Smart locker systems aren’t just trendy and sleek; they also save substantial amounts of money and personnel time. As opposed to traditional methods of parcel distribution, smart lockers are more efficient, save space, and reduce the cumbersome burden package-related tasks place on employees.
How Does a Smart Locker System Save Personnel Time For Businesses?
Smart lockers are much more efficient than buy-online-pickup-in-store options (or BOPIS) or regular counter checkout. Counter checkout requires a staff member to be behind the register at all times. If there aren’t many customers, these staff members may have little to do other than wait for a customer to make a transaction.
BOPIS options or curbside pickup are similarly clunky. A staff member must identify each customer and connect the customer with their order. Because customers using BOPIS and curbside pickup expect a quick interaction, stores must have someone ready to receive BOPIS customers at all times.
Smart lockers, in contrast, require far less personnel time. Instead of waiting for customers to pick up their orders or buy them at the register, staff can simply place the orders in a smart locker unit at their convenience. Customers can pick up their orders without distracting staff from other activities. This streamlined approach to order pickup saves tons of staff time over the course of months and years.
Smart Lockers Save Valuable Space
We all know that real estate is precious and there is often limited space in commercial buildings. Whether it is an office building or an apartment building, smart lockers save valuable space.
Apartment Buildings Weren’t Designed to Handle a High Volume of Packages
Traditionally, each tenant of an apartment building had a small mailbox in a mailroom. Most of today’s packages don’t fit in these small mailboxes, which were designed for simple letters. Between 2015 and 2020, the number of packages shipped around the U.S. doubled. Designers of commercial buildings did not anticipate such a large increase in package volumes, and the buildings themselves reflect that. Commercial buildings need some sort of method to hold this large volume of packages. This is especially true between the time that they are delivered and the time that residents retrieve them.
Smart Lockers Help Buildings Cope With Changing Times
Smart lockers are the most efficient solution for holding packages in the meantime. Lockers use less space because the turnover in each locker unit is quicker than traditional systems. Since residents get an electronic notification the moment their package is delivered, they are more likely to pick up the package sooner rather than later. This quick turnaround means that the same locker unit can be used many times in one day. Traditional systems of parcel distribution often result in stale packages being left in the same place for days. Smart lockers condense the space needed for parcel distribution in large buildings.
Because smart lockers use less space, there is more space for other revenue-creating options or to plan for increased package volume in the future.
Smart Lockers are More Efficient For Commercial Buildings
The last-mile problem, which is the difficulty associated with finishing the last mile of a shipment, is particularly salient in commercial buildings. Not only do distributors need to deliver packages to the building, but staff inside the building often distribute packages internally to different offices. The last mile problem regularly accounts for 50% of shipping costs. By simplifying the last mile problem, smart lockers decrease the costs for distributors and building management.
Commercial buildings often have internal distributors who move mail and packages throughout the building. As mentioned above, this task has become more burdensome with the recent increase in package volume. Instead of needing someone to receive packages and distribute them within the building, a smart locker system creates a hub for distributing packages, minimizing labor.
Deliverers place packages in each smart locker unit. Then, whoever the package was intended for recieves a ping on their phone or email. Instead of paying staff to distribute packages around the building, people can retrieve their packages from the smart locker system when it is convenient for them. This package hub replaces the need to pay for the labor needed to sort and distribute packages within a building.
But Smart lockers do more than just replace mail distribution. Smart lockers serve as a nexus for exchanging all types of items, not just shipped packages. Couriers can drop off IDs, important documents, or sensitive information into secure smart locker units. This ease of receiving materials other than shipped packages cuts down the staff time used to coordinate between couriers and staff.
Smart Locker Installation is Simple
While getting a smart locker system may seem complicated, the process of smart locker installation is as streamlined as the smart locker system itself. Smiota’s team of sales associates is easy to contact. Once you have a smart locker, Smiota’s 24/7 assistance will help you with any troubleshooting issues that come up. After an initial investment in the system, smart locker owners find themselves saving money every day through reduced labor costs and more efficient use of space.