University of Florida
University of Florida Snaps Up Intelligent Parcel Locker Solution to Reduce Operating Costs and Improve Student Experience
The Challenge
The University of Florida needed a more efficient, flexible and accountable method for delivering packages to student residents. FedEx®, USPS®, and UPS® carriers all delivered packages to desks within the common areas of each residential complex or hall where assigned Resident Assistant staff were responsible for tracking and distributing the packages to other students. During peak times, area desks were receiving up to 4,000 packages a day1 and student package pick up was limited to the operating hours of the area desk.
The UF Housing Department was facing challenges such as missing and undelivered parcels due to issues resulting from students handling student packages. It had researched intelligent parcel lockers with two Parcel Pending competitors but had not initiated a bidding process.
The Solution
The Department of Housing and Residence Education, which operates as a self-contained University business unit, orchestrated introductions. A formal review and demo were given to key University decision-makers within the Housing, Finance, Facilities, and IT departments, showcasing our expertise and understanding of UF’s priorities. The demo also helped confirm that tracking, reporting, and analytical capabilities could give them 100% chain of custody visibility, and assured them that our Parcel Locker Solution could work with UF’s own proprietary tracking system.
Originally UF intended to purchase one bank of lockers for a single campus for testing before considering an additional bank of lockers a few months down the road. However, only two weeks after the agreement, the University determined to expand to all campus locations to support all undergraduate residential areas which include 26 residence halls and up to 8,100 students.
| Key Customer Benefits |
|---|
| Expense Control |
| Risk Mitigation |
| Improved Student Experience |
| Revenue Growth |
The Result
Housing rolled out a select number of parcel lockers in the school year for testing. Now that all lockers are in use, the department was able to change their carrier delivery strategy and establish an internal centralized mailing team that is responsible for receiving, tracking, and transporting student packages to the parcel lockers across the campus.
On average, UF’s parcel lockers receive 700 – 750 packages a day. The lockers have not only improved the student experience for those receiving packages, but it has also allowed UF to reallocate the time of student workers, who were once responsible for distribution, to other resident needs and activities. In turn, the University has reduced its operating costs by decreasing human capital by 20 hours per week. Since the installation of Packcity Parcel Lockers, students get faster package delivery and complaints about missing parcels have nearly been eradicated.
To promote and support the installation of our intelligent Parcel Lockers, the University of Florida includes a talk track and a visit to one of the systems during freshman walkthroughs as a part of the new student recruiting process.
UF Housing also created its own promotional video and uses the custom UF-wrapped parcel lockers as an added-value service and selling point on their website.
University of Florida has reduced its operating costs by decreasing human capital by 20 hours per week. Students get faster package delivery and complaints about missing packages have been all but eradicated.
As the market leader, Parcel Pending by Quadient has helped thousands of leading colleges and universities preserve their reputation and bottom line with contact-free intelligent parcel locker solutions. Discover how our university package lockers take care of your packages so you can take care of your students and staff.