How do you track and trace incoming mail?

Thursday, Oct 1st 2020
packages transported in a high tech streamline settings

Parcel deliveries are on the increase but many mailrooms still receive and process incoming post manually. What happens is unreliable records being kept to record deliveries, and time consuming efforts to track down a package or parcel. 

A growing amount of responsibility is being placed on the shoulders of admin staff, due to errors associated with lost or delayed deliveries, whose workload regarding postal deliveries is only expected to increase. Over 100,000 parcels were delivered by An Post alone last Christmas - up 50% on the previous year.
 
Thanks to online shopping, it's quicker and easier than ever to send receive personal deliveries to the work place. So, it's important we take in to account that just because a parcel has arrived to the workplace doesn't mean it's been delivered to the the owner. For delivery companies, their responsibility ends once the package is dropped off and signed for by someone in the building. The question is, what visibility does your organisation have beyond that initial delivery?

Keeping Track

There are a number of challenges faced when tracking deliveries internally. First, there's identifying the correct recipient and where in the building they're located. This can be especially tough when a company has multiple buildings or even floors. Flexible working can be an issue when a package arrives on the day the recipient is working from home. Ultimately, it can be hard to get a hold of people to notify and record full delivery of their post. 

The Solution

Inbound mail tracking tools offer features that greatly support companies dealing with increasing postal volumes including:
Handheld scanners scan barcodes on incoming deliveries registering details in a central database and a recipient is selected from an internal address book. Tracking labels can be created if packages don't have a barcode.

Automated Email alerts let the end recipients know their parcel has arrived

Signature capture on delivery acts as electronic proof of delivery. Barcodes can also be scanned at any stage of the delivery chain for real time status tracking. Proper tracking of inbound post significantly increases the speed internal post is delivered, cuts down on stray parcels and reduces the risk of private information ending up in the wrong place and can even improve audit trail visibility.