Iain Aitchison http://www.parcelhero.com 3m 702

The views of this article are the perspective of the author and may not be reflective of Confessions of the Professions.

How parcel services can minimise shipping costs

In today’s global economy, more and more companies are shipping their products and services to a global audience.  Regardless of the size of these companies, the cost of shipping goods is very often a core concern.  There are some factors that affect the price of moving goods and products using a courier service, the primary drivers of price are;

• size and weight
• speed

How quickly you need to deliver something will without a shadow of a doubt affect the price. If you need things moving with same day delivery then it is perfectly reasonable that this service would cost you more. The same can be said of heavy items that need transporting. The combination of transporting heavy goods with an express service would indicate that there would be a double effect on cost. However there is a new breed of courier services that offer superb value for money and are willing to go the extra mile to meet the needs of their customers.

Historically why are Heavy Goods so Expensive to Transport?

Transporting heavy items comes with a variety of challenges that have a natural knock on effect of moving those goods around. It is not difficult to see that often heavy items need more manpower or more diverse skills. For example a small box might be easily lifted by one man or woman working in a distribution centre. A heavy item may need two people to lift it, or even an experienced fork lift truck driver to be able to load and unload packages onto a lorry. These factors have prevented companies from providing a cheap courier service when transporting heavy goods.

So how can Parcel Delivery Companies offer cheap Courier Services?

There are several reasons why the ‘sudden change’ and reduction in prices, how is it that companies who specialise in parcel delivery can now offer a cheaper service? One reason is that the more heavy goods that a company move or transports, the cheaper moving each product becomes, this is summed up in an accountancy term called ‘economy of scale’. Economy of scale says the more times you do the same thing the cheaper it can become. For example a company might have to employ specialist contractors to move heavy parcels using a fork lift truck driver. The more they do this task the more likely they are to employ their own fork lift truck driver, this makes the price cheaper. The company is able to pass the discount on to their customer.

Another way of creating a cheap courier service is to strike up strategic partnerships with companies that specialise in moving heavy packages. This again means moving heavy parcels and ultimately delivering them becomes cheaper.

It is important to note cheap does not mean poor quality

The term cheap used to be associated with inferior service and quality. In the modern world of the courier provider this mind set has been erased. Parcel delivery specialists have worked hard to create a business that is able to bring excellent value for money to customers.  Costs have become an important driver in the world of parcel delivery and this is no less apparent than in the delivery of heavy items. Domestic and business customers have gained from improved services; services that cost less.

The key with shipping heavy goods is that it is a specialised service, and forging a working partnership with a reputable company who can work with companies and their demands is important. There are unfortunately some companies who just want to grab the money and run.

Good couriers will be able to provide companies and individuals with a well priced cheap courier service. Most will also offer a domestic express version of this service. Insurance of your goods will be a pre-requisite. These are a few simple guidelines to a quality courier provider that does not cost and arm and a leg.

Featured images:

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• License: Creative Commons image source
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• License: Creative Commons image source

Iain Aitchison is business and finance blogger who writes extensively on the advantages posed by using modern courier services. He is currently working on developing content for his own blog for SME’s.

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