The five perils of parcel couriers

As the e-commerce boom flourishes parcel couriers continue to play an ever more important role in the fulfilment chain, ensuring that the consumer receives their purchases in a timely manner and in accordance with the sales terms and conditions as defined by the sellers’ website. Managing the commercial relationship between courier and supplier is becoming ever more important, a relationship, which if managed badly can result in significant customer dissatisfaction and incur the seller additional costs in terms of time, redelivery and replacement or refund charges. Listed below are five areas businesses should pay attention to both control costs and maintain service levels.

·??Redelivery charges. If the courier fails to make a delivery due to their own fault, it is not uncommon for the redelivery to be billed a second time. This error will only be identified if the invoice is analysed line by line.

·??Delivery performance. All courier companies supply weekly or monthly delivery performance statistics to their clients with details on number of consignments delivered versus number delivered on time. It is rare for the courier to fall below their contracted performance level, as this may result in financial penalties. It is not in their interest to report poor performance and misreporting is rarely picked up by the client. A good example is failure to meet a timed delivery threshold. Most couriers offer premium delivery services, pre noon etc. but is not uncommon for deliveries to be late. Only by reviewing the delivery performance report in detail will these errors be uncovered and credits secured.

·??Returns. All couriers measure and report outbound delivery times, but less attention is paid to returned deliveries. Many businesses experience significant levels of returns, but often these do not arrive from the customer for several days, particularly when the courier is busy during peak periods. Agreeing a contractual returns lead time with the courier is important, particularly from a customer satisfaction point of view.

·??Damage. During the delivery process it is not uncommon for damage to occur, but again, it is not in the couriers’ interest to report damage accurately. Many couriers blame poor packaging by the client as the reason for damage but we have all seen the pictures of parcels being thrown over walls and garden fences by delivery drivers!! Therefore, be very clear with your courier over what constitutes damage and pursue them vigorously for all damage claims.

·??International deliveries. Many businesses now send parcels to clients overseas, particularly Europe. Practically all UK couriers offer delivery to the EU, albeit with varying lead times. If you are sending parcels outside the UK, important to check all delivery terms and conditions with your courier at these may be different to the UK. Equally, check if your courier is partnering with a third party for in country deliveries as this may again affect service levels both for outbound and returned deliveries.

In addition to the above many businesses fail to regularly review their commercial relationship with their courier, both in terms of overall performance and benchmarking against alternative providers, in turn potentially missing opportunities for reduced costs and improved service level.

If any of the above resonates with your company, as a user of parcel courier services, please contact me for an initial discussion around opportunities for cost reduction and service level improvement. I have in excess of thirty years’ experience managing relationships with all major parcel couriers, both in the UK and Europe. See below for contact details:

Jim Huckle

Mobile – 07881 906372

Email – [email protected]

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