WE’VE ALL heard horror stories about deliveries going wrong. There are stories about people’s packages ending up in wheelie bins and taken for rubbish by the bin collectors. There are local community groups on Facebook filled with posts asking if anyone recognises the front door in the picture as their parcel’s gone to the wrong place.
Customers know their rights when it comes to issues with their parcels. And delivery companies are apologising for recent service issues because they understand that shoppers are savvier than ever.
If you oversee a delivery company or you regularly have goods delivered as part of your business, it’s important that you know how to protect your goods in transit. This will go a long way to ensuring that you get excellent customer satisfaction when they arrive as promised.
Packaging goods
Start at the beginning. Prioritising how you package the goods that you ship is crucial as this ensures that items leave your store or warehouse in perfect condition. Invest in secure packing materials and consider the type of products that are being delivered.
For instance, if you’re sending out fragile items like mirrors or glass bottles, you’ll need to take extra care to make sure that everything’s wrapped up and protected when it’s stashed onto the delivery lorry.
Taking the time to develop a packing system will go a long way to being confident that everything gets to where it needs to be in one piece.
Staff training
Are your drivers up to speed on how to travel safely with goods on board? Make sure that they’re trained in handling packages and give them realistic targets to meet when they’re out on deliveries. While it’s understandable that they’re expected to meet set delivery requirements, make sure that they build in the time to safely set up the van or lorry between drops so that packages and parcels stay protected while on the move.
Being prepared
Sometimes things don’t go to plan. Accidents happen and it can cause hold-ups. However, planning for these events can go a long way to offsetting any issues. As well as training staff to be ready for goods getting damaged, it could be worth potentially looking into transport insurance to add an extra layer of cover.
Vehicle security
While they’re out on the road, your drivers are vulnerable to thieves. Even if they take care to lock the van between deliveries, there are moments when opportunists can take advantage and steal whatever’s inside. Adding enhanced security and investing in vehicles that have tracking devices and other systems in place can go a long way towards protecting both your staff and the goods on board.
