All About Package Delivery Systems for Apartments

There’s much to be said for apartment living: freedom, independence, and potentially, the view. On the other hand, it has its disadvantages. For instance, package delivery has the potential to cause multiple problems. With several people living under one roof, there’s high potential for misdelivered, lost, and stolen packages. An apartment building needs an organized system to ensure delivery people know where to leave packages, so they can properly sort, store, and send them to their appropriate destinations. Here are some of the details and a few ideas for improving your apartment complex’ system if you’ve ever wanted to know all about package delivery systems for apartments.

Ditch What Doesn’t Work

You must provide a package delivery solution that accommodates guests and delivery services, saves money, and makes it easier for everyone involved, whether you have onsite staff or not. Implement a system beyond simply leaving packages in the vestibule or under the complex’s mailboxes where anyone or anything can jostle, damage, or steal them. While you can appoint an employee to stand by to receive packages, that would be tedious for them and a tremendous waste of time and money for you both. Of course, your primary focus is your tenants’ satisfaction. Set up a proper package delivery system to keep your residents happy and encourage them to stick around when it’s time to renew their leases. Begin by jettisoning the idea of making package delivery a free-for-all.

The Package Room

Designating a special room for packages is the most basic way to address package safety, security, and accessibility. Assign an area with a set of shelves, a closet, or a storeroom as the place for package storage. Onsite staff can sign for packages, store them in the appropriate space, and notify guests of their arrival. No onsite staff? No problem. You can equip package rooms with a combination or smart lock, allowing couriers and tenants to punch in a personal identification number (PIN) code for access to the room. Setting up a camera to record people or to buzz couriers and residents going in and out is a necessity. Staff members won’t have to stand by or leave their posts to let couriers in, and tenants can receive an alert to get their goods when it’s most convenient for them to do so.

Lockers

Provide your tenants with storage lockers if you have the budget and space. Station the lockers inside or outside of the vestibule or some other secure location in the complex. Just like the package room, require delivery people to input a code or PIN to deliver packages to individual lockers. This process takes care of the sorting issue and frees your employees of the responsibility so they can complete other, more pressing duties. Not all packages are the same, naturally, and larger deliveries may be too big for individual lockers. Regardless, lockers are a safe, neat, and secure way to protect your tenants’ deliveries. Several companies, including Amazon, offer partnerships allowing their facilities to serve as locker hubs.

Package Lockboxes

Package lockboxes are like lockers but have other advantages. These units suit smaller facilities with fewer tenants better as package lockboxes resist break-ins inside and outside of the apartment complex. Packages are also easier to deliver. A courier simply drops the package in through a recessed door or similar opening and it drops to the bottom of the box, where it remains safe from thieves, the elements, and other hazards. Some boxes even have smart apps and features that alert residents to their package’s arrival and lets them open the box with the click of a button.

Third-Party Storage

As previously mentioned, off-site package storage companies have a few more moving parts than the other two methods, but they do add an extra level of security. Essentially, you can arrange to have packages delivered to another location, where the company will store your tenants’ packages until they request their delivery to the apartment building at a specific time. While not as convenient as a package room or locker set-up on-property, third-party storage partnerships do ensure your tenants’ packages are safe, dry, and undamaged until your residents are ready to receive them. The service usually offers evening and weekend delivery hours, so you’re paying more for security and convenience than anything else.

Other Services and Ideas

Our tell-all about package delivery systems for apartments may not be exhaustive but following the above five tips is a good starting point for your complex. Tenants will appreciate the extra effort, but that doesn’t mean you need to overextend your time and money investments to get them their packages. Still, here are a few more suggestions that are convenient for both you and your residents:

• Provide disposal and recycling services so tenants can easily and responsibly throw away or recycle their packaging.
• Get to know the couriers who make regular drop-offs.
• Identify the official and trustworthy individuals who have access to your facility and tenants’ mail to ensure “couriers” with fake credentials and bad intentions can’t get in.
• Float the possibility of offering a paid service where doormen and other staff drop off or leave packages inside residents’ apartments. This could lead to questions about insurance coverage, so talk to your insurance provider first.

We’re the Mailbox Experts

Postal Supply offers a huge selection of reliable group mailboxes, among other parts, products, and services. Contact us if you have other questions about mailboxes, lockers, lockboxes, third-party delivery services, and the like. We’re also happy to schedule a consultation to help you find the best solution for your facility, and most importantly, your tenants. Though we’ve established our headquarters in North Carolina, we can work with anyone across the Unted States of America. Visit our FAQ page for quick and convenient answers to your inquiries about centralized mail delivery, and to learn how such a service can optimize your apartment facility and staff. We’re the centralized mail delivery experts! We look forward to hearing from and working with you.