Virtually worldwide, an effective door-to-door courier service plays an integral part in the success of many businesses. Providing the vital link between suppliers and consumers, courier services enable cost-effective distribution of time-critical goods and documents.
In many markets, private courier companies 'sell' commercial customers the promise of an efficient and cost-effective door-to-door delivery service. These competitors erode traditional postal document and parcel post volumes and, if in existence, postal operators’ own courier offers.
The opportunity for postal organisations
Postal organisations have several vital operational advantages that can be leveraged to improve the competitive nature of their existing courier service:
- Opportunities to offer integrated courier services to domestic customers through sales of courier packs and tickets across retail/post office counters
- Commercial customers’ needs for both business-to-business and business-to-consumer courier distribution fulfilment can be met through well-priced, bulk sales of pre-paid packs for documents and pre-paid parcel tickets.
- A postal organisation’s ability to offer pick-up/lodgement through to delivery to the office, home or farm gate is exceptional. We call this ‘the first and last mile’ of efficient postal and courier reach.
- Existing rural delivery coverage often represents the best-possible national delivery service available for courier products.
By leveraging the strengths of the existing urban and rural network virtually every postal organisation can improve their economies of scale operationally and financially.
How Transend can assist
Transend's range of courier-related consulting services and models has been developed to help postal organisations maximise the strategic and financial benefits available through a properly structured and operated courier services network.
Transend's courier services consultancy expertise and operational frameworks models have evolved since our parent, New Zealand Post, launched CourierPost in 1989. Over the ensuing years, CourierPost has grown to become one of New Zealand's top courier brands in terms of the combination of market share, network reach, coverage and complementary technology-driven features.
Our experience has shown it is wise to examine issues and opportunities in a broader context. This way, postal organisations can make informed and sound decisions about issues requiring resolution and opportunities to be realised.
Transend has provided significant courier services consultancy expertise for Botswana, Trinidad and Tobago, Royal Mail and Ireland.
Typical assignments
Typical assignments centred on courier services include:
- Review and assessment of service quality and efficiency for current operations, including urban and rural delivery coverage
- Associated financial and economic performance reviews, assessment and analysis
- Thorough market and competitive reviews and analysis
- Development of courier services' business objectives, financial and economic potential, strategic and marketing planning in conjunction with local management
- Identification of options for new courier services models
- Detailed planning and recommendations for the most appropriate range of courier products, cost analysis, pricing models, branding, brand and product positioning, and promotion and sales planning and development
- Advice and recommendations on privatisation of the courier service aspect of a client’s business to meet their requirements
- Establishment of the most appropriate, new courier services business models (e.g. owner-driver or contract driver models), often in conjunction with local management
- Frameworks detailing programmes for clients to transition couriers to owner-drivers including recommended service level agreements, optimal legal frameworks, payments cycles, operations manual and organisation structures
- Development of strategies for technology and eCommerce essential to support a modern, customer-focused courier services business
- Process development, re-alignment and restructuring advice and change management-related communication and human resources advice and assistance
- System integration and management information systems implementation.
Transend frameworks
The frameworks and associated expertise offered by Transend include:
- The owner-driver model – owner-drivers are self-employed contractors who operate their courier services as their own businesses
- ‘Hub and Spoke’ system – each courier is allocated a defined area of responsibility. All couriers who work out of the hub or local depot are required to come into the hub at designated times
- Processing efficiency improvements (the stage between pick-up and delivery) – the processing department ensures the packages are scanned, packed and handled so they reach their correct destination in good condition
- Performance measures – productivity measures are required so the organisation better understands its costs and can better manage its business, leading to sustainable efficiency and productivity gains.