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Courier business. Recommendations for successful development

Organizations daily need to send correspondence, goods and cargo using couriers. Therefore, debutant entrepreneurs are thinking about how to open a courier delivery service, bypassing existing " underwater rocks". In addition, to open and develop such a company does not need huge financial investments.

Existing services do not fully satisfy the demand for goods delivery services, therefore, such a business is a sought-after direction for novice merchants.

Often the delivery of goods by mail occurs with long delays. Good money is charged for urgency. Many begin to look for such a service, and some are thinking about how to open such a business.

Creating a company for the delivery of goods: the first steps

If you are a law-abiding entrepreneur, then you must follow the order in starting a business:

must first be discovered and visited tax authority for the official registration of a delivery company;
then - a bank in order to open a current account of its own service.

This concludes the basic legal formalities for business. The next stage is the solution of material issues, without which it is impossible to open a delivery company:

office;
equipment: computer, telephone, car;
advertising.

The ideal office is its own space. If you do not have enough money to buy, then use the lease.

How to start your own courier service from scratch

To open a delivery establishment, it is not necessary to look for an office in the city center.

Without technical support the courier company will not be able to work. Computers, telephone and Internet connections, vehicles are needed. You can use your own car or rent.

But it is impossible to open or organize a profitable delivery business with one car. Several cars, mopeds, scooters or bicycles are needed. The latter will be useful during daytime traffic jams. An excellent solution is to hire couriers who have their own vehicles.

The territory served by couriers at first will be small. But if the delivery of orders takes place without the slightest delay, they will quickly find out about an open courier organization. Carefully fulfilling the requirements of the first customers will turn them into permanent ones for your business. This will help generate profits and serve as good publicity for the delivery agency.

If you want to open an international express delivery service, then it is better to buy a franchise. They will help you write a plan for the development of your business, formalize the business and make it profitable.

Advertising

Any new firm, which you decide to open, needs advertising. To do this, create step by step plan advertising company your business. Do not skimp on a colorfully designed website with detailed information about the activities of the delivery institution. Contact professionals who will create a page on the Internet that represents the company you have opened in a favorable light.

A business card can attract customers if it is made of high-quality paper, is pleasant to look at, and contains comprehensive information about the activities of this service. Seeing the scrupulousness with which business cards are made, a person will become confident that increased attention is guaranteed to his order. This will push customers to apply for the services of such a service.

It is necessary to organize the dissemination of information about the courier company in the available media. Discuss your business or the fact that you are thinking of opening it with relatives, friends, classmates. Often such conversations bring more popularity to the company than expensive advertising.

Personnel of the courier service

When thinking about designing a courier service, be sure to consider the topic of hiring employees. To open and properly organize successful business for the delivery of drinking bottled water, sushi, alcohol, barbecue, a set lunch and other food products, a director, couriers, dispatcher, accountant, technical staff should be hired.

Be especially careful when hiring employees. It is on their interaction with customers that the reputation and income of the company depends. You need to develop instructions for customers and create a complaint book on your website.

Couriers must possess such qualities as punctuality, sociability, tact, diligence. Their duty is to deliver the goods safely and within the time specified by the customer.

Many people think that being a courier is not prestigious and this is a big disadvantage for your business. Therefore, the company needs to make employees understand the value of their work. To prevent cases of missing money, it is best to conclude official employment contracts with the courier.

It is necessary to establish a clear interaction between the employees of the organization, especially between the dispatcher and the courier. The dispatcher receives and registers orders, informs the peddlers about them, and is in touch with two parties at the same time.

There will always be a need for a messenger

Despite the ubiquity electronic document management, no organization will be able to do without paper copies at all. Financial, legal and other firms need to constantly send correspondence to their partners. Industrial enterprises also urgent delivery of any goods may be required. This is a huge plus for your courier delivery business from scratch.

You can be contacted if you have a well-organized delivery service.

There are delivery companies that only serve online stores. If you open a delivery business, then it can bring good profits. In any city there are companies involved in trading through online stores. Small firms do not have the ability to independently deliver their goods to customers. It is more profitable for them to contact the courier organization.

An interesting direction is servicing restaurants, pizzerias, shops that do not have the conditions for organizing their own network for delivering goods to customers at home. Such a business is very profitable, as the demand for these services does not weaken. If the business is related to the transportation of products, it is necessary for couriers to obtain health books.

Separately, it is worth highlighting the delivery of flowers and gifts. The development of the courier business is up to you.

Use your imagination!

If you decide to open a business, then you should remember that nice bonuses and discounts play a big role. Your company must be different from those of competitors. It is necessary to come up with a “zest” for the service that will attract customers. Today, the business of delivering food and other goods has a large number of different companies advertising the speed of transporting goods, low prices, quality service. But that's long overdue. Customers want novelty.

"Chip" can be absolutely anything. Business can be affected by couriers-girls with a model appearance. With such a “twist”, the number of male clients will greatly increase. If athletic, attractive young men appear among the messengers, it will become clear why the female contingent will opt for your business.

The business idea for the delivery of small and large goods in a box is a great idea to attract customers.

Make a catalog on the website of the service, where photos of your charming employees and lovely employees will be presented. In this case, when applying, the client can indicate a specific courier who will fulfill his order.

A non-standard offer of your business will be the ability to use a courier for a set period of time. Such a "rent" is beneficial for large customers who need a constant delivery of various goods. In this case, only the amount of time required to transport orders is paid, and the courier is always nearby.

Introduction night shift- great idea. Such services, working around the clock, are rare. Therefore, the possibility of delivery at night will attract more customers.

Try to open a delivery service with a variety of "features", thanks to which any customer will always want to contact you.

Ideas for business -> Finance, consulting services, education

Courier service - right to the customer!

The courier service is a rapidly developing business in recent years for the delivery of correspondence or goods in the shortest possible time - "door to door" or from the customer's door to the city of destination.

Two unconditional pluses of creating a courier service ( courier company) that are able to attract start-up entrepreneurs to this business are low level initial start-up investments and a fairly wide field of activity. The choice of courier services is small, and the cost of delivery remains high. In addition, the services of Russian mail - the most powerful delivery player - many commercial structures prefer not to use because of slowness and unreliability.

Even despite the fact that today large multinational companies are represented in this market, small courier companies, due to their mobility, low prices and more attentive attitude to each client and small orders, are able to compete with them adequately, providing even faster delivery of important documents, small parcels and even flowers. Large courier services, as a rule, guarantee next day delivery, small courier companies, due to their flexibility, usually work within one business day.

This means that all shipped shipments will be delivered on the day of dispatch. But it is precisely the timely delivery and careful processing of parcels that is the main key to success in the courier business.

How to start a courier business?

There are several key points that should be decided at the very beginning.

First, small towns and rural areas are not very suitable for this type of business.

Secondly, decide on the specifics of the cargo you are going to work with. It is clear that the delivery of documents and the transportation of, say, medicines are somewhat different topics.

Thirdly, decide if you need a car for exercise courier delivery if so, which one. It is clear that for the delivery of documents within a small locality it is quite possible to get by with a pedestrian courier, but the delivery of large-sized heavy parcels clearly implies that your courier company has at least one car. In addition to the actual purchase of transport, you will have to resolve the issue with the driver and payment of operating costs and parking. Although such an option is also possible here, such as concluding a long-term contract with a taxi service or hiring a courier driver with a personal car.

An important point in organizing a courier service is the presence of a dispatcher who must be available to the client around the clock. Despite the fact that the bulk of courier deliveries are carried out during normal daytime hours (from 9 am to 6 pm), delivery, at the request of the customer, can be made at any time of the day. This can be the feature that will make your courier company stand out from the competition.

Basically, start a courier business you can have one. At first, you will be able to combine the functions of a dispatcher, a courier, and a business owner in one person. But once the business is up and running, you will need help. Usually the staff of a courier company consists of a dispatcher, couriers, drivers, a secretary and an accountant. If your courier company will have a fleet of several cars, you should also think about your own mechanic who can serve your fleet. And if your courier service delivers heavy bulky items, then you definitely cannot do without movers.

As for the actual couriers, this work can be performed by people with relatively low qualifications or without it at all, the main thing is diligence and accuracy. So there is a clear savings in wages.

Naturally, all staff must be able to competently work with documentation, and drivers and couriers must be able to navigate freely in the city (a GPS navigator can greatly help in solving this problem).

Additional costs may arise when insuring the transported goods and obtaining a certificate for the transport of dangerous goods (in the event that you intend to do this).

Delivery service. And who are the clients?

In general, there are no special problems with clients. Even in the days of faxes and e-mails, no one canceled paper documents.

Where to begin

Banks, law firms, various organizations, sending documents to clients and partners - these are all your clients. Manufacturing businesses that need express delivery, as well as other types of businesses that need fast courier delivery - and these are your customers. There are courier services that specialize only in the delivery of goods from domestic online stores or in the delivery of invoices of organizations. The main thing here is to convince them to use the services of your courier service.

Another idea that we have already talked about is the delivery of lunches to the office. You can offer your services for the delivery of meals to catering enterprises. True, according to the current legislation, in order to provide such a service, your couriers or drivers will need to have health books, transport - a health passport, and the dishes themselves - a safety certificate.

You can conclude agreements with ordinary stores that deliver goods to your home (this service, by the way, is gaining popularity in many cities today).

02/2012
Sergei Pankratov. How to start your own business.

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More ideas? See section

Have you heard of FedEx, DHL, UPS? If so, then, for sure, you or your friends used their services. Would you like to open your own courier service?

If yes, then this article will be useful for you and tell you how to do it.

Especially for the preparation of the article, we interviewed three experts and found out as open courier delivery service. Meet our guests:

Alexey Prygin, Deputy CEO MaxiPost. The company specializes in courier delivery of goods from online stores.
Sergey Nevzorov, founder of the service Department of Logistics.
Zhurabek Turdiev, director of the BTS Express courier service. The company specializes in express delivery of documents, correspondence, parcels up to 3 kg within Uzbekistan.

The article was written jointly with our experts and with their active participation. This made it possible to obtain detailed, more complete first-hand information about the opening of a courier service.

How to prepare for the opening?

As with any business, you need to preliminary analysis market. The information received should include:

Target audience, demand from its side. Who is your potential client what services he needs, what he will expect from you.
Information about competitors and their activities.
Current market conditions. What niches are still relatively free and other information.

This is the first. The second is the choice of niche and services. After studying the market, you may want to develop a courier service in a narrow specific niche. Or you prefer to specialize in the delivery of certain packages, for example, goods from online stores, food from restaurants.

Investment size

It all depends on the chosen niche and the services you are going to provide. Alexey Prygin, Deputy CEO of MaxiPost:

“Costs (start-up and monthly) are made up of the following costs:

staff recruiting;
purchase and branding of uniforms (if necessary);
process automation;
purchase of cash registers (and their further maintenance);
purchase or rental of vehicles (if necessary);
communication (mobile, city, Internet);
household and stationery goods;
banking expenses (mainly collection);
fuel (if necessary);
salaries and taxes.

The main expenditure part in the "courier" - These are wages and taxes.

The competitive struggle in the courier services market is going through the roof now and will only grow further, open new business in this area is worth, if you have a good start-up investment, a “cushion” for the future and experience in this area.”

MaxiPost has the following format - delivery of goods from online stores. If you do not purchase vehicles, then investments will be required relatively small. But! You need to be ready for subsequent financial injections in order to stay in the market and continue to grow.

But BTS Express required significant investment to launch and grow their courier service.

Zhurabek Turdiev

Director of BTS Express

As can be seen from the two examples, the volume of investments can differ by several times. Much depends on the niche and the services provided. But both of our guests agree that the continued existence and growth of the company will require regular funding.

Step-by-step instruction

As mentioned above, the opening of a courier service begins with determining the portrait of the client, his needs, expectations. Based on this data, you need to decide on a niche and a specific list of services that your company will provide.

After finding out these key points, you can think about what the investments will go to, how to build the business further, what geography of service you will have.

Staff. Hiring, training, motivation, relationships

Our guest Aleksey Prygin, Deputy General Director of MaxiPost, talks about working with personnel:

The staff of couriers is one of the very first steps in organizing a courier service. To form it, you need:

Recruit couriers, having previously calculated their number and load based on the planned sales volume and sales schedule;

Train couriers by developing a training system in advance, including the ability to communicate, work with cash registers, comply with the rules of cash discipline, etc.;

Develop a system of motivation and control of couriers: how will you pay them - fixed or piecework? How to calculate the premium part - based on the number of redeemed or delivered parcels? How will you control their work and nullify the risks of unscrupulous performers, which is especially important given that the courier is a financially responsible person?

The motivation system for couriers should be built based on the company's business goals. For example, in our company in the first place is not the quantity, but the quality of delivery, the percentage of redemption of delivered parcels. So everything is sharpened exclusively for this KP

Zhurabek Turdiev

Director of BTS Express:

When working with personnel, the main attention and efforts should be directed to couriers, because the courier:

The face of the company, and he mostly communicates with customers and package recipients.
It largely depends on him how and in what condition the parcel will be delivered.
The courier is a financially responsible person.

When selecting couriers, we look at the following points:

Filling out the questionnaire. Is it full to the end? If yes, then this indicates a serious attitude to the candidate's work and that he wants to work in our company.
Ability to communicate. Is the person easy to contact, not aggressive or rude.
Age and driver's license. Only young people work as couriers in our company.

Our month lasts probation. During this period, we pay attention to other indicators of couriers:

How does the courier handle documents? Is everything filled out on time? Are reports submitted on time?
Compliance with set schedules.
Ability to communicate with customers and recipients of parcels.
Feedback from customers and employees. If the courier is rude, breaks the rules, customers and employees complain about him, then such a person does not stay with us.

We also have a system of training and adaptation. It allows the beginner to quickly join the business and successfully complete their tasks.

A separate conversation is motivation. We need purposeful people, and we promote them to higher positions, unless, of course, the employee has a desire.

The basic principle of building relationships with couriers, and with all employees of the company, is to let them know that they are valuable and that their work is important not only for the company, but also for customers and society. And the most important thing is not just to make it clear, but to prove it in practice day after day.

At the initial stage, it is better to focus on attracting and high-quality service of the Nth number of first customers. I would recommend starting with 200 clients. This approach will allow:

identify weaknesses in your business and eliminate them,
understand the expectations and needs of your customers,
based on the feedback further develop your marketing strategy.

Promotion channels may be different. You need to take into account the specifics of your niche and focus on customers.

Zhurabek Turdiev, director of BTS Express says:

In our case, SEO works well, mailing commercial offers organizations, word of mouth. Social media we mainly use to collect feedback.

In choosing a promotion channel, you need to proceed from the characteristics of customers. Namely, to know:

Through what channels of communication can they be reached.
Through which channels potential customers are already looking for information about you.

The niche and services provided by your courier service play a major role in deciding where to place your office and warehouse.

For example, food delivery from restaurants does not require a warehouse, because the parcel is delivered straight from the kitchen to the recipient. A similar situation is with the delivery of parcels within the city, because. delivery is carried out within a few hours.

But in the case of long-distance delivery, the presence of a warehouse is mandatory.

Zhurabek Turdiev

Director of BTS Express

When choosing a place, we took into account the following criteria:

Convenient location for customers, because some of our clients come to the office to send a package. Also, some recipients pick up the parcel from the office. This is an economy rate with pickup from our offices. The main thing is that it is convenient for customers to drive up to us, it is easy to find us, and that there is parking.
The proximity of the airport, because To increase the speed of delivery, we send parcels to remote cities by air.

Sufficient space for the work of all departments (reception, warehouse, administration). This applies only to the central office in Tashkent. Offices in the regions are simpler

Documentation

The courier service can be registered as an LLC or an individual entrepreneur. LLC is convenient for the following:

Investors are more willing to invest in a business, because can act as co-founders. Banks are also more willing to lend.
More trust from organizations. It matters if organizations are your potential customers.

IP has the following advantages:

Easy to register.
You can pay taxes on the "simplified". Tax reporting is easier.

The choice of legal form is at the discretion of the business owner. Company registration is one of the easiest steps when opening a courier service.

Opening checklist

Is it profitable to open

To answer this question, consider the following:

Courier service as a business is a long-term business project. There is no quick way to "make money" here. Like factories, courier services do not give a return immediately, but after a while. Starting a courier business, you need to be ready for a marathon, not a sprint.
Much depends on the chosen niche and the services provided, the situation on the market.

Alexey Prygin, Deputy General Director of MaxiPost:

Services in general are rarely a high-margin business in themselves, and in an unfavorable scenario (and now this is exactly the case), the difference between the tariff and the cost tends to zero. It is very difficult to increase this gap: to raise the price means losing customers, and it is very difficult to reduce the cost.

Zhurabek Turdiev

Director of BTS Express

We were able to reach operating profit only in the fifth year of development. There is still time until full self-sufficiency. The proceeds are invested in development. Courier services are a long-term business. You need to have a fair amount of patience to raise such an enterprise.

seasonality

As in a number of industries, there is seasonality in the courier business. It is associated with the period of commercial activity of the population before significant holidays and other events:

New Year
February 23
March 8
Black Friday, etc.

Alexey Prygin

Deputy General Director MaxiPost

The courier business is subject to seasonality, which directly depends on the surge in sales in online stores. The hottest season for courier services is New Year. Even if you live from order to order for a whole year, you won’t be bored from the end of November. Our people will never stop buying gifts for this holiday, so there is always a chance to make a good turnover in one month. December is guaranteed earnings. And then there are February 23, March 8, black Fridays, Cyber Mondays, preparation for school in August and a bunch of all sorts of more or less successful seasons and sales that provide couriers with a reliable income.

Today, almost every city has courier services. They are an intermediary between the sender of the goods and its recipient. Starting your own courier service is a great option to start your own business.

There are a few key points to consider when starting your own courier service. Firstly, rural areas and small towns are not suitable for this business. Secondly, it is necessary to determine the specifics of the transported goods. Obviously, the delivery of documents and the transportation of medicines are different topics. Thirdly, consider whether you need a car for courier delivery. If yes, which one. A courier-pedestrian will also handle the delivery of documents within one or two districts. And the delivery of large parcels will obviously require a car. In addition, it is necessary to resolve the issue of driver compensation and related costs. One option is to enter into a long-term contract with a taxi service or hire a courier driver with a private car.

An important point in the work of the courier service is the dispatcher, who must be available around the clock. Most of the deliveries are carried out during the daytime, but the customer can order delivery at night. By the way, round-the-clock mode will distinguish your company from competitors.

You can start a business alone. At first, you will be able to perform the functions of a dispatcher, courier and owner all rolled into one. But when the business starts to work in full force, you can’t do without assistants. The staff, as a rule, includes a dispatcher, couriers, drivers, a secretary and an accountant. If the fleet will consist of several cars, it is worth thinking about the mechanics. And upon delivery large-sized products more movers are needed.

The work of couriers directly can be performed by people with low qualifications or without it. The main requirement is diligence and accuracy. All staff should be able to work with documentation, and drivers and couriers should be able to easily navigate the city.

The work of the courier service

In order for the courier service to work clearly and smoothly, an office is needed. Of course, at the first stage, you can do without it by taking orders by phone. But if you want to become the owner of a solid business, it is better to rent at least a small office space.

To promote a business, you need advertising. Place ads in newspapers, magazines and the internet. One easy and economical option is to distribute leaflets in well-traveled areas.

The cost of courier services depends on the time spent on delivery, the quantity and weight of the cargo. To achieve the minimum level of profitability of this business is possible only if you have ten cars and fulfill sixty orders per day. Despite this, there are more and more cars delivering sushi and pizza to customers.

One of possible problems– attempts to reduce the cost of road delivery. For example, some restaurants fulfill an order if its cost is more than eight hundred rubles. In addition, traffic jams on the central streets hinder business development.
In order for the start of the business to be successful, it is beneficial to open a courier service together with postal services. Since newspapers and magazines go to specific addresses, the customer base is, in fact, ready and well suited for the distribution of promotional items, letters and gifts. This approach will significantly increase the profitability of the business.

The work of the courier service almost does not depend on the season. But there are some bursts of activity on holidays when there are many orders for the delivery of flowers and gifts. Plus, the urgency of delivery, for which you can take an increased rate.

Courier Service Clients

As a rule, there are no problems with clients. Even with faxes and Email paper documents are still popular. Banks, law firms, and other organizations that send papers to partners are all your potential clients. And also this manufacturing enterprises who need urgent delivery. You can choose a narrow specialization and deliver goods from online stores. The main thing is to convince them to use the services of your courier service.

Delivery services can be offered to catering establishments. But for this, couriers or drivers must have sanitary books, transport - a sanitary passport, and the dishes themselves - a safety certificate. Today, many companies use the services of courier services, so there should be no problems with the clientele.

It will take some time to develop a client base, you need to be prepared for this. And given that firms and organizations are endlessly closing, moving, changing phone numbers, it is important to correct this information.

Starting a business from scratch is difficult, but the money invested in a courier service pays off quickly. Before opening, think through all the details, including the pros and cons for you personally. Design detailed business plan. And when the first success comes, continue to work in the chosen direction. Attract new customers, expand business contacts. This is very important for business development.

The start of any business is impossible without a detailed analysis, market research and preparation of an indicative development plan, the so-called business plan.

One of the most rapidly developing areas is the courier delivery service, whose services consist in the fast and high-quality movement of goods or documents of the customer from one point to another destination.

Main advantages and disadvantages of business

Of course, like any other kind entrepreneurial activity, which is quite developed, popular and, accordingly, profitable, the organization of courier delivery has many more advantages than disadvantages.

The main beneficial and advantageous indicators in relation to the owner and organizer of this type of activity include:

Sufficiently high level of profitability and profitability. In this case, it should be noted that concentration and universalization in the person of one delivery operator can significantly save on costs that are aimed at moving cargo. how individuals, and legal, it is much more profitable to contact a specialized company in order to receive cargo transportation services than to do it yourself, especially when we are talking about small quantities. That is why various similar ones are so popular lately, which, in turn, caused a round of growth in the number of operators.
To organize a small-scale service provision relatively small capital investment required. At the first stages of its development, the enterprise can use both rented warehouse premises and cars or other vehicles necessary for business activities.
Absence special requirements to ordinary staff(this thesis does not apply to the administrative group of employees and specialists). When recruiting, it is enough to conduct a small introductory briefing or internal training in the basics of logistics, internal procedures and methods. In this connection, a simple conclusion should be drawn that the cost part relating to wages ordinary employees, will be at an acceptable level for the business owner, if we talk about the average indicators of this cost item among similar enterprises and institutions.

The disadvantages include the following facts from the experience of developing and already on the “big rails” companies:

If you have your own fleet, there are high costs for its maintenance, such as current and overhauls, licensing, insurance, mandatory government payments and fees, etc.
A rather large number of small operations that require perseverance from the staff and a large share of responsibility, since we are talking about handling other people's property, often very expensive.

In order to determine all the advantages and disadvantages of this type of business, one should clearly understand the level of investment in its development, the territorial level of coverage of the serviced area and other important factors.

You can watch the conference on the opening of such an enterprise on the video:

Required permits

In accordance with the current legislation, business entities that want to provide services related to the delivery of goods, are required to obtain a license for forwarding and transportation activities. This license is issued if mandatory compliance technical and environmental standards and requirements.

The license, in accordance with the requirements put forward, is issued for a period of 5 years. Particular attention should be paid to the possible transport of dangerous goods, which is regulated on the basis of individual rules and norms.

It is worth noting that activities related to the transportation of goods through the territory of one city or region are not subject to licensing, if third-party or even public transport is used.

If you have not yet registered an organization, then the easiest do it with online services, which will help you generate all the necessary documents for free: If you already have an organization, and you are thinking about how to facilitate and automate accounting and reporting, then the following online services come to the rescue, which will completely replace an accountant in your enterprise and save a lot money and time. All reporting is generated automatically, signed electronic signature and sent automatically online. It is ideal for an individual entrepreneur or LLC on the simplified tax system, UTII, PSN, TS, OSNO.
Everything happens in a few clicks, without queues and stress. Try it and you will be surprised how easy it got!

First steps to get started

Any activity that is aimed at making a profit is recognized as entrepreneurial, respectively, it must go through all stages and stages. state registration provided by the current legislation:

Required personnel

Recruitment is the most important stage in the development of a high-quality, reliable and popular delivery service. The composition of the administrative staff, which acts as an auxiliary or serving the main administrative processes, must necessarily include:

director or directorate.
Chief accountant or accounting department, cashier.
Responsible for the condition of the fleet (for example, chief mechanic).
Safety engineer, since the work is associated with equipment that is dangerous to the life and health of personnel and basic or working capital(cars, racks and loads on them, etc.).
Head of warehouse.

The main working personnel must have knowledge in the field of logistics. To do this, either select employees with relevant work experience, which in itself is optimal, or organize small courses for them to obtain the appropriate qualifications.

Customer acquisition and marketing campaigns

none of modern enterprises or organizations will not fully and quickly develop without proper advertising campaign and high-quality positioning of oneself in the market of services of a certain segment.

In addition to visual advertising of the opening of a new service, various marketing "traps" should be used. These include bonuses and privileges for the first certain number of customers and consumers, the introduction of a system of discount cards or the organization of a so-called customer club.

At the same time, it is important to remember that the majority of both potential and existing customers will be attracted by financial advantages - discounts or gifts.

A plastic discount card with the logo and slogan of the courier company will always be in front of consumers, and the system of discounts and accumulative terms of the affiliate program will be able to significantly increase the number of customers.

Business development options. Summary of costs and profitability

Of course, the development and direction of the functioning of the business, its volume and sphere of influence largely depend on the initial capital that the owner allocates at the stage of formation. In the case of a courier service, several types of organization of its activities are possible, depending on the territorial coverage, these are:

city service, which operates within the same city and is the most economical in terms of cost.
Service carrying out its activities throughout the state. In this case, the initial costs for its organization are many times different from the city counterpart.
International Format. Here, the company covers not only individual countries, but also continents. It is easy to conclude that the costs of organizing are incommensurable with previous analogues, and the development of any service to the level of an international one testifies to the colossal work of top management and financial injections.

Of course, in history there are many examples of the development of enterprises from small unitary to international and transcontinental concerns, all this depends on the approach to doing business, compliance with international development schemes and standards, and, importantly, the desire of the owner.

The issue of costs when establishing a delivery service is also very relative and largely depends on the capabilities of the owner, the level of expected compliance with world leaders and many other factors.

Based on the existing experience of registering and founding such startups, we can conclude that the minimum amount, which includes only the costs of acquiring the necessary fixed assets, office equipment, furniture, equipment, can start from 100,000-150,000 rubles. Payback on average can take up to several months, which depends on the right advertising campaign, geographical location, loyalty to the first customers and the quality of the services provided to them.

It is also necessary to take into account the fact that due to the expansion of the business and the increase in the total volume of services provided, the expenditure part also increases, and it is in this case that it is very important not to lose the balance and the ratio of expenditure and revenue, skillfully using the potential of professional administrative staff.

Before starting to create a delivery service, you have to seriously think about everything and decide what kind of delivery you are going to do. You can work with public catering, you can become an intermediary of online stores, you can serve legal entities, you can provide services to individuals. Or combine several directions. Each option has its own nuances that must be taken into account. Think about what territory you can work in, based on your budget. The more extensive the boundaries of delivery, the more expensive it is to create an enterprise.

The courier delivery service is a business that you can start alone and only spend money on travel and IP registration. Such an approach, however, will not promise great profits. Most likely, you will earn only a little more than a hired courier ( average salary 25,000–35,000 rubles), while you will work many times more. We'll have to look for customers, take calls and orders, spin. In large cities, where the market is close to saturation in terms of the number of offers, it makes sense to make serious investments (from several million rubles to several tens of millions of rubles) and create a quality service. Customers most of all complain about the quality of services. The payback of a good service, provided that you correctly identify the needs of your target audience and you will accurately calculate everything at the start, it can be about three years.

room

The delivery service needs an office space that will house dispatchers and management. Couriers will also arrive there to resolve pressing issues. In the office you have to receive clients, so take care of the presentable appearance of the building or at least the premises in which your company will be located. The legislation does not provide for special requirements for such offices.

Logistics companies that cooperate with online stores usually have their own warehouse. If you are going to create a large-scale service, it is better to rent a larger room. You do not need a class A warehouse - it is quite possible to meet $100-130 per sq. m. m per year. You can offer your customers paid use of your facilities. Storage inventory During the day, the store usually costs an average of 50 rubles per cubic meter. You can also take care of packing - picking one order by courier service employees costs 10–50 rubles.

Problems with the service arise, among other things, due to the unwillingness of courier services to work around the clock and on holidays. A flexible schedule and a willingness to quickly provide services will help attract customers who find themselves in a difficult situation.

Documentation

After clearance legal entity, take care of the documents that will protect you and the client in the event of a conflict. The courier must provide the client with an invoice in two copies, cash receipt. If he uses a car, the usual consignment note must be replaced by a consignment note (TTN). It makes sense to accompany a valuable product with an act of no claims to appearance and quality.

Invoice forms can be downloaded on the Internet, in the 1C system, ordered at a printing house. Be careful not to lose them. You will have to report to the tax office, including with their help, so all TTN should be in order. Remember that the invoice must contain your data and customer data, contain information about the cargo (size, weight, etc.) and payment.

If the couriers will accept payment, you can not do without cash register. In case of his absence, the company faces a fine of 30,000–40,000 rubles.

Other expenses

Staff

Couriers are the most important employees delivery services. They most of all communicate with customers, so you need to approach the selection process very carefully. First, you should choose people based on their preferences and expectations. The most nervous job for a courier is food delivery. The fulfillment of the order must be started immediately after receipt, there is little time for the road - an average of an hour and a half in Moscow. In this case, there is no way to plan a route. The most rewarding work is the delivery of documents. As a rule, all addresses are known the night before, the courier has the opportunity to build the most convenient route between points.

In Russia, the work of a courier is perceived as something second-rate, so the task of the creator of the project is to convey to the employees the idea that their work is important and useful. Often logistics companies complain about the disappearance of couriers along with goods or money. It doesn’t hurt to insure yourself in such a case - the official registration of couriers in the state works well.

Equipment, transport and software

The simplest cash register equipment costs about 10,000 rubles. If you are going to become a major player, take care of information infrastructure. Customers usually choose courier services that offer an API (Application Programming Interface). It's embeddable on the site external application, which fully automates the process of ordering delivery.

You may need to invest in other infrastructure as well. Couriers can distribute smartphones or tablets with installed application your company. A special program will also have to be written to monitor how orders are delivered, what reviews the client leaves.

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Illustrations: Natalia Osipova

Thank you for your help in preparing the material: Bringo, Smartomato, Homeassist