Freight and Courier Services

Every parcel passes through the same chain of steps from the sender to the receiver. Each handover between steps is a place where a parcel can be delayed, damaged or lost. Seeing the whole chain helps you decide where to put checks.

• The steps are pickup, sorting, transit, delivery and proof, and you should be able to say who holds the parcel at each step.
• A handover is any moment the parcel changes hands or place, and handovers are where most losses happen.
• A tracking update should be recorded at every step so you can say where a parcel was last seen.
• A parcel needs a clear label with name, address, phone number and a reference number before it leaves the sender.
• A common mistake is to scan a parcel only at pickup and delivery, which leaves the middle of the journey invisible.

Activity. Draw the parcel journey for your own route as a flow chart, mark every handover and add one check you would put at each handover.

Standard to meet. Show all five steps in order on your chart, mark every handover and give a specific, practical check at each.

A good route uses fewer kilometres and causes fewer failed drops. You group stops by area, respect delivery time windows and leave a buffer for the unexpected. A route that looks perfect on paper but has no buffer will fail on the first busy day.

• Group the drops by area on a map so the vehicle does not cross the same road several times.
• Order the stops by their time windows first and by distance second.
• Estimate stop time and drive time for each drop, using a test run for real numbers instead of guesses.
• Add a buffer of about 20% of the total time for traffic, parking and failed attempts.
• A common mistake is to plan for the fastest possible day and then promise times that only work with no delays.

Activity. Plan a route of at least 10 real drops with stop times, drive times, a buffer and a printed schedule, then drive it once to test it.

Standard to meet. Show times for every stop on your schedule with a buffer of about 20%, and finish the test run within 10% of the planned time.

The right packing protects the goods and keeps costs fair. Heavy or fragile items need specific care. Good labelling stops wrong deliveries.

• Choose a box just big enough for the item so it cannot move and fill the gaps with paper or other filling.
• Place heavy items at the bottom and light items on top, and mark fragile parcels clearly on two sides.
• Calculate the size weight of a parcel as length times width times height in cm divided by the divisor your carrier uses, often 5,000, to get kilograms, and charge on whichever of actual weight or size weight is higher. Confirm the divisor with your carrier.
• Put the address label flat on the largest side, with a second copy inside the parcel in case the outer label tears.
• A common mistake is to use an oversized box, which raises the size weight and the cost.

Activity. Pack three different test parcels, one heavy, one fragile and one oddly shaped, and complete a table of actual weight, size weight and billed weight for each.

Standard to meet. Test all three parcels so that they survive a one-metre carry and tilt test without damage, and calculate your weights correctly.

Some goods are banned or restricted, such as certain batteries, liquids and sharp items. You must not carry anything you cannot identify. Rules differ by place, so you always confirm them.

• Keep a written list of banned and restricted goods taken from the official source and review it before every new client.
• Ask the sender what is inside every parcel and write the answer on the booking record.
• Do not carry any item you cannot identify or that the sender will not describe, and hold it until it is checked.
• Keep records of what you refused and why, with the date and sender, so you can show good practice.
• Check with your local authority for the current rules before you accept any new type of goods.

Activity. Write a one-page checklist for accepting parcels, including questions to ask senders and the steps to take when an item is unclear, and confirm it with your local authority.

Standard to meet. Write a checklist of at least eight steps that includes a hold-and-check step for unknown items, and show evidence that you asked your local authority.

Your price must cover what each drop really costs. Cost per drop is the number that decides whether you make or lose money. Knowing it lets you set a price and a margin with confidence.

• List the costs of one day: fuel, vehicle wear, insurance share, your time and packing materials.
• Calculate cost per drop as the total cost for the period divided by the number of drops in the period.
• Add a margin on top of cost so the price covers surprises, and state the margin as a percentage of the price.
• Use all your real figures from the trial route instead of rough guesses, and update them each week.
• A common mistake is to leave out your own time and vehicle wear, which makes the service look cheaper than it is.

Activity. Complete a cost sheet for your route showing every cost, the cost per drop, a proposed price and the margin percentage.

Standard to meet. Calculate your cost per drop and margin correctly from recorded figures, so that a mentor can follow each number back to a receipt or note.

Proof of delivery ends arguments about whether a parcel arrived. It should be quick for you and clear for the customer. Tracking updates keep customers informed and reduce calls.

• Choose a proof method such as a photo at the door or a signature, and agree it with the client before you start.
• Record the time and place with every proof so a dispute can be checked.
• Send a short status message to the receiver at pickup and again when you are about 15 minutes away.
• Store proofs safely for an agreed period and delete them afterwards, because they can show private addresses, and check the current data-protection rules with your local authority.
• A common mistake is to take a photo that does not show the parcel and the door number together.

Activity. Design a proof process on one page with the method, the data you record, how you store it and how you handle a missing proof, then test it on 10 drops.

Standard to meet. Test your process on at least 10 drops, get clear proof for at least 90% of them, and write down the privacy handling.

You now run the route for 30 days and keep a complete record. The record shows what works and what does not. Honest numbers matter more than perfect ones.

• Log each drop with the time, the result, the proof and the cost, and keep the log up to date every day.
• Record every failed attempt with the cause, such as nobody home or wrong address.
• Record every claim for damage or loss with the date, the amount and how it was settled.
• Calculate first-time delivery rate as successful first attempts divided by total drops.
• A common mistake is to remove failed deliveries from the log, which hides the real success rate.

Activity. Run your route for 30 days and submit the full delivery log, the failure list, the claims record and a weekly first-time delivery rate.

Standard to meet. Cover all 30 days in the log, give every failed attempt a cause and calculate your first-time delivery rates correctly.

The review turns 30 days of records into a short list of fixes. You look at what failed, why it failed and what would stop it happening again. Small fixes that tackle the biggest cause give the best return.

• Group failed deliveries by cause and count each group.
• Work out which cause accounts for the largest share and focus your first fix there.
• Estimate the saving from each fix in drops or money so you can compare them.
• Choose three fixes, give each an owner and a date, and decide how you will measure success.
• A common mistake is to fix the loudest complaint instead of the most frequent cause.

Activity. Present a ten-minute review with a causes table, three fixes with dates and a revised price list if costs have changed.

Standard to meet. Add up your causes table to the total failures and name in each fix the cause it targets, a date and a measure.