Top 5 residential package management trends

In recent years, few topics have challenged property managers more than what the future of residential package management will entail.

“It’s been a topic of conversation at every almost industry conference that I can think of,” says Brian Zrimsek, Industry Principal here at MRI.

Why?

According to him, “It’s really rooted in two changes… the influx of online shopping and the frictionless nature of one-touch buying.” There’s no denying that both of these have grown extremely popular due to the pandemic, accounting for the sharp increase in deliveries to residential communities.

Today, unless you want the foyer of your multi-family property to be cluttered with unsightly packages, you need to consider creating a strategy for package management.

What is residential package management?

Put simply, residential package management is the process you use to organize and secure packages that enter your multi-family property.

It entails that you:

1. Process the delivery.
2. Inform your resident of the arrival.
3. Place it somewhere they can access.

Ideally, you’d move each parcel away from prying eyes and grabby hands, ensuring its safety until the intended tenant can pick it up at a time that is convenient to them.

What’s more? Building package management helps you combat one of the biggest residential property management challenges to keep your customers happy.

The 5 most disruptive residential package management trends in 2022

However, residential package management isn’t a static process.

As we experience a surge in the number of precious parcels arriving at our multi-family properties, trends have arisen in the industry that are worth keeping track of.

1. Parcel management software

Worldwide, delivery companies have recognized the importance of allowing customers to monitor the progress of their parcels. As a result, they are using software that automatically provides delivery updates – informing your tenant exactly when to expect a parcel. If the package goes missing after it’s arrived at your building, you’ll be the one in trouble.

2. Sustainable packaging

Social pressure is encouraging the retail market to make ethical choices with their delivery process, using sustainable packaging, such as brown paper. While this should be good news for property managers, it might mean a rise in demand for recycling facilities at your multi-family property building.

3. Packaging designs

Companies have recognized the opportunity to stamp their brand on each parcel they send, generating more attention and encouraging other customers to shop with them. However, this also hints at the value of each parcel – encouraging malicious activity such as theft. It’s your responsibility to provide a secure space for deliveries.

4. Use of QR codes

QR codes have proven to be a fast solution for delivery workers to scan parcels and mark them as delivered. This is something you could take advantage of, too. If you decide to utilize residential package management, being able to effectively register each parcel’s arrival will prove critical to the efficiency of your system.

5. Interactive packages

Customer engagement has always been a priority for businesses. Now, marketers are using packaging to create an interactive Augmented Reality experience to enhance buyer journeys and generate more sales. If the packaging is damaged as a result of mistreatment after arrival at your multi-family property, you’ll find yourself in hot water.

What does the future of multi-family package management look like?

Package delivery problems have always existed.

However, the nature of residential communities is proving to be an additional speed bump in an already difficult challenge.

Many facilities have been around far longer than online shopping and are ill-equipped to handle the influx of packages we’re seeing today. Going forward, we believe that property managers need to launch a plan for multi-family package management.

Whether it’s:

1. Organizing a designated room where residents can come to claim their deliveries.
2. Building lockers where property managers can directly take packages.

These existing solutions can only be described as “good” – not perfect. We need to think bigger.

As Brian explains in our Package Management Podcast, 80% of deliveries to residential facilities take place without incident. Issues often arise when residents order products too large for a delivery room or locker, or when others start purchasing perishable goods online and can’t pick them up at the leasing office during business hours.

While the instinctive response to these challenges is to simply leave packages on residents’ doorsteps, this puts packages at an uncomfortably high risk of theft, weather damage, and other incidents. Issues you might find yourself responsible for.

Instead, prepare yourself for worst-case scenarios. Onboard a specific software system designed to track and manage residential packages, reducing risk and enhancing organizational efficiency. This way, you can cut costs before they arise.

Building package management trends – FAQs

There was an estimated 157 billion parcels shipped out to consumers in 2021.

Even a small portion of these arriving at your multi-family property means you could be dealing with dozens of packages every day; cluttering up your corridors and foyers and upsetting tenants.

Residential package management allows you to put a structure in place to deal with deliveries, making sure parcels stay safe until a tenant can pick them up. Still have questions? Maybe these FAQs could be of use.

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Stay on-top of multi-family package management trends with software

As a residential property manager, you’ll have built trust between yourself and your residents.

Just as they trust you with the keys to their units for inspections and property maintenance, with package tracking, you can give your residents the option of in-home deliveries.

If they’ve ordered something time-sensitive or overly large, then they won’t have to wait to pick up their packages during office hours.

Ultimately, with any software service, you can provide your residents with an enriched experience, furthering the bond between resident and landlord, and thus, increasing resident retention.

Your residential package management solution

MRI Package Tracking provides a wealth of features for residential package deliveries. Truly.

It’s a comprehensive solution to a complex problem, and it’s tailored specifically to fit the needs of property management staff and their residents.

What’s more? It works perfectly in tandem with our residential property management dashboard.

With innovative tracking, you can utilize the technology of advanced multi-family residential package logging – alerting your residents about updates to their order.

In addition, you’ll have the power to notify your tenants through text or email exactly when deliveries have been made. Convenience at its best.

Do you have more questions about MRI Package Tracking? Learn more here and check out our podcasts on iTunes or SoundCloud, where Brian Zrimsek and MRI’s Creative Marketing Manager, Nicholas Frank, dive further into problems facing the industry and the residential solutions you’ll need to overcome them.