subject: What Are Terminals And Who Uses Them? We Use Them: Let Us Tell You What They Are! [print this page] Chicago courier services pretty much move any merchandise to any destination, and they always guarantee their shipments. In order to fulfill that promise, they have to stay awake, alert and on the job every hour, every day, to make the deliveries happen. And one of the best ways to make the deliveries happen is their use of terminals.
Terminals are like waiting rooms in airports, but for packages instead of people. Chicago courier services always make good use of them; they have to, to stay in business effectively.
Terminals are those massive buildings you see just off the highway along the industrial routes; they are the places where they meet their fellow couriers. It is a little like a convention. Their drivers and vehicles meet with those of other couriers in the greater Chicago area and they share their routes, cargoes and individual deliveries that, for whatever reason, another fellow can deliver more easily or efficiently than they can.
Every single day, their drivers head for the terminals to do their package exchanges, transfers and last minute emergency runs with, and for, other couriers. Since this means they have to use more than one courier to get your merchandise to its recipient on time, they generate orders and transfers in a computerized system that allows us to keep tabs on your package, even after it leaves their hands. That is only one of the services that make terminals so handy for us. The other guy may make the delivery, but they always know where it is.
It is a little like a board game of world conquest, like RISK, except everyone plays to win and there is no risk. They move their merchandise into another courier area; he gladly takes it and swaps it out for merchandise that, in turn, they can deliver for him.
This is especially useful in bad weather, where some delivery routes are blocked while others are not. If the system finds another courier who can get your package somewhere faster, they feel sure you would want us to get the package to him. Well, the game board, the terminal, is where that all happens.
They can check inventory, get their GPS information made current, and have a checkpoint where they always know where everything is, and where it isn't. They can store and transfer, reroute and reschedule, all in one handy place.
