With the increasing movement towards e-commerce and online spelling, courier management is increasingly becoming a concern for businesses of all sizes. To ensure that the online business runs smoothly and the customers remain satisfied, it is integral to have good courier management in place. In this article, we will look at the intricacies of courier management to understand how can you instate solid courier management for your business. 

What is Courier Management? 

In layman’s language, courier management refers to the process of organizing the last-mile delivery options. It includes processes such as scheduling order deliveries, assigning courier deliveries, planning and optimizing routes, overseeing operations and vehicles, managing fuels and handling courier approvals. Every that comes under the process of successfully delivering couriers is a part of the courier management process. 

Objectives of Courier Management

There are primarily three main objectives of courier management: 

1. Delivering Products Efficiently to Customers 

The ultimate goal of all courier management processes is to deliver the couriers to the customers with minimal damage and in a minimal time frame. The better the delivery system in place, the more would be the company's earning potential. The components of delivering the products efficiently to customers include: 

• Safe Product Transportation: It is integral to pack the products in a way that no damage is done to them in the delivery process. This involves packing sensitive items in cushioned packaging ensuring protection during transportation.
• Consistently Deliver on the Timelines: Customer experience comprises meeting deadlines and respecting the ETAs. If the products are delivered timely, it helps with incubating a positive user experience. Maximizing the delivery speed is important to ensure that the customers are satisfied. 
• Utilize Software: Managing the deliveries manually can reduce the accuracy of the operations. This is why it is recommended to employ software for automating route optimisation and ensuring better delivery services. 

2. Maximizing Work Capacity 

The only brand interaction the customer has in online selling is with the delivery partners. As a result, it is integral to ensure that they have the best experience. Some ways in which this can be executed include: 

• Routing instructions: The courier service providers must get clear route instructions. This helps in eliminating the manual task of entering locations again and again and helps in executing more deliveries in a day. 
• Scheduling driver breaks: Scheduling driver breaks is important to ensure that the services remain good. The software applications can help you schedule the driver bread in a way that does not impact the delivery schedules and keeps the customers happy. 
• Motivate the Couriers: Lastly, it is also integral to keep the couriers motivated to ensure that they are performing their best. It helps in setting p clear goals and also promotes a positive company culture that ultimately helps in delivering better services.

3. Provide Extraordinary Customer Experience 

Customer experience is the prime concern of all businesses as it determines their retention rates in the long run. Delivering products on time and in good condition are the key denominators influencing the customer experience. Some ways to enhance the customer experience include: 

• Provide accurate ETAs: The customers wait for their products once they get the ETA. If the products are not delivered timely then it might negatively impact their experience. As a result, it is integral to provide clear and accurate ETAs to all customers. 
• Contingency Plan: It is bound to happen that the customers might not be available to receive the parcel despite the live tracking feature. In such cases, it is integral for businesses to have a customer-centric contingency plan to deliver the parcel in such cases to maximize customer satisfaction. 

Need For a Courier Management System 

With an understanding of what the courier management system is and what objectives govern it, let us now look at why businesses need to have a courier management system in place. This includes: 

• Planning and optimization of the tasks beforehand to ensure smooth deliveries and management. 
• Simplicity in courier tracking and delivery with the help of a systematized schedule and software in place 
• Assistance in analyzing the courier performance with set targets and monitoring of the accomsihmenets 
• Package tracking during delivery service to provide real-time updates about the delivery of products
• Continuous customer updating concerning the ETAs to keep them informed and prepared

All these factors together help in enhanced management of the courier management service and maximize the customer satisfaction level. Due to this range of benefits, it is integral to have courier management in place. 

When looking for a reliable courier services partner, look no further than Pidge. With their last mile delivery software, they ensure that all the business courier requirements are met in a way that utmost customer satisfaction is guaranteed. Outsource all your courier delivery worries to them while you focus on more demanding aspects of your business.