The Practicalities of Setting Up a Delivery and Shipping Company February 4, 2016My BusinessOff

If you’re looking for a new business idea to grab hold of, it’s understandable that you might be considering a shipping and delivery company. The incredible rise in online shopping means that deliveries are more important widely use than they ever have been before. And, of course, businesses still rely on shipping and delivery networks too.

But running this kind of business is not all fun and games, even if there are plenty of opportunities to find success. You have to be aware of what it takes to make a success of your business in this industry. Read on to find out more about that.

Make a Plan

Anyone who starts a business should have a business plan in place. You should work together with the other people you are starting the business with to create a solid plan. A business plan allows you to plan out where you want the business to move to in the immediate future. But long-term term goals are just as important to include too.

The plan is not just about writing what you want to happen though. You have to also make realistic projections about what might happen. Part of this is thinking about what might go wrong, and how you will be able to deal with these kinds of problems should they take place one day. Being prepared will make your business more resilient, so don’t skip this step.

Decide What Kind of Deliveries You Want to Deal In

There are many different ways in which you can make deliveries. You could run a company that organizes international shipping arrangements. This can include air deliveries or seabound deliveries. These kinds of deliveries tend to relate to international companies that need items delivered across the globe.

Many delivery businesses operate on a much smaller scale though. You could start out by delivering and transporting goods in the local area. This is where most delivery businesses start out, but that doesn’t mean that this is where you have to stay. You can start small and still have long-term global ambitions. It’s all about being realistic and planning for the future too.

Find a Headquarters

Many people think that the headquarters of a delivery company is not as important as other things. But that’s not really true. Just because most of the action takes place out on the road, that doesn’t mean the office where the actual business is based is less vital. There is still lots of organizing and administration that must take place.

You should spend time hunting for the right place. If you are looking to operate in the local community, you want to be located in the heart of it. Make sure you have the space to operate comfortable and expand in the future if and when you need to.

Get Insured

Accidents and mistakes can cause major problems when you work in this line of business. If something goes wrong, it could completely take down the business if you don’t have the resources to deal with it. This is why having insurance in place is so important. You will have to make sure that your insurance covers all your specific needs.

You should also insure all your assets. Your vehicles will need to be fully insured before they hit the road. You can get fleet insurance if you have a large number of vehicles that need to be insured. Then remember to get your office contents insured against events like fires or flooding. All of these types of insurance are vital.

Hire the Best People

Hiring people is essential when you’re setting up a delivery company. You have to make sure that you’re able to trust the people who are actually carrying out the deliveries. The whole delivery process starts in the warehouse environment. This is where items are sorted and organised before they are delivered to their destination.

The actual people you hire to carry out the deliveries are just as important. If you are running a largely van-based delivery service, hiring drivers is obviously essential. You need to check that they have a clean criminal record and a clean driving license. They should have experience of driving similar vehicles in the past if you want them to be a success.

Get the Right Gear

The gear and equipment your business uses are essential. You first need to think about which vehicles you are going to use to transport and deliver goods. If you are using vans, you need to buy them and make sure that they are in good enough condition for you to be able to rely on. If you buy second-hand vehicles, you need to make sure that they are in good working condition.

If you are working on a bigger scale, and you are delivering goods that are being transported by air, the equipment you need will be different. Loading heavy items onto planes is not always easy, so you should use Air Cargo Ball Transfer Units. These units make moving items that can’t be lifted easy, which is essential when you are running this kind of business.

Structure Your Prices and Delivery Options

The prices of your services matter a great deal. If they are too high, you will find it very difficult to compete with rival businesses. But if they are too low, you won’t be able to make enough money to make the business profitable. You have to get that balance just right. Many businesses offer incentives to pull in customers and clients.

One incentive that is popular is the use of introductory offers. This is when you give people cheaper rates when they first start using your delivery company. And then, if they become regular clients, the price will eventually rise when the introductory rate is no longer valid. If you make the rules of this clear, it could have the desired effect.

Start Marketing the Business

The way you choose to market your business will depend on what kind of delivery business you run and where you want to start. Most of these kinds of companies will start pretty small. If you simply want to deliver items in the local area, you should advertise to local businesses to begin with. All small business send and receive items and supplies, so you should get some interest.

How do you actually go about marketing the business though? First of all, make sure that your website is presentable and outlines what your business has to offer. You should also create some flyers that show all the services you offer. They also need to include the prices, contact details and opening times of your business.

Consider Offering a Guarantee

When you’re looking to pull in customers to your new business, you need to have something important to offer. This something has to be able to distinguish your business from the others that people might consider using. The thing that makes you stand out could be a guarantee. This helps people to use your company with confidence.

When people take the risk of using your company, they want to know that their item will be secure. So, if you guarantee that any damage will be paid for, or that the item will get to its destinations in the agreed time, customers will love this. It’s definitely something to consider if you’re looking for ways to attract customers.

Think About How Complaints will be Handled

Even if you have a guarantee in place, you will still not be able to avoid complaints and unhappy customers. Things do go wrong, and you need to be able to deal with these issues. Your guarantee should demand that you cover some of these problems, as I mentioned above. But what about the other kinds of complaints that will arise? These have to be handled correctly too.

In most situations, it’s best to take responsibility for a problem with a delivery you make. When someone uses your company, they put their trust in you. Many of the items that you handle will be very valuable or important to people. So, when a customer has a complaint, make sure you do some investigations to get to the bottom of the problem.

Work to Keep Costs Down

It’s easy for costs to spiral out of control when you’re running this kind of business. But there are also lots of opportunities to limit costs and save money. The difficulty that many businesses face comes when the business grows. When your business is still small, it’s not too hard to keep costs down. But when the growth starts to happen, things can get out of control.

It’s important to remember that you can often keep costs a little lower by brokering deals with the businesses you work with. If you are using these companies consistently and they rely on your custom, you should have some leverage with them. That means you should be able to get a discount on the average prices that the company charges.

Photo by Peshkov | Shutterstock

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