Multi-occupancy buildings like student accommodation are being inundated with parcels as the online shopping phenomenon continues to sweep the UK. The management of parcel deliveries at these types of accommodation is a significant challenge for building managers, who are faced with parcels being delivered to hundreds and even thousands of student residents, often with a limited amount of space and resources to manage them effectively.
Identifying this issue, The Safety Letterbox Company - the UK’s leading designer and manufacturer of secure mail solutions - has launched a new range of products designed to revolutionise parcel management and subsequently make the lives of student accommodation managers far easier.
As part of the German Group RENZ – a European leader in mail and parcel delivery - The Safety Letterbox Company, based in Neath, has launched its new high-tech range of parcel box products, which are the first of their kind to be introduced to the UK market. Parcel Boxes UK’s innovative products have been developed to solve the problem of strenuous parcel management within student accommodation in light of the increasing popularity of online shopping. The company’s new E-Campus Box units are designed to provide greater efficiency and convenience surrounding parcel management for both building managers and students.
A report by PwC for the Royal Mail suggests the UK parcel market will reach approximately 2.3 billion items by 2023. Business-to-customer parcel shipments by companies to private individuals are the biggest market, with over half of parcel shipments being delivered to private individuals. An effective means of managing this rise in parcels is therefore imperative for student accommodation managers, to relieve the burden of more and more incoming parcels for students.
Closed systems currently exist for parcel deliveries between a single parcel delivery service and consumers. However, The Safety Letterbox Company is responding to a gap in the market for an open system for parcel delivery and returns solutions. Any delivery service can deposit a parcel via the intelligent parcel boxes and those receiving their parcel can collect it from the parcel box unit 24/7. This drastically reduces the need for student accommodation managers to receive and store parcels for student residents.
The intelligent E-Campus Box units - which can be installed in all manner of buildings and combined with mailboxes - enable students to receive and send parcels with ease from their own residence, making it an attractive feature for the student accommodation sector. They also remove the inconvenience of having to return a parcel to the post office or via another inefficient returns method, as the parcel box units provide a returns option.
Through implementing the latest technology, complex logistical processes can be easily managed through the creation of the integrated myRENZbox system. This online system uses the RENZ internet portal, myRENZ app and the unit’s touch screen display functions so building managers, students, parcel delivery services and other service providers can network with ease around deliveries and collections. Parcel box occupancy can be monitored online, so authorised parties know whether a box is available or not. This feature means building managers can contact students through the system to inform them that a parcel has been left in a E-Campus Box unit for a significant period, therefore prompting collection.
Through the E-Campus Box system, students are authenticated by the myRENZ app, electronic key chip or by inputting a personal PIN via the unit’s touch screen display. It is then possible to select between ‘collection’, ‘return shipment’ or ‘delivery’ functions for the required service.
The Safety Letterbox Company’s Parcel Boxes UK launch extends the firm’s impressive offering of high-end, secure and innovative products and services. E-Campus Box units can be stylishly designed by The Safety Letterbox Company in a range of materials and colours to suit the look of the student accommodation building, whether it be a new or existing development.
Alison Orrells, managing director of The Safety Letterbox Company, said:
“Over the years, The Safety Letterbox Company has been at the forefront of the student accommodation market, so we are thrilled to be adding to our offering with the launch of our E-Campus Box system. The challenge of managing parcels in student accommodation is one of the most problematic of all, especially with increasing numbers of overseas students, who are more likely to receive parcels from overseas.
“We are reacting to current trends by bringing these intelligent technologies to market. Parcel boxes are becoming increasingly important within student accommodation as managers are faced with a demographic that buys online by default.
“Issues surrounding storage space and time being spent by building managers to handle a large amount of parcels are near eliminated with the E-Campus Box system. Students can now collect their parcels around the clock via these secure, intelligent parcel box units. The system is incredibly flexible and will therefore make the lives of student accommodation managers far easier, providing a better quality service for all.”
For more information on The Safety Letterbox Company, please visit: www.safetyletterbox.com