Deciding on which method of fulfilment best suits your business can be vital in providing a good service to your customers and thus helping grow your sales.
Delivery is an ‘offline’ activity but if your courier fails you, it will cost you online sales. Delivering goods on time is, therefore, a vital part of your website. Only when a customer successfully receives their order does an online transaction come to an end. A survey by the PA Consulting Group showed that delivery problems rate highest among complaints of e-shoppers.
You will be familiar with some of the global couriers that can deliver orders to your customers and there is of course the option of the local Post Office! This sections looks at the general issues you should consider when picking a courier company for your website.
Things that go Wrong
Firstly, some obvious things to watch out for:
- You do not have the stock;
- The order is late or worse, never processed;
- The wrong order is sent;
- The goods are damaged on arrival;
- You have not explained the returns policy;
- The goods are not signed for or go to the wrong address.
There are a few simple procedures that can reduce the likelihood of these simple blunders:
- Always keep your online shop up-to-date with stock levels. Some shops allow you to set ‘out of stock’ levels so if you have volatile stock control you could allocate a defined stock level to the online business, so when it is 90% sold out it will be automatically removed from the site.
- You must check your shop orders all the time. Some shops send orders to you by email, others need you to log on to view orders. This must be a daily if not hourly process.
- Always check your paperwork against the order before final dispatch. If there is any confusion, phone the customer to check – customer service at its best.
- Most courier companies have packing advice on their website and your Post Office can offer advice.
- A good returns policy not only helps your customers but can reduce the amount of returns you get.
- Choose a courier company with a good policy for repeat delivery attempts and getting an authorised signature.
Delivery Services
There are a number of standard delivery options you will have to consider; these are listed below. The faster the delivery, the more costly it is and factors like weight, size and value also influence the cost:
- Express Delivery
- Secure Delivery
- Next Day Delivery
- Guaranteed Next Day (before 9am, 12pm)
- Saturday Deliveries
- Evening Deliveries
- High Value Goods
- Remote Deliveries (Highlands and Islands)
- International Deliveries
When choosing an option, think what would be most convenient for your customers. Many people like evening deliveries (Amtrak report 6pm-8pm as the best times for home delivery) and, although it is slightly more expensive, offering this option could be a customer winning choice.
Delivery Variables
By studying the various courier services, you will establish the key variables you may want to offer your customers. It is the absolute norm to pass delivery costs on to customers – especially for non-standard delivery options. The key variables are:
- Timescale (next day, before 9am, guaranteed delivery etc.)
- Weight (packet <5kg; parcel <20kg, <25kg, <35kg, <50kg)
- Size
- Value
- Insurance
- Location (national, remote, international)
Your online shop will normally allow you to set these variables so the customer can choose an option and the relevant cost will be added to the sale.
Weight and Size
As a guideline, the ‘average’ weight and size of parcel that a courier will accept under their standard price is:
Parcel weight = maximum weight of any one parcel is 25Kg. (20Kg for high value items)
Parcel dimensions = maximum allowed length is 1.25 metres (4 ft) and the combined dimensions of the package (length x width x height) must not exceed 4 cubic feet.
Cost
Example prices for a UK mainland delivery by a courier are given below (these vary widely between couriers):
- Next Day Packet £10
- Next Day Parcel (25Kg) £16
- Next Day Heavy (35Kg) £22
- Before 9am (25Kg) £25
- Before 12pm (25Kg) £20
If you setup a delivery online you will often get a 5-10% discount and if you setup a client account then you should access more savings over the long term as a valued customer. Bear in mind, if you can take the parcel into your local Post Office you will usually save about 50% on the cost of courier for smaller packages and parcels.
Any international export duty and tax costs will normally be invoiced directly to you by the courier.
Tracking
Almost all couriers now offer online tracking of parcels. When an order is placed, an ID number will be allocated and you can visit the courier’s website. Enter the ID and establish where the delivery is.
It is possible to integrate this tracking feature into your own website with some additional coding by your web designer. Obviously, you would need to choose a single courier to deliver your goods and link to their tracking system so that the tracking on your site always worked.
If you were do to this, you could incorporate sending the customer their tracking ID and a link to the tracking feature into your dispatch confirmation email and this would provide an added level of customer service. Normally a customer would only value this service if the goods are expensive and take a long time to dispatch and deliver.
Proof of Delivery
The courier companies have varying policies on proof of delivery. It is vital you are aware of your courier’s policy and that you compare couriers to find the best option for your customers. Some couriers have a good reputation for home deliveries while others see this as incidental business that they are not really geared up for.
The place to look for information is your courier’s terms and conditions; or speak to a rep from the company. Things to check are:
- How many times they try to deliver;
- Returns policy;
- Policy if goods are damaged on delivery;
- Who they are prepared to leave the package with (person who ordered, neighbour, local service station, unattended!)?
- Do they require a signature and who can sign?
Some couriers will go as far as to check the delivery signature against the credit card that paid for the goods. More and more couriers store signatures online so you can access them at a later date.
Good Examples
There are some online courier services that offer lower prices than their offline counterparts. These are worth visiting to get an idea of how efficient online fulfilment can be. Have a look at:
www.locateacourier.net/ A good site to search for local couriers by city.
www.parcels2go.co.uk/ Brokering prices between couriers to lower delivery costs.
www.postvan.com Another low cost online service.
Main Operators
Finally, here is a list of the major courier companies. Using a local courier may well be cheaper so do your research but you can be sure of a high standard and good support from these companies:
Amtrak www.amtrak.co.uk/
DHL Red Planet www.dhl.co.uk/
Federal Express www.fedex.com/gb/
Flight Air International Express www.flightair.co.uk/
Lynx www.lynx.co.uk/
Night Freight plc www.nightfreight.co.uk/
ParcelForce www.parcelforce.com
Securicor Omega www.securicor.co.uk/
TNT www.tnt.co.uk/
UPS (UK) www.ups.com