In any given year Distribution Services receives more than 200,000 packages, not including letter mail, and ensures that every item is delivered to the correct student.
At the same time, Distribution Services staff moves roughly 50,000 packages to specific departments throughout Cal Poly.
Behind all the work — the receiving, sorting and staging, the driving or walking to deliver packages in a timely and accurate manner — is a team of professionals who take great pride in their role on campus.
Distribution Services is comprised of nine full-time staff, supported by two student employees, who work at University Surplus, and about 25 student staff in mail centers in campus resident halls. The team is headed by Distribution Services Manager Scott Coffman. Departmental Operations is run by Tina Creel, Dave Pimentel, Mark Reyes, Andrew Eto and Dan D’Entremont. Supervisor Greg Hinchman leads Greg Llamas and Marcus Armstrong in Residential Operations.
The team was recognized by the University Logistics and Supply Chain Association in 2020 for the multi-phase reimagining for the residence hall distribution apparatus. This included the opening of Pacheco Post, implementing package lockers, virtual mailbox technology and adopting a hub-and-spoke model of carrier delivery. Team members made these improvements during the COVID-19 pandemic, providing their hard work in even the most difficult of times.
In addition, last year Distribution Services started a summer storage program to create a convenient way for current student residents to store items over the summer in a distribution facility for a fee. Then, before fall move-in, the team moved the stored items into residents’ new rooms.
To further enhance the student experience, the team began a ship-to-room service, designed to help new incoming students with a large amount of items during fall move in. This service allows new students to ship their items to Cal Poly before their move-in date, and the Distribution Services team places them in the students’ new residence.
In addition to their services, Distribution Services has recently become the home of the University Surplus, which is responsible for the end-life of university-owned items, including the resale, reuse, repurpose and recycling of such items. Coordinated by Steve Conroy, University Surplus picks up items that are no longer needed from departments, such as furniture or computers, and facilitates pickups with customers who have purchased surplus items.
Their efforts to help the campus community with complex situations are continuous. During fall quarter, Mark Reyes, who works in the warehouse, spearheaded an effort to assist the Cal Poly Food Pantry in moving donated food from a store to the pantry during the holiday season. With the support of his coworkers, he has continued to help with other pickups this quarter.
To learn more about Distribution Services, visit its website.