Cedarville University installs smart lockers for package pickup
Ohio’s Cedarville University has replaced student mailboxes on campus with automated, smart lockers in an attempt to expedite package pickup and help reduce COVID exposure. Every time a student receives a letter or package, the university’s new TZ Smart Locker system sends the student an email or text directing them to an assigned smart locker where their package has been placed. It’s well known that college campuses are being inundated by packages, with flat mail — or letters — dwindling by comparison. The rise of online shopping, coupled with an internet-native student population, is forcing campus mailrooms to start looking for inventive service models. According to a report from In-Plant Impressions, Cedarville’s search for a smart locker solution began nearly two years ago with the goal of finding a storage system that could both send push notifications when packages were ready for pickup, and leverage the student ID card for locker access. Then the arrival of COVID last year ma