Deliveries & Parcel Management: Are You Ready for XMAS?

Needless to say, that can easily get overwhelming. Without the right preparation, you could easily end up with a big backlog and, even worse, lost packages. Don’t worry. In this post, we look at a few ways you can prepare for the festive season and get your deliveries and parcel management system in order

1.Resident database

Keeping your resident database up to date is crucial when it comes to parcel management. Why? In short, you need to notify residents when packages are delivered and being held for them.

Your database will need attention throughout the year, but it’s definitely worth it. If a resident’s contact details are incorrect or missing, things will get complicated when the Christmas rush rolls around.

2.Size policy

Parcel collection is a key service of any concierge team, but there have to be limits. If you tell residents they can have anything delivered, it’s only a matter of time before somebody orders furniture or a bulk order of toilet roll. Try holding that in your reception area for a few days!

To avoid this, make sure you have a clear policy on which size packages can be taken – and which can’t.

3.Large items

Just because you can’t hold large items, it doesn’t mean residents can’t order them. It does mean, however, that they’ll need to stay at home so the delivery can be made to their flat or leave key with concierge so it can be deliver directly to their apartments. If residents are expecting large items, which you’re not prepared to deal with, you should advise them to be at home for delivery or let the concierge team know about any special arrangements.

4.Parcel turnover

This brings us nicely onto the next point – parcel turnover. Even if parcels are small and manageable, they can soon stack up when they go uncollected. Try finding someone’s parcel from a week ago when you’ve had a further 50 parcels delivered since then.

That’s why it’s important to have a limit on how long parcels are held for. When it gets to peak time, around December, consider emailing all residents reminding them to collect their parcel on the day it is received, or within 48 hours, for example.

5.Parcel storage

Throughout the year, you can usually get by with the same small area for parcel storage. However, when Christmas comes around, you’ll soon find that area overflowing.

With this in mind, it’s worth designating a larger, secondary storage area for any excess packages during the holiday season. This could be used for any parcels held for longer than a day, with the most recent deliveries being held in your usual place.

6.Resident holidays

As well as being peak time for gift-giving, a lot of people choose to go away in the winter – whether it’s to visit family or get a bit of winter sun. But that doesn’t mean they hold back on orders. Residents will happily have parcels delivered while they’re away, safe in the knowledge that you’ll hold them until they’re back.

For you, this could mean holding parcels for several days or weeks, which isn’t ideal. Instead, advise residents who are going away for longer periods to leave their keys with your concierge team if they’re expecting deliveries. That way, you can deliver parcels to their flat.

Optimise your parcel management process

With Lobital, keeping on top of deliveries and parcel management over the festive period doesn’t have to be stressful. Our innovative block management software makes it easy to update and access your resident database and maintain fast, direct communication with all residents and staff.

Record deliveries, notify residents and record digital signatures on collection with one simple piece of software. It’s that easy. Contact us today to arrange a demo of Lobital.