What is a Smart Locker?
Smart lockers are storage containers that use Internet of Things (IoT) technology to connect to the internet and provide people with a convenient way to store their belongings or to protect assets in factory and warehouse environments. The ultimate purpose of smart lockers is the usage of smart locker software.
These smart locker systems are especially popular in offices, warehouses, retail chains, accounting firms, solicitor’s offices, and public service headquarters. Two main advantages include keeping items safe and secure, but more so, for the administrators gathering insightful data on usage and security via the provided software by these smart locker solutions.
How Does Smart Locker Technology Work?
Smart locker technology automates transaction logging. Using the core components of smart lockers, you can track when lockers were used and easily complete audits within the system, greatly saving management time. Users can open lockers using their existing staff card or fob, or by using a browser on their mobile device.
Hardware Components
Here are some hardware components of smart locker systems:
• Storage compartment: This must be sturdy enough to stand up not only to regular use but to abuse from package thieves and vandals. It must also be easily accessible to regular users and protect the valuable items stored inside.
• Authentication panel: Smart locker technology can integrate with your existing keycard or fobs, becoming an extension of your business
• Locking mechanism: The lock will only open after authentication. Some smart locks companies have the authentication method (usually a swiper) built in, while others are connected to the control centre and only open when they receive and verify authorization.
• Connectivity modules: Connectivity modules connect your smart locker to your network. Connectivity modules can also connect with smart apps for customer convenience.
• Charging ports: Charging ports let users charge mobile electronic devices like laptops, Chromebooks, tablets, and phones while they are being stored.
Software Components
Locker management software is the central software that manages the entire smart locker system. The software is the interface between the smart locker and your system. A smart locker sends its information to the location management software, which processes that information and acts accordingly.
With locker management software, administrators can:
– Monitor locker usage in real-time to see how lockers are used throughout the day and to determine who accessed a locker at a particular time.
– Set access permissions for lockers to protect sensitive or confidential information or ensure new team members have a locker from day one.
– View transaction logs to spot the most and least used lockers and rearrange office space accordingly.
– Use data uploaded from smart lockers to generate reports for insights and compliance.
Different types of locker management software include:
• User interface software: helps locker users engage with the smart locker.
• Asset tracking software: for managing tools, inventory, and other assets.
• Alert and notification system: for emergencies or notification of certain events.
• Integration modules: to connect the locker to the network.
• Data security and encryption: to protect sensitive information.
Staff Lockers
Smart locker systems for employees save everybody time and improve employee productivity. Users don’t have to worry about losing keys or padlocks. Managers needn’t rely on spreadsheets to assign lockers to new employees. Smart loggers track each time the locker is opened and know which employee is matched to each locker. Smart staff lockers are fully self-service and if you already have lockers in place, many existing lockers can be retrofitted with smart locks.
Smart Lockers for Device Management
Tech departments charged with keeping track of the company’s devices love smart locker systems. They use device management lockers to deploy, exchange, and return devices to the workforce. If a tech needs to make a hot swap, the device can be easily accessed via a locker as opposed to a personal hand-off. Device management becomes much easier when you have real-time analytics on who uses each device and which devices are yet to be returned.
Click & Collect Lockers
Click and collect lockers make it easier for customers to pick up their orders. You can use Locker Analytics to get a better grasp on how your lockers are used every day. Businesses can also deploy an internal click and collect to deliver parcels within their organisation and keep track of when the recipient picks them up. Your users can collect from eLocker’s secure locker system via 2FA (Two Factor Authentication) by tapping their card and asset on the lock to both check-in and check-out.
Applications of Smart Lockers Storage
Smart locker technology offers several benefits for businesses. It goes beyond the traditional ‘storage’ space and provides administrators with tracking, easily granted access to storage, and full online analytics on how lockers are being used. Here’s a comprehensive list on the different types of businesses that have found benefit in smart locker systems.
Accountancy Firms
Our tech and lock software company works closely with accountancy firms to help maximise the security of sensitive client documentation via smart locker technology. Accountancy firms appreciate the influx of data our smart locker software has brought to their day-to-day with ultimate device security and locker access data.
Financial Institutions
At financial institutions, a staff locker system allows members to have their own storage space for belongings. However, tellers and bank office workers are not the only ones who benefit from smart office technology. Clients, in particular those with a “safe deposit box”, can benefit from the added security to their belongings with a Click and Collect Locker. This smart tech locker system, will allow banks to provide specific access data as well as personalised access to their clients.
Corporate Offices
Office lockers provide employees with secure storage for their personal belongings while they work, with no worry about losing their keys. You can use smart locker technology for document storage to track and keep control of who accesses stored material. Our Asset Management Locker System is a great way to streamline administration for your tech staff who can manage Click and Collect Lockers for internal equipment or allocate lockers to employees with ease.
Professional Services & Management Consultants
Professional services and consultants use smart locker solutions to provide devices for client meetings via our Click and Collect Lockers. Pickups and returns are catalogued by your locker management software, so you can keep track of your devices. You can also use smart lockers to store confidential information and limit access to all but necessary personnel. The software tracks who has accessed and returned materials and provides you with a digital record for compliance purposes.
Emergency Services
Emergency service officers like police officers, firefighters and paramedics require access to both personal and shared items. Smart lockers have been particularly useful for officers to get new radios at unsociable hours, helping them to have all the right tools to stay protected. Smart locker technology provides public service members with an added measure of security for these items via our digital access Smart Staff Lockers.
Additionally, evidence lockers at policing headquarters can be better tracked with smart locker software such as our Device Management Lockers, as opposed to manual input into online documents or paper notebooks.
Warehouses
Warehouse lockers provide efficient tracking of warehouse equipment and tools with our device management lockers. Not only do smart locker solutions reduce equipment loss, they also help keep track of tool usage and ensure proper tool maintenance. Warehouse asset tracking lockers also enhance worker productivity.
Knowing exactly where a tool is when you get into work and where it goes after you leave makes for a highly efficient workplace, helping to save valuable minutes.
Call Centres
You can use smart lockers to store employee phones and personal items while they are on duty using our Smart Staff Lockers. With smart locker technology, workers can check their items in and out without help from an office administrator. Smart lockers keep belongings safe and charging ports can let them charge their phone while they work. Gadgets required for shifts can also be stored, such as headsets and master office cards/keys.
Hospitals
There are several smart locker solutions to make a hospital run more smoothly. A smart device management system can protect patient items during procedures. Medication distribution lockers can provide access based on your employee’s badge or other ID, track use, and ensure patients receive the medication they need via a Click and Collect Locker system. They can also disable access to a used locker until it is properly cleaned. All this not only saves administration time, it reduces errors and enhances patient care.
Retail Stores
Retailers can streamline the customer’s shopping experience with smart locker solutions. Retail lockers and Click and Collect Lockers give customers a contactless pickup option. Smart lockers do the tracking for you, taking care of inventory management becomes much easier. The easier it is for your customers to get their items from your storefront, the more digital orders they are likely to place. Plus, you are able to add custom upsells to the pick-up browser, helping you to get even further value.
Benefits of Using Smart Locker Systems Over Other Storage Solutions
There are many benefits of using smart locker systems. Here are just a few:
Convenience
With smart locker systems, staff can easily store and retrieve belongings with digital access – these technology lockers are used via a smartcard or smartphones ending the frustration of lost keys and sticky locks.
Data Collection
Smart locker management software allows administrators to access insights that would otherwise be unavailable. How often are your lockers in use? Who has accessed the lockers in recent months? eLocker software allows administrators to keep track of usage data for better security and management.
Efficiency
Smart locker technology helps save up to 94% of locker management time by automating management workflows and allowing you to quickly and easily allocate staff lockers. They can also self-allocate using a Hot Locker System. It also saves administrative time, money and resources that would otherwise be spent finding and redistributing lost keys or reporting missing belongings.
Security
Intelligent locker services provide an extra layer of security for belongings. If there is a situation where items are missing, you can easily log into the online system to view when the locker was last accessed and by whom. eLocker provides features like live locker logs, a full audit trail and keyless entry which traditional storage solutions just can’t provide.
How Can Smart Locker Systems Help My Business?
In summary, intelligent locker solutions can help your business by providing a secure and convenient way for employees to store their belongings which is fully automated and fully secure. With smart locker technology, employees can quickly and easily access their belongings without having to fumble around with keys or combination codes.
Additionally, intelligent locker solutions can help your business save money on space. By tracking which employees have accessed the locker and when you can easily identify unused lockers in the system. This makes it easy to reduce the number of lockers you have in the office and optimise your space. Smart locker solutions are more about the software than the lockers themselves. Access to data on usage and time stamps are invaluable insights for theft prevention and workflow optimisation.
Finally, smart locker systems provide a secure way to store valuable or confidential items. With keyless entry and tamper-proof locks, you can rest assured that your items are safe and secure. Here’s how you can upgrade to smart lockers.
Turnkey Solutions from eLocker
Lockers are an office must. Employees need a place to secure their valuables and save desk space. But outdated, labour-intensive manual locker management costs businesses lots of money every year. Smart locker systems not only save you money, they improve operational efficiency, reduce downtime, and provide round-the-clock access to equipment.
eLocker, a smart tech and lock company, provides smart locker solutions. We’re the market leader in smart locker systems and software, and we have experience installing our equipment in businesses of all sizes. If you’d like to learn more about what we have to offer, book a demo and find out more.
Real-Time Analytics
eLocker smart locker systems can collect usage data in your management account which is used to generate reports and analytics on how your lockers are being used
Space Saving
Smart locker technology tracks the times and dates when employees access each locker. This information makes it easy to identify unused lockers in your system. Reducing the number of lockers you have in your office is a great way to optimise your valuable commercial space and reallocate locker resources to better trafficked areas.
User Orientated
eLocker incorporates nearly all access badge technologies. You can get rid of key authenticators which can be lost and PIN codes which can be forgotten. Whether our lockers are for staff or customers, we want to make the user experience convenient. Our smart locker management system ensures that life is easier for your tech department, administrators, and management too.
Full Accountability
Our intelligent locker solutions offer transparency and reporting on usage. We maintain a record of any data sharing we undertake, and review it regularly to make sure our data protection remains in compliance with GDPR laws. Rest assured that we’re diligent in our fight against and the prevention of data breaches. We’ll dive deeper into digital security below.
Digital Security
Our secure locker system uses ISO27001 documented and OWASP-tested digital security to protect your data. All communications between our locks use military-grade AES 128 byte encryption. Our personal data handling meets all legal obligations on data safety, sharing, and security. The eLocker security team works hard to keep your private information safe.
Increased Productivity
By automating manual processes, smart locker management lets you re-allocate administrative roles to more productive tasks. Employees no longer have to log items in and out, create spreadsheets to follow locker assignments, or engage in other busywork that takes time away from more pressing tasks. Your smart locker handles those jobs so everybody can focus on their work.
Are Smart Locker Systems Safe?
Absolutely, as an example – eLocker utilises military-grade 128 Byte AES encryption in our system, alongside resistance tested locks. We can assure you that our lockers are safe
Save Time
Smart storage lockers liberate you from time-consuming chores. Installing an eLocker at your location can save you from around 94% of the administration time that you currently spend on managing your lockers and engaging with customers.
How Much Do Smart Locker Solutions Cost?
Smart storage lockers liberate you from time-consuming chores. Installing an eLocker at your location can save you from around 94% of the administration time that you currently spend on managing your lockers and engaging with customers.
Final Thoughts
If you’re looking for an answer to the question, what is a smart locker, we hope we have provided the answers you needed. Smart locker solutions, while a relatively new technology, are quickly gaining in popularity. They work by granting access to authorised individuals through the use of an access badge or mobile app.
This allows your team to store belongings safely and securely without having to worry about theft or damage. Benefits of using intelligent locker solutions over other storage solutions include increased security, organisation, convenience, and most of all intelligent software for data collection. Smart locker storage starts with the locker, but the most important aspect is the software that comes along with it.
If you’re curious about how smart locker management could help your business or want more information on how they work, get in touch today! We would be happy to answer any questions you have and help you get started with this innovative new technology.
