subject: How Does A Local Courier Company Differ From Fedex? [print this page] There is no golden rule that says whether a small courier company is going to be better, or that FedEx is going to be the kind of company that everyone should do business with given the chance. Instead, there are only differences between the two. Which one is going to be "better" is going to largely depend on what your company's personal shipping needs are. This is just meant to be an outline of what the different types of service are that you might be able to receive from your local Charlotte Courier service, as opposed to those that you might receive from FedEx and companies like it.
First of all, your local courier company is almost assuredly going to give you more personal service. The smaller the courier, the lower their employee turnover rate will be. This can be quite high at the larger companies. This means that you'll probably get to keep the same courier for quite some time, and get to know some of the people working at the office. That personal touch is important to some people.
The strength of a larger company like FedEx is in their ability to make international shipment. When you have an account with a company like that you can ship all over the world with very little difficulty. If your company has international clients, it can be a lot easier to just have an account directly with FedEx. Otherwise, if you're doing business with your local courier they will probably just end up sending it via FedEx eventually anyway.
Sometimes with a local courier you can get better local service times, and faster rush service within the city itself that you live in. However, if you're shipping to the far side of the country, FedEx can often offer you better delivery times, and certainly they can internationally. The speed of the deliveries tends to be based on each type of company's area of expertise, with either a wide focus or a local focus.
Pricing is another area to look at. With a larger company like FedEx, the general rate may be a bit lower because they have huge existing infrastructure that helps keep costs down on a per shipment basis. However, if you ship a great deal, you may have better luck negotiating better rates on your shipments with a smaller company. You probably don't represent enough business to a larger courier to merit a negotiation.
