Can you track and trace packages inside your company’s four walls?

Wednesday, Jul 27th 2022
packages

Despite an increase in inbound parcel volumes, many under-pressure post rooms have only manual methods for receiving and processing inbound mail. These methods can be time-consuming and frequently rely on error-prone paper records to record deliveries.

The risk of these errors – which results in lost and delayed parcel deliveries – is placing a growing amount of responsibility and pressure on administrative staff whose workload concerning mail handling is only expected to increase: according to this survey by Ofcom, 12 per cent more parcels were sent in the UK in 2017 compared to 2016.

It’s never been quicker and easier for people to send and receive personal and work-related items at their desks. As a result, it’s important to consider the portion of the journey that inbound packages and parcels take once they are initially received on work premises. For most senders, their responsibility ends when items are dropped off at a reception or post room. Does your organisation have any visibility beyond that?

Keeping track

So, what are the main challenges when it comes to tracking parcels internally? Firstly, there’s identifying recipients and where they’re located. This can be difficult, particularly when mail is handled for multiple buildings. Changes in the work environment are also adding to the pressure with flexible and mobile working – the days of 9 to 5 with everyone working in the office are long gone. Now, employees work varied hours from a range of locations, so getting hold of people to notify them and recording proof of delivery of their delivery can be hard.

The Solution

Inbound parcel and mail tracking systems offer significant feature sets to support organisations dealing with rising volumes of mail.  These include:

  • Handheld scanners, for scanning barcodes on incoming parcels and important mail. This registers details in a central database and a recipient is selected from the internal address book. Tracking labels can also be created ad hoc if packages don’t display a barcode
     
  • Automated email alerts, notifying end recipients of the arrival of parcels
     
  • Signature capture, on delivery which acts as electronic proof of delivery. Barcodes can also be scanned at each stage of the delivery chain for real-time status tracking

Tracking inbound parcels speeds up internal deliveries, cuts down on parcel loss, reduces the risk of sensitive items ending up in the wrong hands and can even improve audit trail visibility.

For more information on how tracking solutions work, including use cases, visit our dedicated page: https://www.quadient.com/en-GB/mail/shipping-and-tracking-solutions/wts-web-tracking-system