How The Winchendon School Cut Their Parcel Logging Time by 75%

The Winchendon School in Massachusetts is a co-educational college preparatory boarding school founded in 1926 and now celebrating its 100th anniversary. Students arrive from across the country and around the world, and relationships between staff and students are at the heart of daily life on campus.

For Jeanne C., that sense of community is something she helps build everyday. She has been part of Winchendon for over 20 years as an administrative assistant and receptionist. She manages the front desk, supports day-to-day operations, and serves as a familiar face for students and visitors alike.

Beyond the front desk, Jeanne also oversees the school’s mailroom. And while Winchendon may be small, the volume of incoming packages is anything but.

The Problem

• Manual Logging: Staff recorded each package in a notebook, then re-entered the same information into a Google Sheet to share with recipients
• Ineffective Notifications: There was no reliable way to notify students and faculty when packages arrived
• Lost Time: Manual processes consumed hours each day. Time that could have been spent on students and other responsibilities

At the start of the school year, when students return to campus, packages arrive in waves. For two to three months, the school can receive up to 100 packages per day. The Winchendon School logged incoming packages by logging them in a notebook, transferring them to a Google Sheet at the end of the day, and sharing them with the recipients.

To keep up, Winchendon relied on a part-time staff member to manage the mailroom. But even then, logging packages could take up the entire four-hour shift.

If the work wasn’t finished, the responsibility would fall to the receptionist.

That meant stepping away from the front desk, leaving visitors unattended, to finish processing packages. Even during slower periods, when deliveries drop to around 50 packages per day, the process remained difficult to manage alongside Jeanne’s other responsibilities.

What should have been a simple task had become a daily operational strain.

The Process

Jeanne knew something had to change.

She began looking for a more sustainable solution. She wanted a tool that would streamline operations and improve the student experience.

During her research, Parcel Tracker stood out. Its OCR scanning capability immediately caught her attention. She had seen similar systems in use at other schools and recognized the potential right away.

The idea was simple: scan, log, notify.

Jeanne reached out to the Parcel Tracker team and quickly scheduled a demo. From there, implementation was straightforward.

• Jeanne provided a CSV file with student and faculty contact details
• Mailroom staff received remote training via Zoom

The onboarding process was fast and intuitive. Jeanne noted that training was easy, and any questions were answered right away.

With everything in place, Winchendon began using Parcel Tracker at the start of the academic term last September.

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The Solution

The impact was immediate.

• Enhanced Efficiency: Packages are now scanned using the Parcel Tracker app. With a quick scan, recipient information is captured automatically, and the parcel is logged with a photo and timestamp. Notifications are sent instantly, and students can collect their packages using a QR code.
• Improved Visibility & Security: Every package is tracked digitally from arrival to pickup. Proof of collection is automatically recorded, making it easy to resolve disputes and significantly reducing the risk of misplaced items.
• Scalability: Whether handling 100+ packages during peak periods or managing daily volumes of around 50, the system adapts seamlessly. Adding new students or faculty is quick and effortless.

For Jeanne, the difference was clear. Features like OCR scanning and automatic notifications replaced years of manual work with a process that is simple, fast, and reliable. These turned out to be her favorite features of Parcel Tracker.

Students quickly adapted to the new system and preferred it over the old method. Notifications were instant. Pickup was simple. The experience felt seamless.

With Parcel Tracker handling the heavy lifting, Jeanne gained something she didn’t have before: time.

Time that was once spent logging packages, updating spreadsheets, and managing paperwork could now be used elsewhere. Instead of being tied to the mailroom, she could return to the front desk, engage with students, and be present in the moments that matter.

The Result

At Winchendon, students are often away from home for the first time. Having someone to talk to matters more than any process ever could.

What began as a solution to streamline the mailroom became something more. It gave time back to the people who needed it and allowed that time to be spent where it matters most: with the students.