Central Receiving

Expediting Services

Physical Facilities expediters have a number of roles. The expediters assist campus staff with office moves, set up and break down tables, chairs and other equipment for events and pick up and deliver supplies for residential halls and grounds. For more information regarding BU's Relocation procedures visit Relocation Info.

The Physical Facilities Department operates Binghamton University’s Materials Receiving dock. It is located behind the Physical Facilities building on the western edge of campus.

Central Receiving

Central Receiving has improved technology so that it can notify customers of package arrival at Central Receiving automatically, via e-mail. This service is especially useful for packages that contain perishable or time sensitive items. If you routinely receive packages at Central Receiving and would like automatic e-mail notification of their arrival, please call 7-4004.

Central Receiving is a combination warehouse and delivery service. Each year, thousands of deliveries large and small arrive at Materials Receiving.

There is limited space in the warehouse. It is approximately 6,300 square feet, but 70% of it is used to store material for campus maintenance, renovation and construction. There is also limited personnel to deal with the added volume, so it is more important than ever to know how to properly use the services of Central Receiving.

Please use the following general guidelines:

1. Anything that requires special handling such as large science experiments or bulk furniture, or items that you want within 24 hours are best directed to their final destination on campus, not Central Receiving. At the time of your order, request on-site, installed delivery from the sender/supplier. Give the sender/supplier a purchase order number, contact name and phone number, building name, floor and room number. If you are expecting a large delivery, inform people in your department in case you are not in when the delivery arrives.
2. If you do direct an order to Central Receiving, please give us a “heads up” so that appropriate arrangements for space can be made. Always ask the sender/supplier to properly label your order with a purchase order number, campus contact name, phone number, building name, floor and room number.
3. Only order an amount of supplies/equipment that your particular department or area can store. Many suppliers are willing to accommodate customers with split or incremental deliveries. Physical Facilities uses this approach when ordering toilet paper for campus. A large amount of warehouse space would be consumed if PF took delivery of the entire supply at once.
4. As much as possible, do not call to see if your package has arrived. In general, items arriving at the warehouse are expedited to their campus locations within 24 to 48 hours. We want to move things as quickly as possible out of the warehouse and to campus customers. If a package is greatly overdue, please check with your supplier first to see if it has been shipped.