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Delivering to Scotland? Yes we are!

December 15, 2010 By

With the snow being the way it is, so couriers and parcel companies have had to take a look at their work loads and decide whether they are delivering to Scotland or not.

Firstly and foremostly, we have to keep our staff safe. So if a vehicle can’t get to a location, we can’t deliver to you. Nothing personal, just the availability of vehicular access is a lot smaller than usual for this time of year.

If you are dependent on internet shopping for your Christmas presents – get them ordered now. The likelihood of the presents reaching you in time is much greater the sooner you order.

Royal Mail have taken on extra staff, they always do at this time of year as the parcels needing to be delivered treble in volume. The give priority to certain services, so check out what ones are available. Remember in adverse weather conditions it takes longer to deliver everything, so a one day delivery window may become 5 days, depending on where you are based.

As a same day courier service, we deliver bigger items and as  I mention earlier, if we can get there we can deliver it.

Generally our vehicles are heavier than cars and we are able to get that bit closer to the end destination than a smaller vehicle :) but that sadly doesn’t guarantee we can get it to your doorstep. We will try though.

Kevin

Proudly delivering to Scotland, whatever the weather

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Couriers and parcel costs.

October 11, 2010 By

Recently I have been blogging about getting things organised in time for Christmas deliveries. Another topic that seems to come up around this time of year is why does it cost so much to send something by sameday courier rather than by parcel?

If Royal Mail did not have significant volume (millions of packages, parcels and letters on a daily basis), then it would cost you on average £36 to send a letter from Aberdeen to Southampton… because so many of us use the mail system, the price comes down significantly.

But the more a parcel has to travel, the more it costs. Common sense really as more fuel is being consumed, more resources are being used and the delivery driver works more hours.

Yesterday I received a call from a potential customer, he didn’t know what service he was looking for and he didn’t understand the system.  I was happy to explain the services and the differences but he didn’t want to know, he just wanted to know how much.

He wanted an item of garden equipment moved from Edinburgh to Dorset, that’s roughly 369 miles. He has quoted £85 plus VAT making it a very reasonable 37p per mile. He was lucky that we had a driving going that way, a truly dedicated vehicle would have cost much more.  If you have a company car, you are given a minimum of 40p per mile to drive it places. So 37p a mile is less that the going rate that the RAC recommend to cover the cost of wear and tear to your vehicle etc.

Well the potential customer wasn’t happy, he felt that the price was excessive.

How long would it take you to drive 369 miles? Collect the item, deliver it, process  the paper work and then extract payment.

You are looking at 8 hours at the least… And that is just in this country! Imagine having to drive a package to the ports, onto the ferry, through customs, onto toll roads and then to it’s destination – easily several hundred miles, yet customers think that it’s cheap to deliver because they can get a ferry for a £1, no thoughts about the drivers wages or fuel costs!

Well we explained all this to the potential customer and he said “you are totally rubbish as you overcharge, I am going to post it instead for £30″. I decided not to email and say you are comparing two completely different delivery services! Or offer him a copy of our free buyers guide to courier services that we give away as a free report when you subscribe to our newsletter. It would be time wasted. Instead I thought about what I could do to help change peoples perception of parcel delivery and sameday courier delivery.

It goes beyond parcel security, parcels change hands many times where something that is being transported by sameday courier doesn’t. Less chance of breakages, less chance of an item getting lost. For something that isn’t fragile and easily replaceable, then use the the postal service, you are just wasting time calling and getting quotes for services that really are not comparable.

Time is money after all.

Kevin

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How to recommend a same day courier service

May 6, 2010 By

Often you see ‘asks’ or ‘requests’ for a same day courier on twitter or in forums. Then a flurry of tweets that recommend suitable couriers to the person that asked.

Normally the person doesn’t specify the type of courier they require and say “same day courier” because they want the items to get their the same day, then squeak at the cost. I shall address the pricing issue in a moment.

There are a huge range of courier services available, just take a look at some of the ones that we do -

Same day courier

Overnight Courier

Two man delivery teams

High value delivery

Airfreight couriers

Parcel courier

Time critical delivery

Quite a few! So when you are crowd sourcing your courier it helps to be specific about what needs to be moved -

  • “I need a courier to collect and deliver a sideboard”
  • “I need a courier to collect and deliver office equipment”
  • “I need a courier to deliver documents today”

They will all get you the right kind of courier, providing that the person recommending knows what type of courier you actually are.

Also remember, different items need different size vehicles so recommending a courier service that only has transit vans will cost more than a courier service with a mixed fleet or small vans.

Courier pricing, this always gets a sharp intake of breath as people compare the cost of a courier to the cost of posting something by the Royal Mail. If it can go by post and isn’t that urgent and it doesn’t matter if it’s lost or delayed, then sending it by Royal Mail will always be the cheapest option. If you have regular items for mail, you can get a franking machine or smartpost and save a few pence per stamp.

If an item has to be delivered halfway across the country, 5 hours driving and a tank of fuel don’t expect it to cost £20 to  be delivered.

Seriously, think twice before trying to work out what you courier will cost. Get a few quotes for courier services and decide which one best fits your needs, and that may not be the cheapest and it may not be the all singing all dancing version. If you absolutely insist on trying to calculate roughly how much it would be you need to factor in

  • Drivers time at at least minimum wage
  • Fuel
  • Time spent loading and unloading
  • How many people are required to complete the delivery
  • How long you are prepared to wait for the item to arrive

Then you may get a ball park figure, remember to add in some profit as well, you don’t work for nothing so don’t expect your courier company too!

When calculating the fuel remember that a commercial vehicle is heavier than most domestic vehicles, so the fuel consumption is greater.

Phew! Quite a lot to consider and you only wanted a courier service recommendation didn’t you!

Bear this in mind and next time you see a forum post asking for one or a tweet with someone looking for one, a few questions may be in order to find the right kind of courier service for the person.

Sarah

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Do you need to look at the delivery aspect of your online business?

January 8, 2010 By

Are you thinking of starting an online shop? If you are, and all the indicators imply that 2010 is going to be another year of growth for online businesses, then you need to look at the delivery options and delivery costs for your company.

If the items are small, low value and less than 2kg in weight then your best, economically viable option is the Royal Mail. If the items are worth more than £2,500 in value then you need to source alternatives or you will find you are not insured or under insured should something get lost in the post. Although the Royal Mail is very good, inevitably somethings will get lost, you will need to factor this in when pricing your products.

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Parcel carrier such as DHL and Interlink offer good prices for volume. Thats actual volume and not predicted volume. I mention this as people often prefer to state their forecasted volume and not their actual volume. If you say you are sending 50 packages a week and only send 10, you may get a surcharge added to your bill or charged at a higher rate, as discounts are specific to volume.

If your online business is selling bigger items such as

  • beds
  • sofas
  • mattresses
  • ovens
  • white goods such as washing machines and tumble dryers

Then you need to look at the options available. Pallet networks are good for items that can be shipped on a pallet and withstand the weight of other items (depending on how the vehicle is loaded). Pallet networks work on strict capacities, items that are oversized or ‘ugly’ freight will be charged extra. This is not recommended for goods that are likely to break. A courier service normally charges a flat rate for your delivery based on the items, and while this may be slightly more expensive when just making a comparison on price, a good courier service won’t have the hidden surcharges.

For items that are ad hoc or don’t fit the Royal Mail, parcel carriers or the pallet networks, then a courier may fit the bill. A good courier service will help you source the right solution for your online businesses deliveries. Communication with a same day courier is better than what you get with the Royal Mail, parcel carriers or pallet networks.

Many online businesses leave the delivery aspect to the last minute and price it incorrectly, eroding into their profits. We suggest you look at a variety of  transport suppliers for your needs and also take into account your customers needs.

Sarah

0844 884 3331

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Hot in the Kitchen?

November 21, 2009 By

Is the safe, secure delivery of your kitchenware making you hot under the collar? Are you getting too many breakages? Are you a kitchenware manufacturer looking for greener delivery? We may be able to help :-)

With the modern trend of designer kitchens and designer kitchenware you would think delivery of the items was not important, and we would forgive you for thinking that! Sending out items to customers is an important aspect of the sale, and your kitchen businesses reputation.

You see, bespoke kitchen items need bespoke delivery.

Lets look at  the glass splashback that are both popular and easy to clean (and a quick way of changing you kitchens look), strong packaging means it can go through the parcel networks. Inexpensive and if packed correctly, unlikely to break. The only downside to this type of delivery is the customer may have to drive to a depot to collect if they are not in. A popular and effective method of delivery in this instance.

Where it becomes more difficult is when you have 4m granite worktops to deliver, they are heavy and not exactly able to be sent via the Royal Mail! They are oversized and not often able to go via a parcel network and thats where we come in, we collect and deliver granite worktops via our same day courier services. When it’s granite it is possible it can be co-loaded with other goods going that way. If the worktops are wood or eco friendly material, then its a dedicated vehicle thats needed.

Some worktops are not so difficult on the delivery front – they have veneers and other finishes that are not easily scratched, and their delivery journey can be shared with other items – the greener delivery way :-)

Ovens and hobs can go via the pallet networks and delivered overnight, unless they are all going to the same end destination and then it’s cheaper to use us, give us a call and we’ll give you a quote for dedicated delivery. We can also deliver your white goods, and as with all our services we’ll recycle the packaging for you – just send it back with the driver :-)

If you need advice on delivering small or large amounts of kitchen items, give us a call – we’re happy to quote :-)

Sarah

Images courtesy and copyright of My Kitchen Store, used with permission.

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