This Is The Future Of Interoffice Mail

It’s hard to believe it’s been 20 years since Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan paired up for the sweet romantic comedy, You’ve Got Mail.

Watching video clips of it today, we realize how laughably dated it seems. There’s the jarring sound of dial-up internet. The familiar AOL voice. And the fact that there once was a time when we waited with great anticipation to receive just one email.

So much has changed about the way we do email today. But interoffice mail? Not so much. Fortunately, some long-overdue technology is revolutionizing the delivery of snail mail, too.

3 Technologies Transforming Interoffice Mail

1. Mailroom Management Software

Mailroom management software simplifies interoffice mail by helping your company receive, track and deliver packages efficiently.

Using the software, employees can:

• Check in packages and other mail when they are received or sent out
• See the status of mail as it’s en route, waiting to be delivered or ready to be picked up
• Show mailroom trends (such as peak delivery and pickup times)
• Notify employees when their mail has arrived

This allows workplace leaders to make better decisions about staffing the mailroom to keep costs to a minimum. It also reduces interoffice mail delivery times, allowing employees to receive packages sooner.

2. Intelligent Lockers

Intelligent lockers are scalable, customizable, electronic locker systems that keep packages secure without requiring every employee to have their own mailbox.

Once a package is secured in the locker, the recipient receives an email alert that provides them with the pickup location and release code. Recipients can then collect packages at their convenience.

Intelligent lockers should integrate with mailroom management software so your workplace has full visibility into incoming packages.

3. Mobile Apps

Most mail delivery happens on the go, so couriers need an easy way to check in packages wherever they are.

Mailroom apps (like the iOFFICE mail app) allow employees to easily create a barcode for outgoing or incoming packages without expensive barcode technology. They can also:

• Identify the courier simply by scanning the barcode
• Generate interoffice mail delivery manifests on the go
• Notify the sender or recipient of the package’s status
• Allow recipients to sign for packages and automatically record their signature

All this creates a searchable chain of custody that ensures packages are delivered accurately and on time.

Additionally, if your workplace uses an employee-facing workplace app like iOFFICE Hummingbird, employees will receive notification of their packages via their smartphone or Slack as soon as they arrive.

What Interoffice Mail Might Look Like 10 Years From Now

We all know the way we work is changing fast.

More organizations are moving away from assigned seating and adopting agile work environments. That means employees aren’t always in the office—and when they are, they don’t usually stay in one place.

It also means interoffice mailroom operations need to adapt to reach employees where they are.

The Internet of Things is also transforming the workplace by connecting people, devices and data. IoT sensors and smart devices have tremendous potential that has yet to be fully tapped. They also raise concerns about important issues like security and data privacy.

All this will likely impact the way we manage mail delivery in the workplace.

We could see credential technology like fingerprint scanners become a part of interoffice mail delivery in the near future. We might even see smart speakers or digital assistants entering into the picture.

Interoffice mail delivery has come a long way since the U.S. Postal Service first introduced airmail 100 years ago. And in the past few decades, since the development of modern-day email changed communication forever and the founding of Amazon revolutionized package delivery.

No one knows for sure what’s coming next —but whatever it is, we’d better be ready to adapt.