Is there any benefit to using a courier with local depots?

As a courier, one of the main business goals is to deliver messages, packages and mail to customers in a quick and reliable manner. Not achieving this goal - a damaged parcel, a delivery to the wrong address or losing the parcel in transit, for instance - is a major setback and essentially a total failure of a key business objective.

On the customer side, sellers are paying a set price and putting their faith in a courier to send their item in a timely fashion. If this doesn't occur, they are extremely likely to take their business elsewhere as the courier industry is an extremely competitive market.

As a result, couriers need to not only deliver their main objective (no pun intended) but offer a USP as part of their service to gain an advantage over their peers and instil a level of customer loyalty to their target market.

The benefits of local depots

If customers are having trouble deciding on a new courier, look to see if potential couriers have local depots as part of their delivery operation. Local depots not only improve the speed of a courier's operations but can also keep customers happier.

For instance, if a 'We Called' card is dropped through a letterbox, customers generally have the option to get the item redelivered or if this particular courier has a local depot, they can opt to have the item sent to said depot for collection. Work schedules, especially for 9am-5pm workers, mean customers aren't always available at home, meaning the option to collect locally can be priceless for many recipients.

This not only works well for recipients but also sellers - particularly customers using eBay on a regular basis. Sending out parcels only for them to be returned or damaged through multiple redeliveries can be frustrating. However, knowing that parcels can be kept safe in a secure depot will provide sellers with peace of mind.

Local depots are not only useful for the customer and seller but for the courier too. Drivers no longer have to return to main depots hundreds of miles away from their delivery area and can instead drop them off locally, saving on petrol and driving time.

Ideally, any courier a customer chooses should have a set of 40 or more local depots in order to cover the main cities in the UK. Further depots means an increased market reach, making sending and receiving parcels in smaller towns an even better experience, while fewer depots won't get the desired reach - a mistake, considering the competitive nature of the industry.

The next time you're looking for a courier, check how many local depots they have in operation - it could improve your logistics and overall experience significantly, both as a seller and recipient