noun A messenger sent with haste to convey letters or dispatches, usually on public business.noun A traveling servant whose especial duty is the making of all arrangements at hotels and on the journey for a person or party by whom he is employed.įrom the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.noun A messenger sent express with letters or despatches.noun An employee of a travel agency serving as a guide for tourists.noun A personal attendant hired to make arrangements for a journey.noun A spy carrying secret information.noun A messenger, especially one on official diplomatic business.
Finding the savviest, most economical way to deliver your goods is advantageous, whether that means employing a driver to get your products from point A to point B locally or using a professional courier service to ship your items anywhere, anytime.From The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition. With e-commerce booming and busy consumers looking to save time and money, choosing a method of delivery is more of a necessity than an option. In either case, paying a flat rate makes it easy for companies to build the cost of "free" shipping into each item and to calculate their shipping expenses at year's end.
In this case, retailers usually prosper from bundled sales, such as by implementing buy one, get one free (BOGO) tactics or encouraging multiple sales (the more you buy, the more you save.)Ĭonversely, a small business that sells relatively large, lightweight items such as down pillows might choose a delivery company that charges a flat fee of, maybe, $3 for any medium-sized item under two pounds. For instance, a company that often ships small but heavy items, such as engine parts, socket sets or kettlebells could benefit from paying a flat rate based on box size – small, medium or large – regardless of weight. The way one courier service charges its users can differ from how another determines cost, substantially impacting, say, businesses that offer free shipping. Maybe you'll offer your customers a discount for pickup – especially wise if your venture is miles from town – or provide delivery, but only with minimum order purchases, such as five dozen eggs or more.
If you sell items that couriers won't or can't deliver, such as dairy products, livestock or plants, be creative and economical. Employing your own courteous driver at an hourly wage could be worthwhile, if you receive plenty of orders to keep her busy and she knows her way around town well enough not to get lost. Sometimes, small business owners choose to handle their own local deliveries of, perhaps, handcrafted furniture or artwork, rather than hire a courier service. What about sending important documents like marriage certificates or extremely valuable items, such as diamond rings? In either case, a sender might opt to use a large, trusted courier service with a proven track record, guaranteed delivery time and top-notch insurance policy. If you have to get a small package or piece of mail across a traffic-clogged city quickly, a bicycle courier may be the best bet.
A pizza parlor, on the other hand, might prefer a local courier known for speedy deliveries.
For example, an entrepreneur who sells handmade, stained-glass products would be smart to choose a delivery company that offers white-glove service, across the country or worldwide. Large, average-sized and one-man-show courier companies offer features that might appeal to certain users more than others. With consumers spending billions of dollars shopping online annually, delivery is an even more necessary part of doing business than it was in years past. Other examples of delivery services are Santa Monica Express, DeliverLA and Ziply courier. Household-name couriers include the United States Postal Service (USPS), the United Postal Service of America (UPS) and FedEx. To avoid recourse, couriers look for signs of prohibited items by the packaging, such as with leaky, steak-sized parcels wrapped in butcher paper or wine bottle-shaped packages adorned with celebratory stickers they also have senders sign a "terms and conditions" agreement, making them aware of the blame they face if they break the rules. Definition of a CourierĬouriers are the folks hired by courier companies to deliver, well, anything tangible, including mail, parcels and even pallets of goods – nothing illegal, of course.
In short, a courier service handles the exchange of items between parties, such as when a retail business ships an order to a customer (B2C) or a manufacturer sends supplies or documents to a business (B2B).