Research by Swiss Post Solutions Reveals 75% of Employees Ship Personal Packages to Work Locations Impacting Business Operations
New York, NY (PRWEB) November 04, 2015 -- Swiss Post Solutions (SPS), an innovative leader in business process outsourcing and digitization solutions, reveals the impact of personal package shipments on business operations, and the escalating costs and challenges associated with the delivery to employees. The inaugural study exposes that 75% of the respondents confirm they ship and receive personal packages to their workplace at least once or twice a year, however an alarming 20% do so at least one to two times per week. The volume of shipments is having a notable repercussion on office environments as 66% of those that manage the mailroom or shipping and receiving areas agree the quantities are growing. Nearly one-fifth of managers surveyed state they have experienced a volume increase of over 15% when compared to the prior year. Over 53% postulate this trend is due to personal packages being sent to the workplace by employees.
When evaluating individual preference in shipping to offices instead of home locations, 40% report that they do not want to risk theft, 39% cite greater convenience, and 32% indicate that a signature is required. The convenience factor is easy to understand as the survey results attest that packages are delivered directly to the recipient’s desk in 72% of the cases for those organizations that have mailroom staff.
Fueled by the rapid growth and adoption of online purchasing by consumers, the dilemma is significant for many companies and it’s a trend that is not expected to abate. Compound this new norm with the year-end holiday season and the effect translates into increased costs and burden for company operations. 54% of those surveyed hold oversight responsibility for the delivery of such packages and admit that the holiday season requires a greater need for resources, including personnel. Nearly 30% have addressed the volumes by increasing overtime, and nearly 9% approve hiring for additional full-time or temporary staff to handle the peak period.
When examining options for the course of action over the longer term, 38% of companies have made an attempt to control shipments by deploying a formal policy. In 30% of the cases, respondents mention personal package shipments are discouraged but not enforced. Only 1% cited that such shipments are not allowed and it’s strictly enforced.
“These trends are widely seen today in office operations,” said Art Tatge, COO of SPS North America. “While a policy can alleviate some of the challenges, there are many factors that need to be considered including corporate culture, security, space constraints and the potential for mishandled packages. With our expertise in both physical and digital mail solutions, we routinely work with clients on how to best address these issues.”
In recent years, SPS has experienced and managed growth trends in its client mailroom operations. The recent SPS research was conducted in July 2015 to survey institutions on the emerging patterns of personal shipments given the flourishing popularity with online shopping. The outcome included feedback from 128 respondents, who represented companies and firms of varied sizes, and crossed multiple industries.
About SPS
Swiss Post Solutions (SPS) is a leading outsourcing provider of solutions for paper-based business processes and innovative services in document management. SPS' 7,400 employees support business clients in the areas of financial services, insurance, media, entertainment, legal, higher education, and manufacturing in their digital transformation. Part of the Swiss Post group, SPS is headquartered in Zurich and Berne (Switzerland) with an active presence in all important international economic regions.
Swiss Post Solutions (SPS) North America (NA) offers a comprehensive suite of innovative business process outsourcing solutions and document management services that transform key business applications from paper to digital documents, enabling improved workflow and enhanced efficiencies. In the field of outsourced office services, SPS NA leverages its focus on process improvement to provide mailroom management, managed print services, reprographic services, IT helpdesk support, front office and reception services. Headquartered in New York City, SPS NA has offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Washington DC and Toronto, and operates secure document processing centers in Long Island City and Toronto.
Janet Tarzia, Swiss Post Solutions, Inc., http://www.swisspostsolutions.com, +1 (212) 204-0779, [email protected]
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