Choosing a courier services for your online store

Another quite big cost challenge in e-commerce is the cost of package delivery. This cost is paid by the buyer, however, it is known that the customer pays attention to the cost of courier services and this is one of the values that influence the purchase decision. Therefore, it is worth to try getting good business conditions with couriers. When you choose a courier company you should start with comparing all the offers on the market and selecting the best ones. The Polish market is quite diverse when it comes to this type of services.

Remember!

It is worth to negotiate the rates – the starting amount does not have to be final. The volume of packages sent is important when determining the price. If you have a starting business, you should check the offers of courier brokers. Thousands of packages are sent through their service and thus they have low prices – even after adding their commissions. The advantage of courier brokers is also the large choice of carriers – you can offer your customers several different methods of package collection which will surely affect your business positively.

Long ago, you could send a package only at post office. Nowadays, the courier services sector is expanding and choosing a courier company is much easier. We can choose from many businesses and service points.

Which courier services should you choose?

Using courier services allows delivering the package much faster than with traditional mail. However, when choosing a courier, keep in mind that couriers work at certain times and can visit us only at certain hours. It is usually possible to determine when the courier will visit us. Depending on the region and travel route it may even be in the evening hours, which is the best solution – we will be able to send more packages on the same day. Each shipping company may have different delivery times. Usually, it is 1-2 working days, but it is worth to get acquainted with the contract and determine the time accurately – thus reducing the waiting time of our customer for the package.

The cheapest option is signing a contract with the company for permanent cooperation. But then we are usually attached to one carrier – the price depends on the volume of packages sent.

We should also check whether the given carrier insures the packages, or should we do it ourselves. Usually, the insurance is included in price to the specified value of the order, but it is worth to check and possibly insure packages, especially in the case of more expensive assortment.

Choosing a courier services depends on the size of our business

If we issue a small number of packages, we can also deliver them to the reception place ourselves – this service will certainly be cheaper and the package will be ready for delivery sooner. However, we need to have the processing capacity to deliver these packages.

In addition to the couriers, currently we have a large selection of parcel station courier services on the market – InPost, Paczka w Ruchu, Stacja z Paczką. In this case, the customer is able to collect the package at the parcel station of his choice. This is an advantage for a large number of people because they do not have to wait for a package – the package is waiting for them. From the point of view of the shop this option is usually cheaper so it is chosen by some of the customers. It is worth to have this option in the offer as an alternative for a courier.

Of course, when it comes to choosing a courier company, you cannot forget about the Poczta Polska. Despite different opinion on it, this is usually the cheapest option. In this case, the customer does not have to be afraid that in the case of absence the package will be sent to the other end of the city or to another town or sorting office – it is sent to the nearest post office and is waiting there for the customer.

Do you still think these costs are high after market analysis?

Sometimes it is hard to decide which option is the best.

Fulfillment!

It is a very good idea to merge everything into one responsible entity. When thinking about outsourcing of activities, you should consider fulfilment. Then, the selected company is responsible for the entire logistics area so you can take care of sale.

Such companies usually have preferential rates established for couriers, they cooperate with several entities and they have a fixed, low price of delivery regardless of the number of packages. It is worth looking for such an entity, where we will have preferential conditions of cooperation. Thanks to that, we can save a lot – by paying for the order and shipping we save our time, which we can spend on the development of our business and thus increase the profits, and the total costs are the same as if we had decided on an independent courier. Why overpay if there is no difference at all?