Choosing a Courier
At BSD online we know that one of the most important aspects of any online business is how it handles its deliveries. Customers that regularly shop online consistently state that efficient delivery is one of the main reasons they return to an online retailer they have bought from before. First time users of a website also rate highly factors including a sites ability to communicate fast and reliable delivery. Knowing that if you order a product, you would have it in your hands within a definitive time scale is critical. It’s no accident that some of the most successful online businesses have fast and efficient fulfilment operations at the core of their business model.
The post office and Royal Mail services are most businesses first port of call when considering delivery options for their online order fulfilment. However, for many items these “one size fits all” services don’t fit all and so businesses need to search for and consider these alternative services from independent couriers.
In many instances couriers can be used alongside the normal delivery services provided by Royal Mail when you want to offer even faster delivery times for your customers. With the gradual reduction of Royal Mail’s monopoly on postal services and the opening up of this market to competition the choice of couriers for businesses is becoming more important.
It may be you want to offer a selection of delivery options to your customers and allow them to decide whether they want speedy delivery or are happy to choose less urgent options at lower cost. Some customers are prepared to pay a premium price to get their goods delivered in the shortest possible time, others are not in a hurry and would prefer to save money, it therefore makes commercial sense to offer a choice if this can be accomplished cost effectively and efficiently within your business.
You also need to consider the international market, as your online business has the potential of a global customer base you may find that demand dictates you also offer international shipping options to customers. In many respects national and international courier services are the same, but whilst one courier company may be very competitive for domestic services, they may not be competitive for international courier services. Using one courier for all shipments can be an efficient way of organising your order fulfilment, but it may not be the least cost route. Selecting a range of courier companies to deliver different items to different locations may allow savings but could also mean you miss out on volume discounts.
However most important for any courier selection process is the reliability of the courier. If the courier cannot deliver on time and in a consistent way the price offered is irrelevant. We have put together a list of considerations we use when making courier comparisons.
- Speed of Delivery
- The tracking system used by the courier
- The customer service offered by the courier
- The Size of the Goods Being Shipped
- The Transport Infrastructure of the Destination Country
- Special Delivery Requirements of our clients
