Case Study - Barry University

Founded in 1940 in Miami, Florida, Barry University is committed to the highest academic standards with over 100 degree programs in multiple areas of arts, sciences and business. The Barry University community includes over 8,900 students from 80 countries and nearly all 50 U.S. states; 65,000 alumni worldwide; and 2,100 faculty and staff members. The University is comprised of the 124-acre main campus, a campus in Orlando, and satellite sites throughout Florida, the Bahamas, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

IST has been engaged to increase efficiency, accountability and end-user satisfaction by implementing specialized mailroom management processes using our facilities management software, IST-Suite. We were immediately successful in our task while also providing an annual cost savings of $96,000 in year one.



But Barry University has grown significantly since the main campus was built presenting new challenges:

• The package pick-up and drop-off locations had become too small and crowded to support the overwhelming volume of packages in the originally constructed IST Mailroom.
• The location was also not originally set up to handle the increase in customer service needs and this resulted in an overflow of end-users into an already busy hallway.

Working together Barry and IST used package volume information from IST Suite to determine a new location on campus that was large enough to handle the volume and remain centrally located. The location had to receive daily delivery and increased customer service needs. Then IST designed a space that incorporated all of Barry University’s package needs that included:

• Flexible loading area that could be expanded for large packages
• Package tagging/staging stations to increase package processing efficiency
• Package shelving and inventory procedures that provide for quick and efficient organization and package retrieval
• A large customer service area with accessibility accommodations and space for waiting students and faculty 

Once the Package Center was built, IST coordinated with Barry University to implement the move over a weekend and move all packages and equipment from the old package center into the new one. On Monday morning the new Barry University Package Center opened at the normal business hour and was fully operational.

IST has continued to find innovative ways to increase efficiency with an eye toward saving the University time and money. After leading the effort to relocate and update the University’s mail center to better serve the University’s population we created a Student Work Study program providing University students with paid internships in the mailroom.