Ten years ago, a simple mailroom was enough to handle incoming packages. But e-commerce has grown exponentially since then, driving package volumes to levels beyond the capacity of traditional mailrooms. 

Receiving, logging, sorting, and distributing all those packages requires significant space and staff time. For buildings that don’t have dedicated mailroom staff, that could mean that property administrators are constantly being torn from other responsibilities to tend to deliveries. All that staff time adds up quickly, and package deliveries don’t slow to let your mailroom catch up. 

But there is a way to get ahead of the chaos — installing smart package lockers. To show you just how much you could save with package lockers, we took a closer look at the facts and figures. 

Why package lockers? 

Package lockers have many benefits for commercial buildings, starting with pleasing tenants. The modern worker loves convenience — they’d rather have open access to a smart locker than have to pick up their packages during mailroom hours or wait on staff to hand-deliver. 

And the benefits reach further:  

• Time: It takes up a lot of staff time to sign, sort, and distribute packages. Facility workers are interrupted throughout the day as deliveries come and go. And in some cases, they’re hand-delivering packages and trying to collect signatures. Package lockers eliminate these time-consuming steps of last yard delivery.
• Space: Package lockers help automate delivery by sending notifications to recipients and allowing them to pick up deliveries at their convenience. This creates a clutter-free mailroom and frees staff from organizing and tracking down packages for pickup. 
• Security: Businesses may receive and deliver packages that contain high-value items or sensitive information. And a busy mailroom probably isn’t the most protective place for these items. If mailroom staff misplaces, delays, or damages anything, it could result in disappointed tenants and unexpected, expensive costs to make up for the mistakes. Package lockers help you avoid such consequences by safeguarding items until recipients retrieve them, thus successfully (and securely) completing the chain of custody.

Adding up the cost savings 

The amount of time and money you could save by adding package lockers to your property is dependent on a few factors, including the number of mailroom staff you have and how many hours they spend on package management.

To get a better idea of the savings potential, consider that the average pay for a mailroom clerk is roughly $13 an hour. If a person in this role spends just four hours on package acceptance and distribution each day — tasks that package lockers automate — that amounts to $52 a day, or about $17,500 a year. A larger company with multiple, higher-paid mailroom staff may spend 16 hours a day on package management and could save more than $75,000 annually by automating package-related tasks. 

How can you use or redistribute these savings? Package lockers are easy to use and relieve staff of tedious tasks. With that burden off their shoulders, they can devote more time to other responsibilities, acquire new skills, and even move into new roles within your company. 

Want an even better idea of what kind of savings you can expect with package lockers? Contact us to learn more.