We’ve written extensively about how package lockers prevent package theft, streamline BOPIS services, and simplify mailroom management. But smart lockers aren’t just for packages and e-commerce orders.
A multitude of businesses and buildings can benefit from smart lockers, even if they’re not using them for package delivery. Let’s take a look at several alternative uses for package lockers you may not have considered.
1. Banking transactions
Bankers deal with a lot of sensitive information, incoming and outgoing. Financial institutions frequently mail out checkbooks, credit cards, account statements, and other items you wouldn’t want to fall into the wrong hands.
Smart lockers are a great fit for banking transactions because once a banker deposits something into a locker, only the intended recipient can access it. So instead of dropping that new checkbook in the mail, the customer will receive instructions for picking it up from a locker at their local bank.
2. Checking out library books
Looking for a contactless way to promote book borrowing in times of social distancing? With the help of smart lockers and a means of browsing book collections online, readers can make their selections, have librarians deposit them into the lockers, and pick them up at their leisure.
And it works both ways — when readers finish the books they’ve checked out, they can securely return them via the locker system.
3. Repairs and services
Repairs for electronics and other personal items can be a hassle. Going to the store or repair shop, waiting in line for an associate, then waiting around for the work to be completed is no one’s favorite way to spend the day.
With package lockers in place, customers can schedule repairs and drop off their items in individual lockers, where they’ll stay safeguarded until staff can finish the repair or servicing. Then it’s back into the lockers, where customers will receive a notification that their items are ready for pickup.
4. Restaurant order pickups
Restaurants can use smart package lockers to speed up pickup and delivery orders. The package locker system sends an alert to either the customer or delivery driver once the restaurant has fulfilled the order and placed it into a locker.
Using package lockers helps businesses avoid mishaps like order mixups and stolen deliveries. And keeping cold items chilled till pickup is a breeze with refrigerated lockers.
5. Food bank donations and distributions
Speaking of food deliveries, food banks can also put package lockers to good use, whether it’s accepting donations or getting essentials out to those in need. Lockers help staff organize donations and distributions while providing recipients with a contactless, convenient way to pick up their food and supplies.
6. Prescription fulfillment
Those with ongoing health conditions rely on pharmacies to provide the prescriptions they need. And they can’t afford to have those critical medications lost, delayed, or stolen in transit.
A secure way to supply prescriptions is through package lockers. Once filled and ready for pickup, patients can head over to their local pharmacy and retrieve their medications within seconds. This is another place where refrigerated lockers come in handy, as some prescriptions are susceptible to heat.
7. Supply chain management
Retail products and other deliverables often pass through several warehouses on the way to their destinations. At each point, they’re coming off trucks and moving one step closer to the end of their journey.
Package lockers help facilitate shipping transfers by providing an easily accessible, protected location for delivery personnel to deposit items before continuing on their way.
8. College campus orientations
For new college students, the first day on campus can be chaotic, especially if they have to travel from building-to-building picking up IDs, parking passes, room keys, textbooks, and other essentials.
Package lockers, whether installed at student housing facilities or in common areas on campus, can help students get everything they need in one place.
9. Multifamily moving day
Property managers are busy people, and sometimes they can’t be physically present to welcome new tenants. Or they’re in need of a contactless way to give new residents what they need on move-in day.
With package lockers, new apartment-dwellers can pick up their keys, welcome packages, and leasing documents without waiting for a one-on-one meeting with the landlord or property manager. It’s also a great way to introduce newcomers to the building’s locker system, where they might soon be retrieving their mail and packages.
10. Support for remote workers and new hires
Both brand-new employees and those that often work away from the office can use package lockers to exchange important work-related items such as:
- Onboarding, budgeting, project proposals, and other sensitive documents
- Building and room keys
- IDs and passes
- Laptops, cell phones, and other electronic devices
If you need a reliable, contactless way to transfer items — whether it’s high-priced electronics, temperature-sensitive goods, or private financial documents — smart package lockers may be the perfect solution. Businesses can even install their lockers outside the building to encourage safer, more user-friendly transactions.
To learn more about the wide variety of applications for package lockers, contact us today.
