Move-in day across college campuses is quite a different scene than in years past, with packed cars, boxes piled high and students bringing everything they could possibly need to live, learn and play while away at school. Now getting everything students need or want at their home away from home is a lot more accessible. Thanks to the convenience of online shopping and package delivery services like Amazon Prime and Google Express, students are showing up with less and ordering more, which means one thing for university mailrooms — lots and lots of packages.
Ordering and shipping are the easy parts. Getting that package into a student’s hands — or what’s often referred to as “the last mile" — can be quite a headache for both institutions and their students.
According to Campus Technology, Lehigh University has seen a 10 – 12% growth year after year for the past 10 years when it comes to package delivery on their campus.1
When campuses are inundated with packages, students are forced to wait in long lines, work around the mailroom's hours and even check in multiple times with mailroom staff to find out the status of a single package. This wastes students' time, causes stress on mailroom staff, and can prohibit students from getting the supplies they need to successfully live and learn while at school.