How To Choose The Best Courier Services For Your Company

 

A very important component of a sound business plan is a well thought out shipping strategy. Irrespective of the size and revenue of your e-commerce business, you’ll need excellent courier services to ensure its success. 

If you’re ready to deliver your products, you would’ve faced the challenge of finding the right courier service for your needs.

Let’s look at the key features to consider when choosing professional courier services for your business.

What criteria should you be looking at?

Weight

Most courier services have a cost strategy that is based on the dimensions and weight of packages.

For products with smaller dimensions, the national postal service offers affordable rates. If your products are heavier, a private courier service that offers a wide range of delivery options are more suited to your needs.

Insurance

Opting for shipping insurance is critical to protect your shipments against damage, loss, or theft. Courier companies can either offer insurance by default or as an optional/additional service. 

If you sell fragile products, for example, then opting for shipping insurance is a best practice.

Shipping expenses

Logistics can be expensive, but, charging money for shipping can cause cart abandonment. There are many ways to offer free shipping to customers- look for inexpensive courier partners or increase the price of your products. Although, another alternative presents itself in giving free shipping above a threshold price. 

Courier companies offer shipping on a monthly subscription model or a pay-per-use model (as with Shyplite). 

International/Domestic shipments

Do you ship products internationally or domestically?  

Some courier companies have larger networking capabilities internationally but may fail to deliver to every pin code domestically. 

Look for a courier service that suits your exact shipping needs.

Delivery times

Some courier partners offer a standard delivery of 3 to 7 business days. While other courier services offer express deliver within 2 working days. And even others guarantee delivery within hours.

You can choose your preferred partner depending on how perishable your products are.

Packaging

If you’re not into customizing and packaging your products, there are a few courier services that do it for you. However, a few considerations that you need to keep include- ensure that their packaging aligns with your brand values, try to opt for sustainable packaging solutions, ensure that the packaging is recyclable material- all of this adds to the way your customers view your business.

Returns

If you want to offer free-returns or returns, make sure that your courier service offers reverse logistics solutions. Hire a company that will guarantee the collection, quality check and return of your package in excellent condition. 

How to decide which Courier Service is best for your eCommerce business?

Take the time to define your company needs and then make a list of potential courier companies that you want to work with. Draw up comparison tables and weigh the pros and cons of hiring those courier services for your business needs.

Don’t forget to factor in your budget for the packaging, delivery and returns before you make your decision.

The easiest way to handle courier services would be by opting for a logistics aggregator like Shyplite. Our platform is powered by AI and integrated with multiple courier services to ensure that you find the best fit for your company- every time.