subject: Businesses Get Busier When They Know Their Deliveries Are In Good Hands [print this page] For any business selling physical goods which expects to do most of its trade online, what are the biggest concerns?
Getting the type and range of products it sells right has to be top of the list, while their pricing must also be a top concern.
One which ranks alongside these, though, has to be the cost and reliability of their delivery service.
And while most individuals involved in establishing a new concern will doubtless give a great deal of attention to the first two, the last can often be either an afterthought, or even worse, not considered at all until the company is up and running.
If the delivery is to be handled in-house, dedicated staff and vehicles, that is fair enough. But this aspect of the operation is very hungry on overheads, and needs careful thought if it is not to be a drain on the business as a whole.
That is why plenty of companies are happy to delegate their deliveries to a third party, especially as they can shop around for the best prices for sending them.
Free-to-use parcel delivery agents, which operate online, have emerged in the last few years. These act like many other 'brokers' of other kinds of services, in that they negotiate directly with the provider of the service, agree to send so much business their way, and in return for their commitment, are given a preferential rate for carrying parcels or mail on the delivery company's aircraft, ships and other vehicles.
Once this aspect of the business is safely handed on to companies which specialise in delivery, the business managers can spend far more of their time dealing with their main priorities.
Responsibility for deliveries of goods might seem quite a large part of a business to put in other people's hands, but when it is done properly, it makes dramatic differences to the way a company operates, and what it can do to further improve the many other areas which it has to regularly keep a watch on.
So instead of wrestling with the issue of getting the most out of an existing delivery service, companies should instead let another business do the legwork, and let those couriers which can offer the most suitable and best-value services come to them.
Then, they will find they have much more time and resources available to do what they do best, and don't need to be constantly worrying whether they can find a better deal.
