Courier Services All the things you need to know
All of you reading this must be familiar with the word “courier” and if you are a business person, then you must have better knowledge about it. Well, the concept of courier service is very simple to understand and this post tries to bring up all the information and facts closely associated with the delivery business of courier agencies in a very comprehensible language. Though you know the general definition of courier service there is a lot beyond that to get a hold of, especially if you are thinking of using the service.
Courier service is a kind of service where people and business houses get to send parcels from one place to another. The service can be easily booked online by anyone by simply contacting the courier companies.
Now, let’s start with the types of services provided by courier or logistics agencies. These types are mostly categorized on the basis of the shipment size and delivery speed required by the clients.
- Express Service – This is the fastest delivery option one could use for urgent or emergency cases. Express service delivers parcel or item within one-day time frame i.e. 24 hours. For long-distance deliveries or global shipment, the time taken for delivery is generally 48 hours to 72 hours.
- Standard courier – It is the most common type of courier which most local, regional and national firms provide to the people of their own cities as well as across other cities. The speed is comparatively slow and products delivered through standard courier mainly comprise of small parcels for personal deliveries and eCommerce products purchased online.
- Same-day delivery – This is another useful type of delivery service provided by courier companies. It allows one to have the parcel collected and delivered on the same day you had book their service. For urgent situations in the healthcare and medical sector, same day delivery is very effective. Medicines or life-saving equipment need to be transported from one location to another on an immediate basis and this is where the need for same-day delivery is felt most.
- Freight – Usually big business houses need freight shipments where they can transport and distribute bulk orders. The size of freight depends on your volume and destination. Based on your order load, you will get a specific freight from among these three freight types – Full Truckload (FTL), Less Than Truckload (LTL) and separate van delivery.
Hope you have understood by know what courier service type to avail for your business or individual deliveries. Besides this, there are many questions that are frequently raised by the customers on a continual basis. Few of the most common queries have been answered here to make things easy for you.
Am I allowed to ship all types of packages with the courier services?
There is some courier regulations that you need to follow on hiring their service. Most standard courier services specifies the dimension and volume of the parcel that they can deliver for you. So, you need to adhere to their standard dimension size and load volume in order to get that shipment transported and delivered. Any package heavier or bigger than the mentioned volume or size is subjected to refusal.
What I can’t transport through courier services?
Again, an important point to note down before outsourcing courier services is that you can’t send anything and everything you want. There are certain restrictions on the type or nature of the products that you can ship. For example, hazardous material, inflammable substances, firearms or weapons, live animals, banned items, etc are strictly forbidden and you can never transport them via courier whatever be the circumstances.
Are my packages insured in the shipment?
Usually, all your parcels are insured against any loss, damage or any other mishaps. In most cases, you need not pay any additional amount for the insurance as it gets covered in the basic fees charged by the delivery firm.
When is the optimal time to book a courier service?
This is a crucial question to ask as timing is very important to ensure quick and successful delivery. Last-minute booking is a big no in this case because you need to realize that courier companies are already preoccupied with other client’s deliveries and it’s next to impossible for them to schedule an emergency slot and arrange drivers and delivery executives for you. It is always better to plan in advance, take decisions wisely and then book the service. You should take adequate time to plan a shipment and then accordingly call for the shipping service. Doing this would certainly guarantee you a hassle-free and on-time delivery.
So, these are the few important things that you need to know about courier and shipping services. In case, you are on the search for efficient courier services in Minneapolis for handling your business deliveries, then Smart Delivery Service is just a call away. Furthermore, if you have any queries, you can message or call us any time. We are happy to help!
