[greenej]

Hi Tena,

The USF St. Petersburg campus info desk oversees package logging and distribution for our residential students (commuter students are not eligible the send packages here).  We utilize a program called notifii which handles all the tracking and communication with the students.  Not really sure on cost as our partners in housing pay for the program, but it has really helped us streamline the process and keep a handle on the inventory we manage.

 

I think if you were going to go down this road, I would highly recommend using an inventory program as we used to have a hand written log book which got messy (9 years ago).  With notifii we can scan tracking numbers/qr codes, and then print identifying labels that allow us to sort them by numbers which makes it easier to find (way better then a-z).  Cons with anything like this would be the liability of losing the package or logging it under the wrong person.  We have been fortunate that we can often track packages down and do some troubleshooting, but it can be an issue.  It also has bogged down our infodesk significantly as last year we were seeing an average 70-90 packages with a peak day of 180, but are now seeing an average of 180-200 packages during the first week we have been open.  We are working through the pain points there, but it is amazing how much this has grown.  We also occasionally have a Walmart/instacart delivery as well which is not something we would normally allow, however it is hard to turn it away when they dump it off at your desk and walk away before you can say anything.  This also could be a unique problem for us since we are attached to a residence hall, but luckily it has been dry goods and picked up within 30 minutes.

 

We are thinking about going to a locker system.  I know our colleagues on the USF Tampa campus are working with amazon to host one of their locker systems.  There definitely are some pros and cons there as it sounds like they are leasing the space to amazon and receiving revenue, but it would be an amazon specific system managed by them.  There are other options out there, but many of them require your team to manage them, so that is the tradeoff.

 

Anyway I am happy to talk more with you if you want more information. 

 

 

Best regards,

 

Jim Greene

Associate Director, Student Centers & Events

University of South Florida St. Petersburg campus

200 6th Ave S. USC 175, St. Petersburg, FL 33701 

E:  Greenej@usf.edu

O: (727) 873-4598

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Original Message:
Sent: 8/24/2022 6:01:00 PM
From: Tena Bennett
Subject: Campus Mail Services

We are in discussions about centralizing campus mail services.  Does anyone house their mail services in the union and manage them?  Does any one utilize parcel locker systems? Can you share pros and cons for the operations and/or use of locker systems?  Any direct contacts to have conversations with would be greatly appreciated.

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Tena Bennett
Assistant Vice Chancellor for Auxiliary Enterprises
Southern Illinois University?Carbondale
Carbondale IL
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