How best to send the goods to the buyer. Estimate costs and encumbrances

When evaluating the work of an online store by a buyer, one of the key factors is the speed and convenience of delivery. As well as high-quality information about the delivery and advice about it, if necessary. Reviews from customers of online stores confirm that late delivery can ruin the reputation of the seller. And the lack of data on the timing and delivery options on the store’s website will force the buyer to look for goods from your competitors, even if your offer was cheaper

You obviously don't want to read this about your e-commerce:

Therefore, think over all the logistics schemes for the work of your store for the delivery of goods even before receiving the first order. If you want to keep and increase the number of your customers, always indicate all the delivery conditions in the product description. And by calling the buyer who left the order on the site, or receiving a call-order from the buyer, specify in detail all the nuances of delivery.

After all, logistics begins with the acceptance of the order, and not from the moment the goods are shipped to the carrier. Therefore, regardless of the presence of an automatic letter to the buyer confirming the order through the basket, we recommend that you call the buyer as soon as possible. If you have a limited number of employees and they are often not at the computer, it is desirable that they receive immediate mobile order notifications.

And then verbally telephone conversation it is worth not only confirming that an order has been accepted for such and such goods in such and such quantities for such and such prices - but also clarify or agree on the method and terms of payment and delivery .

How to choose shipping methods?

Speaking about the convenience for the buyer, do not forget about the convenience of the online seller. Any of options The organization of delivery has both pluses and minuses.

Own couriers

Own delivery service allows you to constantly monitor and develop the quality of service. However, maintaining your own courier service is quite expensive, especially if you are going to deliver goods not only within your city.

Think about whether you can ensure the shipment of goods on your own and calculate economic feasibility. If there is no opportunity to create your own courier service, feel free to use the services of companies specializing in delivery - trust the professionals.

Pickup

Do not neglect self-pickup - and, accordingly, the access of buyers to the office-warehouse located in the city.

Firstly, “if I can come to see the goods, then the seller has a fixed address and he is not afraid to let strangers in - he is not afraid that I will see other goods; the conditions under which they are stored; people who sell it,” – this is how many citizens who are afraid of Internet scammers think. The client may not use this method, but the very possibility of self-delivery increases the level of trust in the online store.

Secondly, many buyers are still afraid to buy "a pig in a poke" through the Internet. Or they doubt the possibility, for example, after trying on shoes, return it to the online store directly at the point of work of the transport company or to the courier if the goods did not fit.

Therefore, the opportunity to look at the purchase yourself and refuse it if something does not suit is a buying factor for a huge mass of Internet users.

Thirdly, many choose self-delivery to save on shipping costs - especially in small towns. Yes, and in megacities too - if your warehouse is located in Kyiv in Troyeschina, then out of 300 thousand inhabitants and workers of this array there will definitely be many buyers who will see your pickup address not far from own house or work. After that, this geographical factor will serve as a decisive reason for choosing your online store by Troyeshchi buyers, and not one of your Kiev competitors.

Fourthly, pickup is often chosen to protect the goods from damage during transportation. If no one will leave a parcel with a smartphone in our time at the post office, and a mirror and a chandelier will definitely be brought with maximum precautions, then, for example, about packs of foundation for beehives, not every transport company will understand that this is such a soft product that will lose its suitability for beekeeper when crushing-smoothing the honeycomb cellularity of wax sheets. Such non-obvious-fragile items, many buyers would prefer to transport personally.

Finally, sometimes it is convenient and appropriate for the seller to pick up not from his own warehouse, but from a “foreign” warehouse owned by him. partners or suppliers .

However, remember that e-commerce pickup may not be the only way to receive the item:

Outsourcing couriers

Delivery of goods can be entrusted to a local company specializing in courier delivery. A definite plus is that the couriers of the delivery service will accept cash payment from the buyer, handing over the goods, and then transfer the funds to your account.

However, you should take into account that the courier service commission in this case will be a few percent from the declared value delivered .

Another disadvantage of courier companies is that you cannot control the quality of service and timely delivery. The load on such services is especially high on the holidays - outsourcing delivery these days is not always in time within the predetermined time frame.

Retail Freight Services (Transport or Freight Forwarding Companies)

This is an option that is becoming more and more convenient for millions of online stores in the post-Soviet space - and, obviously, will soon become the main method of delivery everywhere. Using the services of transport companies as an online store - such as Alsena, Glavdostavka, Delovye Linii, DHL, Intime, Nova Poshta, Mist - ideally, sign agency contract, which will clearly spell out the obligations of both parties, delivery times and warranty obligations of the carrier company.

Also remember that most retail delivery services have a rigid rate system that provides for clear shipping rates, readily available on their websites to all Internet users.

A buyer who checks the shipping cost on the forwarding company's website and discovers that you've been charging upfront for their shipping is unlikely to trust you. And even more so, he will not advise your company to his friends: after all, in fact, you deceived him.

Finally, there are independent sites dedicated to reviews about companies and products Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan - including delivery services.

On such sites you can find comprehensive information about these services, customer reviews, assessments of independent logistics experts. When establishing a store and its further scaling, choose the transport and courier services that have the least complaints.

And of course, immediately consider the possibility of sending the goods you sell via different countries CIS and far abroad: as they say, the soldier who does not dream of becoming a general is bad.

Ukrposhta, Belposhta, Kazpost, Russian Post

For retailers, state-owned postal networks remain an important, albeit rapidly declining, delivery method. However, in countryside, in hard-to-reach areas, state-owned postal enterprises often remain the only transport and logistics company, so far there is no getting away from this.

However, too long delivery times, too limited working hours of state post offices and too low quality of service in them do not contribute to the loyalty of modern users to this type of delivery. Relying only on him in our time would be a big mistake.

If shipping is more expensive than the product

Sometimes shipping costs more than the product itself, or costs almost as much. If the order you received is just one of these cases, be sure to discuss this with the client.

By not specifying the exact shipping price, you can lose both the buyer and the money if the purchase is refused already upon receipt with the then expected cash on delivery (if only then the buyer discovers the shipping cost). In this case, you will have to return the goods for your hard-earned money.

Preparing goods for shipment

Always pack the goods "for all occasions". If it is damaged in transit due to the fault of the delivery service, the buyer, having received a negative experience, will subconsciously associate it with your company - and not with the real culprit of the damage. It is unlikely that such a buyer will return to you for a new purchase.

In addition, if you sell small-sized goods, we advise you to make branded bags and boxes with a recognizable logo for your goods.

You will gain even more trust from customers if you make the packaging not only reliable - but both comfortable and beautiful, and suitable for reuse at home .

Finally, a “free shipping coupon” included in the package with the purchase, or a free shipping code sent to the buyer by one or another, works great to increase loyalty and increase the chance of a repeat purchase. electronically. This will work, of course, only if your store has a very high order price threshold, after which delivery becomes free automatically - or there is no such threshold at all.

So, once you have thought through the algorithm of all actions related to the delivery, you will provide your online store with a good reputation and regular customers.

Instruction

You can trust an outsourcing company that will take care of the delivery of goods. The couriers themselves will punch the check from the buyer, after that the money will go to the logistic company to the accounts, and from there to the online store. The commission is from 1.5 to 3% of the value of the goods.

The advantage of this delivery method is that you do not need to deal with accounting, as well as with full-time staff. Outsourcing can completely remove all delivery problems from you, allowing you to deal exclusively with business.

But there is also a drawback: during a heavy workload of orders outsourcing company may not be up to the task. As a result, it may happen that the client refuses the order without waiting for it.

Own courier service. A whole staff of couriers is good. Only your couriers can be forced to clearly carry out their own. In the case of an outsourcing company, this is impossible, since such companies have their own bosses.

The advantages of this method of organizing delivery include the constant and improvement of the quality of service. Yours can call the client at any time and ask how the courier coped with his task.

But the main problem with its delivery service is the high "". It is quite difficult to find a conscientious and honest person, who at the same time would wander around the city in the cold for half a day or get stuck in traffic jams in crowded vehicles. Such prospects scare many.

Using the services of Russian Post is the third way to make delivery. This company is a large logistics company with the most developed network of branches throughout Russia. In any point of the country with its help, you can deliver the goods by cash on delivery. In this case, you will not need to hire couriers. Almost Russia has an analogue of DHL. This is the EMS Russian Post service. This courier company delivers goods to the hands of the buyer using the network of branches of the parent company. EMS Russian Post works much faster, but its services are also more expensive.

As already mentioned, Russian Post has a very developed infrastructure of branches. On the territory of the Russian Federation there are 86 branches and more than 40,000 post offices. The numbers are impressive.

However, queues at post offices have long ceased to be something unusual. In addition, the mail has its own list of goods that are prohibited from being sent. Also, when sending goods by cash on delivery, the buyer may simply not come for the goods. In this case, the sender will bear the costs of sending the goods to the buyer, as well as its (goods) return delivery.

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cooler with clean water has long become a familiar detail of the interior of any office. It successfully replaces flammable kettles, solves the problem of cold drinks in the warm season. Yes, for health pure water from imported bottles is much more useful than liquid from the city water supply. How to provide your office with this healthy water?

Instruction

Find out the phone numbers of water supply companies. Call and find out the terms of delivery, assortment water, prices and other important points. Not bad to compose comparison table offers from competing firms.

The simplest and most suitable option is the delivery of a simple drinking water without additives. Iodized and fluoridated water is not useful in all cases. As for the highly purified options sold under the “elite” mark, most consumers are unlikely to be able to appreciate the quality of such water. But the price for it is significantly higher than the standard.

Decide how you will pour the water. Most companies supply it in standard plastic bottles of 19 and 5 liters. You can also order smaller packaging of 1.5 and 0.5 liters. For the convenience of pouring, companies offer special pumps - they can be purchased or rented. Bottle with pump - good decision for making coffee or tea in a kettle.

Why limit yourself to one city when you can sell and deliver goods to customers countrywide? I don’t know, but for some reason many entrepreneurs consciously choose to work only in their city. Or they argue like this: I will first start developing business in my region, and then I will go to Russia. Why not do it right away? After all, your target audience will increase by tens, hundreds, and possibly thousands of times.

If you decide to enter the all-Russian market, then you, first of all, will need to answer two questions:

1. How to go to target audience in other cities?
2. How cheap deliver the goods to the buyer?

Let's assume that you know how to answer the first question, so in this article we'll take a closer look at the second.

When does the delivery of goods in Russia make no sense?

Now logistics in our country is developing very actively. But you need to understand that Russia is a large country, and delivery can cost more than the product itself.

Therefore, it is not advisable to work for the whole country in every niche, unfortunately. Let's see when the game is not worth the candle:

1. Small average bill

If the purchase amount is usually up to several thousand rubles, then it will be unprofitable to deliver the goods: either to you or to the client. Here's the advice: increase the minimum order value for other regions. It's better than nothing.

2. Post-sales service required

This is when, after the sale, the installation or installation of goods at the location of the client is required. For example, you sell children's street complexes that require assembly on site. You won't take your team of installers, say, to Sakhalin, will you? And hiring someone locally is not easy.

Conclusion

If you sell at least 5,000 rubles at a time, and your products do not have a regional link, then you need to try. To do this, start by calculating the transportation costs.

What determines the transport costs for the delivery of goods to the buyer?

The main parameters that affect the cost of delivery are the volume, weight of the goods and the distance of the client. Shipping companies have shipping rates based on the parameters of the cargo and destination. As for the weight and volume of the cargo, it is always taken according to the maximum indicator. As a rule, this is the volume, if the goods are not too heavy.

It is desirable that the value capacity of your product should be as high as possible. Those. the more expensive, smaller and lighter the product, the better. An example of a product with a high value capacity: smartphones (expensive and small), and with a low value – insulation (cheap and bulky).

Which shipping companies are right for you?

Courier companies are most likely not suitable for you, because they are mainly focused only on big cities and delivery to your door. They have a small branch network, and it is very expensive to transport bulky goods over long distances.

Small cargo volume

If your goods are small in weight and volume, you can use EMS express delivery. This is the same Russian post, only fast (well, more expensive, of course). The main plus is the most extensive network of branches in the country. There are in every locality.

The site has an online calculator to calculate the approximate cost of delivery.

Medium and large cargo volume

In this case the best way for delivery of goods in Russia cheap are federal transport companies. I will give examples of companies with which I have worked over the past six years: Business Lines, PEK, RATEK, etc.

The main principle of their work is the transportation of groupage cargo. Those. collect a lot of cargo in one place (branch), load it into a truck and take it to another place (branch). The reduction in the cost of transportation is due to the fact that goods are transported immediately from many companies, "wholesale".

If you have chosen a transport company, then use its tariffs or an online calculator to calculate the approximate costs of delivery to various cities. Tip: take the cities farthest from you, because. you do not know in advance where the order will come from. In this way, you will lay down the maximum transport costs and avoid the risk of being left at a loss.

What if the order comes from a locality where there is no branch of the transport company?

I advised you to work with federal transport companies because they have a fairly developed branch network. As a rule, there is a terminal in every major city.

If there is a branch in the client's city, then everything is fine - delivery will not be expensive. But it happens that orders come from small towns or villages where there are no transport companies. How to avoid losing a client?

In this case, the following scheme applies:

1. The cargo comes to the nearest city where there is a branch;
2. The transport company hires a car specifically for your cargo and takes it to the client's address in the corresponding locality.

The cost of delivery directly depends on the distance between the branch of the transport company and the destination. Often, this is much more expensive than inter-terminal transportation, because. The car is specially made to your order.

1. Deliver the order to the nearest city to the buyer, in which there is a branch of the transport company, from where he will pick up the order himself;
2. Increase the cost of the order by a certain percentage in order to deliver to the address.

Clients take it for granted.

How to deliver the goods to the buyer in very remote regions?

By virtue of climatic conditions, Russian cities are located closer to the southern border. If we talk about the eastern part of the country, then the network of branches of transport companies ends with Khabarovsk and Vladivostok. But what if you need to deliver cargo to Magadan, Kamchatka or Sakhalin? After all, you can get a very large order from there.

Read about it in a separate article.

Is shipping included in the price of the item?

My opinion - yes, include. Having tested this model in practice, I was convinced that it is very convenient for the client. Of course, you and I understand that "free" delivery for the client is included in the price of the goods, but judging by the experience of delivery to 50 cities in Russia, the buyer does not like to delve into the intricacies of transportation costs. Somewhere in the depths of his soul, he always has a fear that delivery can be very expensive.

If your customers are companies that themselves are well versed in logistics, then you can offer them two options: the price including delivery and without.

Conclusion

If your city is small, like mine, for example, then doing business in it can be a rather unpromising occupation. Especially if the region has a constant budget deficit and low purchasing power.

Don't limit your business to where you live. The main thing here is to start. When you work via the Internet, then, by and large, it makes no difference to you where the client calls you from: from Moscow or Birobidzhan. The only real inconvenience is the time difference. It must be taken into account.

After some time different regions you will perceive the countries as you once perceived the districts of your city. And you will rejoice: how good it is that we live in a country with such a large market!

According to research by American marketers, for 59% of online store buyers, the price of delivery affects the purchase decision, and 44% refuse to buy anything at all because of the high price of delivery. Statistics show that most shopping carts are abandoned at the checkout stage, when delivery is added to the cost of the goods. Having reached this point, the buyer begins to doubt whether he really needs this product so much. If the delivery is free, then most likely there will be no doubt. But not everyone can afford to deliver goods for free. And although this option is most attractive to the buyer, even big players The market takes money for delivery.

Boris Lepinskikh, director of e96.ru online store

"Shipping cost is affected by two important factors. The first is the cost of shipping. We know exactly how much the last mile costs for us in each city. The second is the market. We look at how much it costs to ship similar products from our main competitors in the category (for example, furniture or large Appliances) and get up “not higher than the market”.
In general, when setting the shipping price, different situations are possible:
a) the cost of delivery in the price and the margin is enough - the coolest situation;
b) the cost of delivery separately and then it practically covers our cost for delivery - also good;
c) various situations of “last mile subsidies”, when we are forced to reduce the cost of delivery “to the market” in order not to lose sales.”

There are only three shipping cost strategies: free, shareware, and unconditionally paid. And each has its pros and cons.

Free shipping

The most beloved by buyers and the most disadvantageous, at first glance, option for the seller. But since the love of freebies is indestructible among mankind, free shipping significantly increases sales.

According to statistics, 84% of online store visitors will choose a site with free shipping to purchase.

Of course, sometimes it happens that the cost of the order is lower than the price for delivery, but the total sales allow the company to survive such cases painlessly.

Dmitry Pokataev, head of the Stoletti Kitchens online store:

“It all depends on the income of the store, if the margin allows, then you should not scare away customers with an additional markup for delivery. Although sometimes it happens that they order one stool, it costs more to bring it to the buyer than it does. Of course, it’s a shame to pay for such an order out of your own pocket, but we always put up with it.”

A free shipping strategy for everyone can be beneficial for a company specializing in the sale of small and light goods and for businesses with big amount repeat sales, eg groceries, prepared food, water. Since there is no need to spend money on attracting new customers, they can be redistributed to pay for shipping to existing ones.

Conditionally free delivery

Strategy 1: check

Most often, free shipping has some conditions and restrictions. One of them - minimum order value. As a rule, people tend to get goods up to the right amount in order to get free shipping. Here psychology works: for the same price I will get more items. Moreover, the cost of purchased additional goods is often higher than the price for delivery. If the minimum purchase price is 1.5 thousand rubles, in the basket of goods for 1 thousand, and the delivery costs 250-300 rubles, then the majority will prefer to buy something else for 500 rubles.

Income: 600х30=18000 rubles

Gross profit: 18000 -(600x0.8x30)=3600

Shipping costs: 150x30=4500

Net profit: 3600-4500= -900 rubles

It turns out that by offering free shipping on a purchase of 600 rubles, the company is operating at a loss of 900 rubles. By simple calculations, we get that the company goes to zero with an order amount of 750 rubles:

Net profit will be zero with gross profit equal to shipping costs. We calculate income. Revenue \u003d gross profit x 100 / profit per order (4500x100 / 20 \u003d 22500)

Order amount = income / number of orders (22500/30=750)

That is, it will be profitable for the company to deliver orders more expensive than 750 rubles for free.

Yakov Grinemayer, GIANT-DVERI.Ru online store:

“In the GIANT-DOORS.Ru project, we decided to make free delivery for orders over a certain amount. For clients, this is a pleasant surprise and one of the markers of our concern. From such pleasant trifles, a general positive impression of working with us is formed. It is important for us that the buyer is satisfied and shares his pleasant experience with friends, writes a review. When the volume of the order does not allow for free delivery with the planned volume of marginal profit, then we make delivery paid. We build pricing “from the market” so that our delivery conditions are “usual” and do not scare away the buyer. Often, the cost of delivery is higher than the price for the client, so the margin of the goods should make it possible to compensate for these costs.

Strategy 2: from the product

Free shipping "for selected products" suitable if you need to get rid of excess stale goods, for example, T-shirts not popular color or oversized shoes. You can offer free shipping when buying multiple items, this will encourage customers to leave in your store more money. You can limit the promotion with free shipping by time.

Strategy 3: From Profit

Another free shipping option is "only for...". Club card holders or those who pay for the purchase in a certain way (only in cash or only with a card of a certain bank). Shipping costs in this case are offset by some benefit to the seller.

When paying online, an online store kills two birds with one stone: it instantly receives “live” money to its account and insures against non-purchase of goods.

Strategy 4: from remoteness

Many local companies limit free shipping to one city or a few areas. This is due to the fact that delivery geography significantly affects its value. Time, as you know, is money. One courier can deliver several orders in one area in an hour, but it will take half a day to travel to a neighboring city, from where they ordered the notorious stool. In terms of money, these deliveries will cost very differently.

“There is free delivery, but only when buying from a certain amount and only in the city of Chelyabinsk. For intercity delivery, we deliver to the terminal of the transport company at our own expense. Initially, they took care of the delivery, since it was then ours competitive advantage, and now mandatory requirement market".

5 Ways Free Shipping Works for You

Before you offer your customers free shipping, think about whether it will break you.

7 ways to ruin an online store

1. Offer free shipping for oversized items. If the pizza can be delivered by a courier on a bicycle, then the cabinet or refrigerator must be loaded into a truck, taken to the place, lifted to the apartment. That is, in addition to transportation costs, you will have to pay for the work of at least two loaders.
2. Free shipping courier service. Professional deliveries calculate the cost of their services based on distances and the weight or volume of the package. If your client buys a chair and needs to take it to a neighboring city, then free shipping will not only eat up the profit from the order, but also take the store into the red.
3. If the store often returns goods or refuses to redeem the order, then free shipping will only bring losses.
4. When trading low-margin goods, it is unprofitable to do free shipping. Online stores selling everyday goods, household chemicals, products for children it makes sense to offer free shipping for a minimum order amount.
5. If the delivery is more expensive than the purchased goods, then the seller will not be able to pay for it.
6. Free shipping with a limited selection of shipping methods. This is faced by online stores selling throughout Russia. For example, in remote regions, you can send an order only by Russian Post.
7. Complicated delivery. If there are 2 or more links in the product delivery chain, then making it free is unprofitable. For example, pick up the goods in the warehouse and take them to the railway terminal, transport them in a container to another city, deliver them to the destination.

Paid delivery

This strategy also has several options. All of them are based on average calculations, that is, some of the buyers pay more than the service actually costs, and some pay less. Sometimes the company pays part of the shipping costs itself.

Ivan Bazdrin, online store of goods for sleep "Sonata":

“In our store, the cost of delivery, if it is paid, covers no more than 50% of the costs. We have bulky goods and need delivery to the door, and this is a plus for movers. We pay for their work ourselves.

Strategy 1: one price

One of the shipping options setting a single price. When calculating, you need to take into account many factors: in addition to the average bill, revenue and profit, you need data on geography, the share of returns, the prices of courier services if you use third-party resources, or the cost of maintaining your own couriers.

See an example of a formula for calculating a single rate for the delivery of one order

At the same time, the optimal price should allow not only to work at a loss, but also not to scare away customers. To calculate the cost of delivery, you will need to equate it either to the weight of the ordered goods, or to their quantity.

Most companies set fixed prices for delivery depending on the amount of the order, volumes, geography or some other parameters.

Usually one rule works here: the more the buyer pays for the goods, the less he pays for shipping.

Delivery of a toaster worth 500 rubles and an external drive worth 5 thousand rubles (we take goods that are approximately the same in weight and dimensions) will cost the same, say, 150 rubles. But the store's revenue from these two purchases differs by 10 times. So it is quite logical to redistribute the cost of delivery depending on the price: take 200 rubles for the delivery of a toaster, and 100 rubles for the delivery of a disc.

Strategy 2: real costs

In each specific case, depending on what they buy, how much they buy and where it all needs to be transported, their own price for delivery is formed. Online stores that have chosen this delivery payment option install a special calculator on their website that makes calculations for each order.

Another option is to allow the buyer to choose for himself who will deliver the goods to him. Usually in this case, a list of enterprises and companies is indicated on the page with the terms of delivery.

Which shipping payment option should I choose?

It is worth offering the buyer several delivery options to choose from, especially since the number of delivery methods also affects sales.

According to Parcel international shipping service, to increase the number of orders by 10% is enough to add to the site more options delivery.

The British company Hermes conducted a similar study and found that 25% of purchases did not take place due to a limited choice of delivery methods.

In order not to miscalculate, carefully analyze everything.

• Don't make shipping free just because customers like it. Such a step should be economically justified.

Vera Frolova, online clothing store didriknaurale.ru

We don't have free shipping. There is no it because we work with the whole country, and the cost of delivery can range from 90 to 900 rubles and even higher.It is unprofitable for us to compensate the client for even part of the delivery, and working for the sake of work is also not interesting. There are orders that are easier to refuse than to fulfill them. In addition, we work with a category that, although it has a high margin during the season, also has off-season sales, when the margin level simply does not allow offering free shipping to the client. There is a sale on our website all the time.
We are a small business, and the issue of profitability and costs is acute for us - we do not have the opportunity to endlessly invest in a business just for the sake of turnover and expecting profit sometime later. Yes and by the latest trends even among major competitors, free delivery has become a promotion, and not a mandatory option. At one time we had a pickup point, we cooperated with Ozon and Boxberry as a pickup point. And could appreciate the share free deliveries at the largest stores (for most it was paid), as well as to see the percentage of orders abandoned, we know how many customers do not come to redeem the goods. This information allowed us to determine our delivery policy and, after evaluating the delivery services, make the choice of our service provider.
The price for delivery is formed simply: we have chosen for ourselves the optimal courier service provider in terms of price-quality-delivery speed. We also offer and alternative way delivery - the ubiquitous mail of Russia, it will take you even to Kamchatka. And in some regions, delivery by Mail is much cheaper. For the nearby cities of Chelyabinsk, Tyumen, Perm, etc. delivery can happen the very next day and people love it. Delivery to Moscow takes 2-3 days on average, which is also very fast. In Yekaterinburg, we deliver to the points of issue of SDEC or our own home delivery. When delivery is carried out by Mail, we do not use cash on delivery. Firstly, we have repeatedly encountered delivery delays and, as a result, customer refusal to receive an order and huge costs for an unsecured service. Once we had a delay of 30 days by AIR delivery in Yar-Sale. General costs were equal to the cost of the order, which the client did not redeem due to a delay. By the way, no one compensated us for anything. Secondly, when paying by cash on delivery, a commission is charged from the client. Calculating the cash on delivery amount so that the client does not pay a commission is a difficult process and must be done manually each time. Therefore, now, if the client wants delivery by Russian Post, then we offer him to make an advance payment for the order.

• It is worth comparing the profit from the sale of different products and setting shipping rates depending on the profit.

Peculiarities of the courier services market

Russian Post is the largest delivery service in the country. However, this organization is slow and unreliable. Many mailing companies prefer to cooperate with alternative organizations.

The choice of organizations that deal with delivery is rather small and the prices for their services are somewhat overpriced. Based on this, small courier firms can successfully compete with big companies at the expense individual approach to each client, its mobility and more low prices. Prompt delivery is the key to the success of any company that operates in the courier services market.

How to start organizing a delivery service

Densely populated areas are suitable for this type of business. In a village, or such a firm can go bankrupt.

You should immediately decide what goods you will deliver. In order to work with bulky cargo, you need to acquire the appropriate transport and it is desirable to have more than one car available. Therefore, it is necessary to hire a driver (at least one), solve the issue of paying operating costs and parking space.

Alternatively, you can enter into an agreement with transport company or hire drivers with personal vehicles.

Your company should have a permanent dispatcher who will take orders. At first, you yourself can work on the phone. The main flow of orders usually comes in work time(from 9 to 19), however, it is the round-the-clock prompt delivery that can become your kind of "trick".

If you are planning on shipping oversized cargo, then you will need to have a team of movers on staff.

Competent selection of service personnel will help you avoid many problems in the future. You should not hire people from the street who will agree to work for meager wages. You will trust them with sometimes very valuable goods, for the safety and timely delivery of which your company is responsible.

Couriers working in your company should be able to communicate competently with people, dispatchers should be as polite as possible, loaders should not drink, and drivers should be able to navigate the city well.

Cons of the courier business

As in any other field of activity, the courier business has its drawbacks.

The main customers of delivery companies are individuals who pay for your services in cash. For such operations, it is required to purchase a special banking license, which is very difficult to obtain and is quite expensive. That is why most small courier companies operate and at the same time take a very big risk.

In this business, you will often have problems with service personnel. These companies always have a high turnover of staff. Most often students go to work as a courier, who are often very frivolous about their duties. For them, this work is temporary and they often violate established rules. Elderly people are more responsible, but, unfortunately, not quick.

Numerous competitors can interfere with the development of your company. For example, many restaurants provide free delivery if the order amount exceeds a certain amount. A huge problem is traffic jams on the main streets.

Delivery service: customer

Your company's customers may be banks that still prefer to send important documents by courier, law firms and other organizations that send documents to their partners.

Some delivery services specialize in the delivery of goods from Russian online stores and company accounts. You can try to conclude contracts with stores that specialize in home delivery of goods.

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Online shopping saves time and desired item, without leaving home. But placing an order is only half the battle. There remains another, no less important, half - delivery.

Instruction

After you have placed your order in the shopping cart on the site, an employee of the online store may contact you to double-check the list of selected products, their cost and delivery terms. When the order is confirmed, it is transferred to the service that completes it and sends it to the final consumer.

Most online stores offer several ways to deliver goods to customers: courier service and mail. The main determining factors in choosing one or another method are the speed of delivery, its convenience and cost. But between them is not always so big, especially when sending goods to other regions.