If you’re an on-line retailer you’ll want to minimise your postage and packing costs. That’s because P&P has to be added to the cost of the item that you are selling. That means if you get cheap parcel delivery you could see your bottom line benefit and your profitability increase.

What’s more if you can offer your customers cheap P&P costs they may be more tempted to shop with you. Often these extra costs can put a customer off buying, especially when the bargain they thought they found on-line is actually not that cheap when delivery costs are factored in.

So what’s the solution?

A simple tip that will save you money is to search on-line for cheap parcel delivery. You’ll find a range of parcel middlemen and affiliates who will be able to offer you a good price for your Next Day parcel. What’s more you’ll often discover this price is cheaper than what you’d be offered if you went direct.

In addition there are other benefits with posting your Next Day items with a courier rather than an alternative service like the Post Office. That’s because in addition to offering a favourable price, a courier will also collect your items from your specified address which can be an office or residential.

So next time you need to send a Next Day parcel and you’re keen to save some money, take a look at the on-line posting options and see if it leaves your bank account looking a little healthier.

Yodel announced this week that they have extended their four-year working relationship with Ryzex and signed a new contract.

Yodel’s Chief Information Officer Greg Smith, said: “We have worked with Ryzex for many years and have always been pleased with their advice on our mobility strategy. Extending our agreement will allow Ryzex to broaden the scope of its support to us and will allow us to enhance the doorstep experience, which is fundamental to Yodel’s service.”

Under the terms of this contract Ryzex will provide vehicle and asset mobile device management, in addition to over 15k hand held devises.

Drivers will use the hand held devises as their main method of communication. Drivers will use the devises to receive instructions as well as processing collection and delivery scans.

A key benefit is this contact will enable Yodel to manage their equipment from a centralised platform and save at least £500k each year. These savings will occur because efficiency at Yodel’s service Centre’s will get a boost through improved mobile management.

What’s more Ryzex’s asset management services will help Yodel keep the hand held devises secure, as well as keeping them maintained and repaired.

Ryzex’s Managing Director Tony Doyle, said: “The new agreement confirms our status as a strategic partner for Yodel and consolidates our position as an innovative provider of centralised asset management services for organisations. Our expert advice helps Yodel to maximize uptime and will deliver the insights required to fulfill the potential of their mobile strategy.”

You can read the full story at this link, http://www.yodel.co.uk/about/read-all-about-us/yodel-signs-mobile-asset-management-contract-with-ryzex.aspx

How do you send your parcels?

Would a parcel collection make sense for your business? It’s easy to organize. Simply book
a collection and your chosen courier will collect your items from your specified address –
whether that’s home or work.

There are a number of advantages to be had if you choose this route for meeting your
shipping needs.

Check out this list:

1. You avoid hassle: As the courier will collect from your specified address you avoid the
hassle of taking them to the Post Office or delivery depot yourself. What’s more it’s handy if
you get a last minute order or find something additional you need to send. You can quickly
parcel it up before the courier arrives.

2. You could save time: As the delivery driver comes to you, you won’t need to pop put.
Instead you can stay at home catching up on other important tasks or continue at your desk.

3. You could save money: With the growth of parcel middlemen it’s now possible to secure
cheap parcel delivery. This is a big plus given the current economic climate. Any saving either
contributes to your business’s bottom line or benefits the household budget.

4. You get choice: You can choose a Next Day delivery, a 48-hour service, timed, international
or even Sameday. The key is there will be a price and delivery specification to suit your needs.

5. You’ll have peace of mind: Many modern couriers now use some form of electronic tracking.
That means as your parcel moves through the courier network you’ll be able to check in
on-line to see where it is.

Next time you need to send a parcel search for cheap parcel delivery and see if a parcel
collection service works for you.

City Link delivers a bumper Christmas as on-line shopping increased by 15%

It may be nearly a month since the festive wrapping paper was discarded, the mince pies were eaten and the decorations were returned to their annual waiting place.

However City Link have just announced they delivered a record Christmas in 2011.

Christmas is traditionally the busiest time of the year for many courier providers. Last year City Link delivered a massive 3 million parcels during the two-week run-up to Christmas Day.

In addition City Link report on-line shopping saw a 15% increase which contributed to their record parcel volumes. The company’s Sales and Marketing Director Duncan Faithful said: “More people were ordering their presents online than ever before and we believe this trend is only set to continue.”

What’s more the company have indicated that despite the increased volumes, they maintained their service levels and cleared all outstanding deliveries by Christmas Eve. City Link attributed this to months of planning. They had an action plan to help manage bad weather and worked closely with customers to anticipate the increase in on-line shopping.

Duncan Faithful also said: “City Link had a busy peak period and we are looking forward to an even busier one in 2012. Service levels were maintained throughout, demonstrating that forecasting and working with our customers to understand their volumes is the key to success.”

You can read the whole story by visiting http://www.city-link.co.uk/press/2012/news_285916.html

The City Link next day delivery service at £6.99+VAT is very popular, especially since this price covers parcels up to 20Kg. Sometimes next day is not soon enough and it needs to be there in the morning and sometimes by a certain time. There are now three new delivery options available from City Link. These timed services are more expensive, but sometimes necessary:

Deliver by 7.30am
Parcels up to 10kg, £45+VAT

Deliver by 9am
Parcels up to 20kg, £25+VAT

Deliver by 12 noon
Parcels up to 20kg, £13+VAT

Services are available for heavier weights too. Get an instant quote at www.collectmyparcel.com.

All of these timed delivery services are provided by City Link. Your parcel needs to be booked in by 11pm for collection the next day, any time between 9:00am-5.30pm (sometimes later) and delivered by the time you’ve chosen.

Our managing director Angela Thompson has been recently been interviewed by e-commerce expert and entrepreneur Trevor Ginn on his blog.  In the interview they discussed the benefits and features of collectmyparcel.com parcel delivery as well as our plans for the future.

As well as blogging, Trevor is a consultant at vendlab.com and runs his own online nursery shop Hello Baby

Unwrap a convenient way to post a parcel

As a small business you have so many things to juggle – your marketing, sales, customer service, fulfilling orders to name just a few. In fact your to do list probably grows on a daily basis.

If you’re an on-line retailer who needs to fulfil customer orders on a regular basis, here’s a solution that could save you time and a fair bit of hassle.

Do you usually use the Post Office to despatch your parcels?

If you do how much time does that take you?

Let’s think. There’s the time spent loading your car, then the journey and finally the parking up and carrying all your items to the counter… PHEW!

Well here’s an alternative that’s worth a look.

Try using a courier instead.

Perhaps you’re under the impression a courier is a lot more expensive. If that’s the case you may be surprised. The competitive nature of the market means there are some good deals to be had.

What’s more one of the key benefits is the courier driver will collect your parcels from your door. That means you no longer have to make the trip out. You get to free up some valuable time and can focus on crossing something else off your to do list.

In addition once your parcels enter the courier network they’ll be electronically traceable. That means at the click of a mouse you’ll be able to track their progress through the courier network and check they were delivered.

Next time you have some parcels to post try using a courier and see if it frees up some time in your day.

Here’s a cheaper way to book a courier collection

Everything seems to be more expensive these days. Petrol, food, fuel bills. You name it prices are increasing.

The result is more pressure on your budget. Whether that’s your business expenses or your household costs. It just feels that your money doesn’t stretch as far as it used to.

So when it comes to booking a courier collection you want to get the best price possible.

Well here’s a solution that could save you some money. In fact it’s a solution that may surprise you.

Don’t go to the big name courier companies direct.

Unless you’re a big account customer there is an option that is likely to be cheaper.

The alternative is a parcel booking service.

You can find them by searching cheap parcel delivery. These middleman services book collections on your behalf. You still get the same service and delivery product as if you went direct, only you’ll get a better price. That’s because the parcel middlemen get a bulk buying discount and pass some of those savings back to you.

So next time you need to book a courier collection give it a go. And if you’re a relatively frequent poster, the savings will soon add up.

Get a quick quote and discover postage rates for a range of courier services

Do you need to send a parcel?

Perhaps you’re an on-line retailer, a business looking to courier some important documents, or just after an ad hoc service to despatch your niece’s birthday present. Whatever your posting needs, read on and discover a quick and easy way to find out postage rates for a range of different courier providers.

Book your collection with a courier middlemen:

Collectmyparcel.com is one of a number of parcel middlemen. The role of a middleman is to book courier collections with big named couriers like City Link, Yodel and Parcelforce Worldwide on your behalf. You can find them by searching for cheap parcel delivery.

It’s an easy way to save money:

One of the key benefits of booking your courier collection with a middleman is you could save money. That’s because courier middlemen book collections on behalf of thousands of people and can therefore pass some of their bulk buying discounts back to their own customers.

Discover postage rates with the quote and book service:

If you’re looking to send a parcel you can get an instant price with the quote and book service.

Simply type in your collection and delivery details along with your parcel dimensions and you will instantly see postage rates from a selection of courier providers. This puts you in control of your collection because you can quickly see which provider offers the best price and delivery specification to meet your needs.

Next time you need to post a parcel – give it a go.

Four tips when booking a worldwide parcel delivery

Do you need to send a parcel overseas?

Perhaps you have some foreign orders to fulfil from your on-line shop, or maybe you’re simply keeping in touch with friends and family who live abroad. Whatever your reasons, here are four tips for making your task hassle free.

1. Remember to consider customs regulations.

Although some items are prohibited whatever your destination, if you are posting overseas you will also need to take into account customs rules and regulations. If in doubt check out http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageImport_Home

This page from HMRC is dedicated to all matters relating to import and export and should answer any questions or queries that you have.

2. Consider your delivery specification.

Due to the distance involved, it’s likely to take longer to send a parcel overseas than it would to a domestic address. As a result you should take this into account when choosing your delivery product. As a general rule air products are more expensive, but usually have a quicker delivery window, whilst by road products may be cheaper but could take longer to reach your destination.

3. Package your parcel securely.

As well as moving through the domestic network, your parcel will also need to move through the network of overseas partners. For tips on packing your parcel securely, check out this blog.

http://www.collectmyparcel.com/blog/how-to-get-your-parcel-to-its-destination…-in-one-piece/980/

4. Finally – label your parcel clearly and accurately!

Overseas destinations often have different address systems meaning it’s critical you label your parcel accurately and clearly. Make sure the delivery driver can read the recipient’s details and maximise the chance of your parcel being delivered correctly