*Much like updating our SaaS TMS regularly to provide the best multi-carrier parcel management solution, updated information is essential to keeping your business shipping running smoothly. We have updated this blog on remote work and home office shipping with some new information to make sure you have the most complete picture to make your business decisions.
There are many new “normals” as the world slowly emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, both in personal life and business. One of the new “normals” for companies is a more robust remote employee culture. As more companies decide to continue to have employees working from home offices, they need to find a new way of managing decentralized mailing and shipping processes and expenses. Where there once was one mail center, there now could be thousands.
While many companies had virtual working environments in the pre-pandemic world—even if it was just part-time—many were forced to have more employees working remotely over the past year to comply with stay-at-home orders. However, seeing some of the cost and convenience benefits to the company and employees, many businesses have embraced virtual working environments as a new operating model.
But not every working task is virtual, including sending and receiving physical items. Yes, despite our technologically advanced society, there will always be a need to ship a physical document, product sample, and more from a home office. And managing shipping from home offices is a new challenge for companies of all sizes.
Work from home beyond COVID-19
Surveys indicate that two-thirds of companies expect work-from-home policies to be permanent or in place long-term.
A study from Global Workplace Analytics estimated that as many as 30 percent of the workforce will be working from home multiple days a week by the end of this year.
Social media giant Twitter said in May that some of its workforce can work from home into perpetuity if they want. Facebook said in August it will allow employees to work remotely until July 2021. Others such as Uber, American Express, and Airbnb have followed that lead.
And why not?
Research from PwC’s US Remote Work Survey showed that employee respondents say they’re more productive now than they were before the pandemic (34% vs. 28%). And over half of employers (52%) say average employee productivity has improved vs. 44% who said the same in June.
*UPDATE*
And it turns out that companies are not only seeing a return from more productive employees, but they are saving money as well.
Businesses save on average $11,000 per year for each half-time remote worker, according to a Global Workplace Analytics roundup of work-from-home statistics. Of course, it would be a shame to give back those savings by losing control and visibility of your company's shipping as employees work from home offices.
Back to the real world of home office shipping
Leaving employees to take matters into their own hands when shipping documents and items to prospects, customers, and co-workers from home can result in lost productivity and cost controls, as well as exposure to the health risks associated with standing in lines at local post offices and ship centers. In addition, businesses can quickly lose enterprise visibility and control over expenditures and carrier selection policies.
As part of the changing corporate environment, many companies have had to shift to a more decentralized process to support mailing and shipping from employees’ homes. Transtream multi-carrier parcel management solution is a single, scalable multi-carrier shipping platform with apps designed for various corporate shipping environments, including warehouses, stores, and office environments, including ship from home and personal shipping workflows. This provides businesses with a single view of all shipping expenditures for all carriers across the enterprise. With Transtream, businesses can maintain productivity, business cost control, convenience, and ensure the safety of their remote workers.
Get a demonstration of Transtream’s Home Office shipping solution today.