The employment landscape has changed dramatically over the last few years. In light of the recent Coronavirus, many businesses have been forced to streamline operations, leading to reduced and changing job opportunities across all sectors. Couple that with the staggering advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and it seems clear that the future work prospects will be considerably different to how they once were.
Although it’s true no job is 100% secure given the rate of advancement of AI, there is still one industry that should remain in demand, at least in the short term – namely, courier and delivery services. As e-commerce continues to flourish, delivery services have never been more popular, with stores using couriers to transport products to clients.
Tips to start a courier firm
Starting a company is never a simple proposition, and there are many considerations you’ll need to bear in mind before beginning trading. Below are a few of the elements you’ll need to take into account when starting a delivery company.
Do your market research:
There’s little point in offering a service that isn’t in demand, so you should spend time researching your local market (or national/international markets as appropriate). Studying the competitive landscape will help you identify rivals, recognize potential sources for new clients, and understand the demand for what you intend to do. A comprehensive SWOT analysis will help you have a much clearer understanding of how and where your firm will operate and let you see any specific services you should concentrate on.
Write a comprehensive business plan:
Armed with the information above, you will be much better positioned to compile a comprehensive business plan for your proposed venture. This document should be used to direct your company mission and outline strategic goals, financial projections, possibilities for expansion, etc. Although an essential tool at the startup phase, a good business plan will also provide a roadmap through your first years of growth.
Determine how you’re going to source clients:
Possibly the key factor in any successful business is having a clear idea of how the company is going to source new work and how it could potentially expand into new markets. Clearly, you will need a website and should take advantage of the promotional benefits of social media. Still, you should also consider other avenues such as email marketing, advertising with trade publications, or signing up to dedicated Peer to Peer (P2P) platforms which can provide a very reliable and easy way to find shipping work. Most P2P courier services work similarly, allowing clients to post shipping work projects which courier firms then reply to with a price and delivery schedule.
Bear in mind legal requirements:
Almost all companies are bound by fiscal and licensing requirements to operate legally – and delivery companies are no exception. Note, this legislation can often vary from state to state and country to country, so ensure you know what stipulations apply to you and your firm. You will also benefit from a basic understanding of labor law, insurance obligations, tax requirements, etc.
Hire the right staff:
If you’re just starting your company, you may take the one-man-band approach, but as you expand, it will become vitally important to have the right people around you. Employees could be required for admin duties, overseeing orders, warehousing, etc. – and drivers. You should ensure you build only the best and most reliable team around you to help ensure the growth and expansion of your firm.
Think quality control and build a strategy for efficient operations:
A well-run company almost always has taken the time to consider efficiently running its operations while still maintaining quality control. Most of your jobs (in the early stages at least) will likely be quite formulaic – orders, collection, packing, transit, delivery, etc. – so you should try to quickly adopt a workable process that can scale with you as you grow.
Take measures to increase client retention:
It’s estimated that for a company to find, new clients is anywhere between five and seven times more expensive than holding onto existing customers. For this reason – among many others – you should put customer care at the center of your company by investing in Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software to automate this vitally important part of your operations.