subject: Greater competition on delivery services means the customer is king [print this page] Greater competition on delivery services means the customer is king
Every way in which we communicate today presents us with a choice of who delivers our message. It wasn't very long ago that when it came to getting a letter delivered, sending a parcel, and making a telephone call, there was a Hobson's choice' of who relayed our message or delivered our goods.
As far as the first two were concerned, it was the Royal Mail, and for the last, we had the GPO effectively another division of the Post Office. And for generations, this was why the Post Office was so successful. But the watchword of so many aspects of life then became choice'. The Post Office had become, in the eyes of the powers-that-be, too big and unwieldy, and it needed to be cut back and encouraged to concentrate on what it did best mail and parcel delivery.
Gradually though, the impetus which this apparent desire for competition to be allowed to determine who was best at providing so many of our services gathered, meant that even these jobs were made the subject of laws designed to make it easier for such competition to throw its hat into the ring. So today, the Post Office has what is known as a Universal Service Obligation essentially a contract with the Government obliging it to deliver post to every single UK address.
But outside of this basic framework, other companies are free to offer delivery of letters on a national basis for businesses, but only locally for individuals and parcel delivery services between any two addresses in the UK, subject to being granted a licence to do so.
This has led to a steady flow of new operators setting up, which range from one man and a van, to multi-national logistics specialists with massive fleets of planes, trucks, vans, and in some cases, railway vehicles at their disposal. So choice has well and truly arrived for international shipping to and from the UK, and parcel delivery from the UK to any other country. Along with the further transformation brought about by the internet, this now means that there are more companies than ever fighting to be noticed in the shipping services market.
Picking the right one for any delivery service, therefore, can be a challenge. That's why it can pay to consult a company which specialises in simply arranging parcel delivery. Such a company will often have well-established partnerships with market leaders, and, importantly, have used these to negotiate preferential parcel prices on behalf of its customers. After all, one specialist company sending 10,000 items daily through a courier company is in a strong position to negotiate, and obtain, preferential rates for its customers.
The principle of letting a specialist in logistics negotiate to buy excess carrying capacity, and then sell that capacity on to others, is well established. And now, it is well and truly with us in the express delivery and international shipping sectors, meaning that everyone, be it an individual or massive multi-national company, can reap the benefits.
With deals such as home delivery available, customers can choose the best courier for them including all their services including express mail delivery.
