We are always curious to know what’s the story behind it.
Picture this- You have placed your favourite dress online and cannot wait to get it delivered.
From the moment you pressed ‘Buy Now’ and have received instant notifications on the tracking status, have you taken the time to even imagine what runs behind the process of getting your order delivered on time?
The clock ticking moment begins for every courier partner from the moment the dispatch order gets released to make every little process happening at just-in-time following a sequential flow.
Courier services are an unstoppable engine in today’s growing world of e-commerce, making sure that millions of parcels are moving in and out across the world and still making it on time.
If you are curious to know what goes behind it, here is a sneak peek into the journey of the courier process.
Step 1: Pacing it with a pickup
The greatest journey begins with a single step.
Are you placing an order from an e-commerce store or an order for a personal shipment? The initial step always begins by bridging your parcel with the courier network.
The leverage of today’s courier services is their ability to extensively cater for pickup services.
- Doorstep pickup: Most of the regional providers can provide doorstep pickup services considering the need for convenience. A delivery executive will come and pick up the package from your home or office.
What happens here is that an instant barcode is being generated for your parcel which helps in directly pulling into your respective data stored online.
- Drop-off points: If you have the leverage of time, you can also choose to stop and drop it off at some pickup points belonging to the courier partner.
Step 2: Powering through the sorting and hub processing
Keeping a checkpoint gets you easily to the gateway.
A picked-up package doesn’t directly reach your destination. It enters a series of processes, especially with the sorting and hub processing.
Most of the parcels entering move into this intersection zone where hundreds and thousands of parcels are getting scanned, sorted and re-routed back into the correct routes.
Different types of sorting apply to different packages like,
- Manual sorting- Applies to packages of mostly personalised and domestic shipments where the labourers do a thorough check of the packages.
- Automated sorting- In the case of sending commerce-based shipments, including bulk packages, they go through a high-end rigid conveyor belt system where the boxes are sorted automatically.
- Customs check– In the case of international shipments, the process of customs documentation will also begin here. Be it import/export regulations or the certificate of origin, the verification of the documents is done to ensure a seamless journey of the packages.
- The decision of routes- Based on the choice of service chosen by the customers the routes are also decided. For instance, if a package requires to work on priority, the choice of route could be air.
Step 3: Transportation takes off- Swift movement across borders
Long-distance is hard, but still worth it if you do it right.
The wise choice of transportation and carrier helps your shipment journey spark through it solidly. It is mostly decided on the travel distance, safety requirements of the package, budget and the need for shipment urgency.
Ground shipping- This particularly applies to the deliveries being confined within the local areas and the regional borders. It generally employs motorcycles for short distances, trucks and vans for slightly longer distances.
Sea Freight – It mostly applies to industrial product shipments or bulky parcels. However, it also even applies to personalised shipments as well in case of a customer’s requirement to shift from one country to another. It employs shipping containers to begin the process.
Air freight – This route is often chosen for shipments that come with an element of time sensitivity, and items of high value and security.
The significant and the most crucial aspect when your goods are in transit is about sending real-time tracking updates at regular and frequent intervals of time. Any discrepancy or a missing message on the tracking status will have a major repercussion on the credibility of the chosen service.
Step 4: Finish line from the last-mile delivery partner
The end is also the beginning of something.
Likewise, when your package leaves for the destination, it begins to mark the stringent evaluation points of end-user satisfaction. This stage of the shipment journey is also considered to be the most expensive because of the following reasons,
- Route optimisation- To make the delivery of the package more efficient and faster, the courier team strategizes making the deliveries reach the recipient’s door through the best road possible.
- Delegating to local delivery agents- Assigning the right delivery agents helps to reach the packages right on time.
- Coordinating with customers- In case the shipment requirement comes with special requests, like delivering contactless, silent drop-offs without ringing the doorbell and signature upon delivery, there is smooth coordination happening with the customers.
Once your parcels have reached the destination, ensuring that the parcels are magically handed over; by getting dropped off at lightning speed, your mobile is still flickering with a final notification of ‘Your parcel is delivered’.
How to choose a standout courier delivery partner?
Amidst the outpouring number of players in the market inclusive of both domestic and international courier service providers, it becomes important to consider several aspects,
- Fast and efficient choice of delivery
- Secured shipment services
- Enhanced visibility and tech-enabled online tracking ability
- Affordable and reasonable shipping charges
- Reputation and credibility of the service providers.
Wrap-Up
The magic of delivery looks like it happens in a fraction of a second.
Yet, the process underway is probably a tedious one, as it may run through a sequence of repeated steps put together to make the deliveries happen on time and also without encountering any major hurdles.
Beginning from the pickup till the last-mile delivery, every courier service is working steadfastly to deliver the parcels and packages seamlessly.
Mostly the choice begins with identifying the right courier partner who can stand next to you and save your fury from encountering the complexity that throws at you.
Looking for a reliable service provider? Brown Post has got you all covered satisfying all your diversifying shipment needs.
