Who

Initial idea:

  • Tim Golden, Associate Director – Distribution Center, Facilities Management

Feasibility, policy and budget support: 

  • Ron Ried, Director of Business Services, Facilities Management

Process design and implementation (in addition to Tim Golden):

  • Jon Sherman, Manager of Materials Management, Facilities Management
  • Jack Brubaker, Manager of Property Services, and Mail & Package Services
  • Duane Tucker, Director of Strategic Procurement, Procurement Service Center

What

Office supply and custodial items ordered from Staples by campus departments in Boulder were being delivered directly to each ordering department by a third-party company. This team negotiated with Staples so that all items are now delivered to the Distribution Center (DC), and then DC staff make the deliveries to the various departments while the staff are making other deliveries, creating a more efficient delivery process. Staples is providing funding that covers additional labor and other handling costs. A major benefit is reducing the number of delivery vehicles on campus, which reduces congestion, and thus creates a safer environment for students and staff. Less delivery vehicles is a sustainability effort, and helps to reduce CU’s carbon footprint. This change has also resulted in better service for campus customers as combining deliveries means less interruptions, and the DC delivery staff will place larger or heavier items wherever the campus customer needs them rather than just dropping them at a desk.

Why

As the Boulder campus grows in both students and staff, traffic congestion creates safety concerns, as well as ties up parking and dock space. Vendor delivery drivers (including Staples) are typically in a hurry, often violate safety policies, drive and park in unauthorized locations including fire lanes, and drive and park on sidewalks and lawns, often damaging sod and sprinklers. DC drivers are instructed to pull over during class change times, whereas vendors do not follow this safety precaution. Any reduction in traffic congestion also helps in the efficiency in which students and staff can maneuver between locations on campus.
TSCIM, Facilities Management almost never knew from where or whom critical materials were being obtained.

Where

The DC is now making Staples deliveries to all campus locations in Boulder, including offices and custodial closets located at student dorms. Currently the Staples implementation team is working with other delivery vendors to determine what opportunities there might be to keep other vendor delivery vehicles from driving on the campus. This would also follow a similar pattern of the delivery being made to the DC, and then DC staff making the delivery to the various campus departments. Ideally this would ultimately lead to a major reduction in vendor delivery vehicles driving on campus.

When

An initial week-long trial was conducted the week of June 6, 2016, to determine feasibility. Lessons learned were then incorporated into the process, with the full process implementation starting on August 1, 2016. The process has now been successfully working for 7 ½ months.

Submitted by

ron.ried@colorado.edu