PRICING, CASH, AND CREDIT CONTROL MANAGEMENT IN COURIER AND LOGISTICS ENTERPRISE

PRICING

Pricing is financial modeling and a process of determining what an individual or a company will receive in exchange for its products or services. Pricing is one of the four central variables in the marketing mix; the others are product, promotion, and place. Price is not cost. The cost has to do with the manufacturing expenses involved in producing the item or product being exchanged at a price.

It is pertinent to develop a price list. This can be done through a marketing plan, ascertaining how much to change and still be in business, and confirming if it is enough to make a profit and grow the business on the profit.

CASH MANAGEMENT

Cash management is the way cash is employed in an organization. The effective and efficient management of cash in the company has the consequence of the attainment of the company’s objectives. The ability of an organization to pay its debts and provide for its needs depends on its capacity to generate net cash and convert assets to cash.

CREDIT CONTROL

A credit control system is expedient to operate the debtors’ policy of the company. The initial step in the credit process and the relationship with the customer is the credit application. The credit application must be completed in full by the customer applying for credit.

DEBT RECOVERY STRATEGIES IN THE COURIER AND LOGISTICS BUSINESS

Indebtedness is a common phenomenon in courier and logistics enterprises.

The following debt recovery strategies are critical.

a.?Develop a credit policy to enable the customer to know what is expected of him

b.?Keep good records which should be clear, accurate, and up-to-date credit files and payment histories on each of the customers.

c.?Be assertive, yet sensible with collection efforts.

d.?Do not stop the communication between the business and the indebted customer.

e.?Know what action to take and when

f.?Establish payment guidelines.

g.?Develop an accounts receivable department.

h. Provide incentives for prompt payment like discounts, debt rescheduling, etc,

BRANDING IN COURIER AND LOGISTICS

Branding has become critical in product strategy. Developing a branded product requires a great deal of long-term marketing investment, especially in advertising, promotion, and packaging.

One of the major skills of professional marketers is their ability to create, maintain, protect, reinforce, and enhance brands. A brand is a name, term, sign, symbol, design, or a combination of these, which is used to identify the goods or services of one seller or a group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of the competitors. In other words, a brand identifies the maker or supplier of a product. Over 100 years, its use has developed considerably.

A brand has the following four levels of meaning.

a.?Attributes of the products; eg., speed, resale value, durability, expensive, etc

b.?Benefits to customers

c.?Value to customers or buyers like safety and prestige.

d.?Personality in a brand attracts people whose actual or desired self-images match the brand’s image.

E-COMMERCE (ONLINE COURIER AND LOGISTICS)

E-Commerce is a process of buying, selling, transferring, or exchanging products, services, and or information through electronic networks and computers. E-Commerce has become one of the fastest-growing businesses in the world. The advancement in technology has made it more accessible to people.

The e-commerce business has continued to grow over the years from the 1960s through the exchange of electronic data over long distances to Transmission control protocol and Internet Protocol to the birth of the World Wide Web (www). In 1991, the first commercial internet service providers came online =, the first actual true e-commerce was made in 1994, and the door to broader commercial traffic was opened in the United States of America (USA) in 1995. The internet world is constantly evolving with new technologies being developed to enhance the experience of users. Over the years, some e-commerce models evolved like business-to-business, business-to-consumer, and consumer-to-consumer.

Consequent to the introduction of online payment methods in 1995, two companies, eBay and Amazon, took the first steps into the world of e-commerce by allowing electronic transactions. Resultantly, amazon and eBay are among the most successful companies on the internet. In 1995, Jeff Bezos launched an online bookshop (originally called cadabra.com) which became known as Amazon, based in the USA. The net sales of Amazon rose over the years; eg., in 2004 ($6.92 billion), 2005 ($8.4 billion), 2006 ($10.71 billion), 2007 ($14.8 billion), and 2014 ($88.99 billion).

The advancement of e-commerce will continue to be driven by the following factors

a.?The growing number of internet users.

b.?Improved connectivity speeds.

c.?Mobile revolution.

d.?The rapid uptick of internet-enabled mobile phones (smartphones).

e.?The spread of social media.

f.??Eagerness of governments to provide e-government service, allowing for online transactions

g.?Cloud computing which is creating new opportunities

Various e-commerce companies all over the world have strongly become involved in online courier and logistics deliveries; e.g., Jumia, Konga, Amazon, eBay, Ali Baba etc. They are a combination of electronic and physical deliveries of items. This is one of the fastest-growing businesses in courier and logistics.

In, therefore, selecting a delivery service provider, the following critical factors should be considered

a.?Fleet operators with a commitment to timeliness

b. The delivery network and access to the operation facility.

c.??Adequate communication and tracking system

d.?Ability to render services at short notice

e.?Flexibility to convey non-regular packages

f.??Payment solutions

g. Well-trained customer support executives

h.?Efficient product return logistics.

This article was extracted from the book ton DEVELOPMENT ISSUES IN COURIER, LOGISTICS AND TRANSPORT OPERATIONS written by Distinguished Prof. Simon Emeje The Executive Chairman of Courier and Logistics Management Institute (CLMI).

for more information contact CLMI 0n 09034983862 or [email protected]