Package Management, the Original: Examining the Role of People in Package Management 

If you’ve worked in the apartment industry for any length of time, you’re surely aware of the hassle and heartache onsite staffs often experience because of non-stop package deliveries.

If you need further proof of the angst so many of them are feeling, just join the Multifamily ShareSpace Facebook group. At least once a week, it seems, an animated conversation ensues about the stresses and annoyances of handling residents’ packages. 

There’s simply no doubt about it: although there once was a time when our leasing associates could handle package management themselves, those days are long gone. Associates still have a role to play, but they need help in the form of technology.

Looking Back

It seems like the distant past, but it was only about a decade ago that onsite staffs generally had no problems with package management. 

Back then, the postal service came by once day and likely so did FedEx and UPS. Packages only arrived during the week. There was a personal relationship with the package carrier. Onsite teams knew exactly when each driver would arrive and could plan their days accordingly. 

Now, think about how the landscape has changed. Annual e-commerce sales continue to grow, and each holiday season brings an ever-bigger onslaught of package deliveries. 

Today, parcels come seven days a week, at all hours of the day. The carrier list is no longer limited to UPS, FedEx and the Postal Service. Many of the biggest retailers – companies like Amazon, Kroger, Target and Walmart – now offer direct-to-home delivery, while courier services like DoorDash, InstaCart, PostMates, Shipt and TaskRabbit bring take-out food, groceries and other goods. 

And what is the impact of all of these packages arriving at apartment communities?

Associates have to spend a considerable chunk of their time finding a place to store packages that don’t fit into a storage room or following up with residents to ask them to come pick up their deliveries. They have to devote a good deal of their day to dealing with the drivers who are constantly arriving at their properties.

And this means they have less time to manage leads and sign new leases. They have less time to provide the kind of service that keeps current residents satisfied and makes them want to renew their leases when the time comes.

Fixing the Problem

In recent years, apartment communities have tried to help their beleaguered staffs by installing package lockers or storage rooms that enable residents to pick up their parcels with, ideally, a minimum amount of associate involvement. But the problem is that associates still sometimes struggle to get residents to retrieve the packages in these areas, and they end up having to pester renters. And with the massive influx of new, and often untrained carriers, onsite teams are now having to manage packages that have just been dropped in front of the locker or simply in the middle of the package room. 

Many properties have turned to shipping deliveries off site, but that doesn’t lead to a good experience for residents. Some communities have begun using concierge services that will actually take packages from the leasing office to a resident’s front door. The problem with this is a) the expense of these services and b) some renters just flat out don’t like someone coming to their front door; it feels too invasive for them.

In the end, the package management crisis can’t be solved by people or lockers alone. Instead, communities will need to employ a variety of tools – including logistics software, hardware and people – to move packages in and out of storage spaces quickly. Such a system can achieve the three-pronged goal of minimizing disruptions to leasing associates, giving residents the pick-up and outbound shipping experience they desire and allowing communities to handle a heavy package volume without using up too much time.