pick up their packages, they would sign the slip from their mailbox, and the mail services team would file it away to keep a record of the exchange. Again, the process satisfied the basic requirement of keeping a record of proof of pickup, but maintaining thousands of these hardcopy slips became unmanageable. When students inquired about missing packages, staff had to sift through all of the signed papers to find the right one—an arduous and inefficient task.
... the issue would be if they are missing a package we would have to tooth comb through piles upon piles of slips we had filed for each student that picked up. Saving time and having more efficiency, and accountability were the most important factors to me which was why I seeked out a software [solution] that could help.
Solution
When Nicolaus came upon Received Digital, it became clear their manual, paper-based process could be transformed to be more efficient while introducing additional benefits that would improve the experience for both recipients and mailroom operators. Getting the application set up to accommodate Pacific University’s user base of over 4,000 individuals was a breeze, and they were ready to go for their 2024 Fall Semester deadline.
The implementation and setup process were about as smooth as I thought it could go … The student package processing was relatively a smooth transition overall and mainly just [required] adapting to the new software.
As for packages going to staff and faculty, Pacific University required a slightly different setup, specifically as it relates to notifications. Fortunately, with Received Digital’s extensive notification preferences and options, Nicolaus and his team were able to configure the application so that only the primary contact for each department would be notified of new items.
We had one main person from each department on campus get notified when any packages for that department needed to be delivered or picked up to keep everything more organized.
Throughout the entire onboarding phase, the Received Digital team supported Nicolaus and the rest of the mailroom staff at Pacific University. In one instance, the development team was able to expedite the implementation of a new feature related to managing users that was especially useful for how Pacific University desired to use the system.
Benefits
Of all the benefits Pacific University’s mail services have experienced as a result of adopting Received Digital, Nicolaus noted that the most significant is the time savings and efficiency gain when receiving packages. Nicolaus explained by contrasting it with the old process:
It is a much more efficient and realistic [solution] to use in a university mail room where we make sure we are getting packages processed and delivered in a realistic professional manner for a campus of students/staff/faculty. There are many things that have been beneficial, but I would say just how much faster it is to receive packages and notify students their packages are available for pickup has been so helpful.
Swapping manual entry of every item with a simple, image-based capture process has eliminated a significant pain point for the mail services team. When a mailroom operator snaps a picture of a package label, Received Digital automatically identifies the recipient and assigns the item. Rather than leaving physical slips of paper in student mailboxes, students are now notified digitally via email that they have a package ready for pickup. The email also includes the image of the package that was captured by the mailroom, giving students a real preview of what they’ve received and incentivizing them to pick it up promptly.
The feedback Nicolaus has received has been extremely positive:
... from everyone I have spoken to on campus, they really support it and think it is great they can get notifications and a visual of the package they have available for pickup or delivery. I don’t think I have heard a single complaint.
The challenge of maintaining and digging through so many signed papers has also been eliminated. Proof of pickup and delivery is now digitally recorded right within Received Digital, ensuring a reliable chain of custody that’s easy to search through.
Conclusion
Pacific University’s adoption of Received Digital has transformed the mailroom into a modern, efficient, and user-friendly operation. With increased speed in processing inbound packages, enhanced accountability with digital records that are easy to search, and robust support from the Received Digital team, Nicolaus and his staff have successfully transitioned from a manual to digital system—just in time to meet the demands of a new academic year.
Nicolaus shared his satisfaction with the change:
It’s been great! … I would recommend it to other universities—it's cost efficient and is great for keeping data for all the packages/mail going in and out of a university mailroom.
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!
