To summarise you need choose a quality courier who will get your goods to the customer in the time frame agreed and at a price that suits you. Ideally, you will choose a courier who is established and has worked with businesses similar to yours. That way, they can not only provide you with a good service but they will also be able to give you an easy and stress free service also. This can help no end when running a business. For one, it can make key processes run so much easier too.
With delivering goods being a time-sensitive task, the sameday courier service you decide on should be able to offer you live updates and comprehensive analytics. You should be able to see some form of tracking. You will also be quite right to expect to see some clear logs of what is going on. It is great to see this across the process chain.
It is key the service is overall a very cost effective one
The most obvious concern is how cost effective is your sameday courier service? Do they provide an affordable service that is highly rated by consumers, or do they charge extortionate amounts for a subpar experience? This has been made very evident recently with BBC’s Watchdog exposing Hermes for not properly vetting their staff, poorly handling deliveries and leaving customers embittered towards the courier service. Customers will then relate their experience with your company, leading to a downturn in repeat purchases.
Check also to see if next day delivery is an option
Convenience is king, and people are willing to pay through the nose for it. In an age where information access is as simple as clicking a link and social media allows for immediate gratification, we expect everything ASAP. This has extended to our deliveries and e-commerce platforms such as Amazon are keen to take advantage. When choosing a new courier service, you can whittle down your list by crossing of those that don’t have adequate next day delivery options.
Does the service also come with a form of money back guarantee? this is definitely worth looking into
Even with the perfect courier service, and smooth running process, you’ll need to prepare a ‘Plan B’ in case something goes wrong. When it comes to couriers, this could include products being delivered late, or packages turning up damaged to the customer. In these cases, it’s a good idea to choose couriers based on if they offer money-back when something goes wrong and it’s attributed to their service. You can usually find this in the terms and conditions from the couriers themselves, though you can always double check with their customer service team if you can’t find it straight away.
Professionalism is always going to be key
There are many types of businesses for whom delivery of products to customers is a key part of their service. For example bakeries, flooring companies, printers, promotional merchandise, builders merchants, wholesalers, eBay sellers and machinery manufacturers all have road transportation requirements. Some businesses have their own van fleets, but many outsource the delivery of goods to third parties because they don’t want to worry about licences, fuel costs, regulations, driver training and tax. The choice of outsourced logistics supplier may seem a relatively unimportant decision – until it goes wrong! Every customer interaction influences your business reputation, and an unprofessional or unreliable customer delivery will do untold damage. So choosing the right company to manage your delivery and freight needs is crucial. It is key if you want your business to be perceived as reliable and professional.
Just remember – the biggest firms are never entirely the best
There are some very well known courier services in and across the UK – and further afield too. But when it comes to your courier, it’s not the size that counts; it’s what they can do for you that matters most. You might find that a larger courier suits you best. But it might be that a smaller, independent courier can offer you everything you need at a competitive price. Plus, if you opt for a smaller company, you can be sure of more personal treatment, and that can make a big difference. Choose wisely, get quotes from different companies. Make sure you call them for a chat too. Find out exactly what they’re like. You’ll soon get a feeling for which one is going to work best for you.
Assess the quality of the workers
It makes a big difference who collects and delivers your goods. You may not realise it, but when delivering something for you, your recipient is going to equate the courier company you have chosen with your company. That can have a big knock-on effect on your reputation. If the courier does a good job, that’s great – your business looks good too. If they do a bad job, however, if they don’t deliver on time, or something goes wrong in transit or even if the courier themselves are miserable, uncooperative, downright rude, then it is your business that will suffer. It is key the staff working for a courier company are pleasant and friendly.
Cost of service
Perhaps the first thing that many people think about when looking for courier services, we’ve put it last on the list. Not because it’s not important. But because it’s not as important as some of the other things that have been mentioned. Of course, you don’t want to spend more than you have to. Choosing a courier shouldn’t be about who can do the job for the least amount of money. It should be about value for money, and that’s something entirely different. Make sure you’re getting what you’re paying for when you engage executive courier services. This is so you don’t have the worry and hassle of having to deal with the fallout.
The added value of being able to see and get proof of delivery
Hiring a courier service is not going to do you a lot of good if you never really know whether your shipments and packages are getting to where they are supposed to go when they are supposed to be there. Make sure that the courier service is providing proof of delivery. Tracking might also be useful. It helps if you are ever sending things with a courier that take several hours or several days. For short-term shipments that take an hour or two, this service is less valuable. Find out whether proof of delivery is delivered via their company website, fax, phone, or email.
Overall
To summarise, you need choose a quality courier. You need one who will get your goods to the customer in the time frame agreed. This also needs to be done and carried out for you at a price that suits you. They need to offer a guaranteed service or your money back. You need to check out their insurance, appearance, vehicles, staff turnover, reputation and awards etc. You also need to look at their friendliness and their willingness to do a good job for you. Just remember, they need to work for you. Also, they need to look after your requirements; this is key in no end of ways. Also, look to make sure they are able to work for you in a flexible manner too.
