You’d be forgiven from thinking that the courier industry is cut-throat. After all the major players surely must be in a constant battle to win your attention and your business. Every quarter the reps are under increasing pressure to increase revenue, increase their customer base and to increase profit.
But if this is the case why do they cherry pick the business that they want? The latest case in question is one particular brown livered carrier who has now begun to charge you to collect your consignments.
A charge to collect your shipment? Whatever next? Isn’t your agreed rate card quoted as “door to door”?
They seem to have an ever growing list of over 20 surcharges, including “Residential” (have they not heard of e-Commerce?!), any “Cylindrical Item”, any “Article Encased in Metal or Wood” and my personal favorite “Package Tracking, Tracing and Refund Requests” (so I’ll pay you to deliver my package but then have to pay you to prove to me that you’ve done what I paid you to do in the first place?).
Amazing.
These types of carriers are basing their projections on you NOT reading the small print. Yes their base rates are amazing but unless you are manufacturing one thing and shipping B2B in the same quantities (ensuring that your clients do not work from home) you’re going to get stung by their surcharges.
Oh and then they will then baffle you into submission with an extortionately complicated invoice.
My message to the integrators – KISS (keep it simple stupid). I like things simple. Simple, easy to use tariffs with no surcharges and rates guaranteed to last a year, regardless of the world economy, oil prices, US presidential elections, Chinese slowdowns and our EU involvement.
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