DURHAM, N.C., Dec. 14, 2017 — Bell and Howell announced today that it has partnered with Bloomsburg University, a member of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, to simplify its student package-handling and pickup process, while improving its overall student-mail experience.
Bloomsburg University procurement officials decided to install smart lockers as an integral part of a new mailroom construction project after seeing them in action at another university.
"Over the past few years, we've seen a steady decline in the amount of regular mail our students receive and a significant increase in the number of packages we are processing as students continue to order online," said Jeff Ulanoski, assistant director of procurement at Bloomsburg University. "We knew we needed a new way of processing and delivering packages to our students."
The university, which has more than 9,300 undergraduate students and close to 1,000 faculty and staff, initiated an arduous RFP process and selected Cleveron's CleverBox as its smart locker of choice. Bell and Howell, Cleveron's exclusive distributor in North America, installed three uniquely configured banks of CleverBox smart lockers in the new mailroom. Each locker bank is named after one of the school's core values - "Excellence," "Integrity" and "Opportunity" - with a full-scale themed image on the front of the banks.
CleverBox focuses on the user-end experience of package delivery. With a modular design and unique drawer slots, CleverBox is ideal for campus environments. At Bloomsburg, mail-center employees scan incoming packages into the system, and each package gets assigned to a specific locker based on size. The employee then takes the package to the CleverBox terminal and scans it in. The specified locker door automatically opens, the package is placed inside, and the employee shuts the door.
Upon door closure, the system immediately notifies the student via a text message with a unique code that their package is ready for pickup. The student goes to the mailroom when it's convenient for them, scans their phone or types in the code, and the assigned locker opens with their package inside. Once the door is closed, the system updates the mail center database in real time that the package has been retrieved. The student also automatically receives an emailed receipt stating that their package was picked up.
"Prior to the CleverBox locker system being installed by Bell and Howell, our students would receive an email to come and pick up their package from the campus mailroom during regular business hours," said Jeff Mandel, director of procurement and operations for Bloomsburg University. "The students would line up at a counter and wait until someone on our staff was able to retrieve their packages for them. This process left a negative impact on the student experience. CleverBox enhances the student experience at our university by providing a simple and easy-to-use process for getting packages that allows students to come in and get their packages when it works best for them, not based on our staffing hours."
CleverBox by Cleveron is distributed and installed exclusively in North America by Bell and Howell, which also provides service and support, remote monitoring, and preventative maintenance for all Cleveron's smart-locker systems nationwide. With more than 600 full-time field service personnel across the U.S., Bell and Howell's service organization is among the most sophisticated in the world, excelling at robotics, production workflow, automation and industrial mechatronics.
"CleverBox is designed to enhance the student experience," said Bell and Howell CEO Ramesh Ratan, Ph.D. "It gives them an intuitive experience to a self-service pickup process enabled by the technology they are accustomed to, such as receiving real-time notifications via text and not having to wait in line."
Learn about Bloomsburg's smart-locker journey:
Hear from Bloomsburg officials and students about the impact CleverBox is having at their university:
See how Bloomsburg uses CleverBox:
To learn more about Bell and Howell, visit bellhowell.net, call 800-220-3030, or follow the company on LinkedIn and Twitter.
