Courier delivery service is a developing line of business. Within similar business transportation of correspondence, various cargoes or gifts is carried out. Moreover, this happens in a fairly short time.
The organization of a courier business is interesting because to provide such services you can attract people with low qualifications or no qualifications at all. There are not so many companies of this kind at present. Due to this, delivery costs are high. How to organize courier service? The nuances of the development of this business should be reflected in a pre-compiled business plan.
Services market
The most powerful structure that delivers correspondence and cargo in our country is the Russian Post. However, it is slow and unreliable. In this regard, most firms and companies try not to resort to its services.
A business plan that addresses how to organize a courier service should contain information about the work of competitors. Existing postal services adhere to the rules approved by the International Postal Convention. They provide the weight of the shipment. It should not exceed thirty-two kilograms. If the order value does not exceed one hundred dollars, no duty is charged.
When organizing a courier service, express delivery can be carried out with cargo weighing up to several tons. In this case, duty is imposed on all shipments. The majority of courier services would like to have a license for postal transportation.
However, the Convention clearly defines the national operator. In Russia, this is the Grandpost service, operating in all towns and cities. This company is beyond any competition. In this regard, for the stable development of your own business, you can master the courier market within just one city.
Prospects for starting a business
If you are thinking about how to organize a courier service, then keep in mind that the business you are opening will compete only with small similar companies within the region or city.
If the goods delivered by your service are larger in weight than CDs or books, to open your own business you will need from ten to forty cars, a garage, an office and a warehouse. Some courier companies Only magazines and correspondence are delivered. In this case, it is enough to purchase one car and rent an office of two premises.
It should be remembered that this business can bring its owner a stable profit. Here's why a new entrepreneur should consider this business special attention. In addition, organizing a courier delivery service is not a very complicated process. This is due to the fact that this business does not require special education or professional skills. Significant start-up capital will not be needed here either.
First steps
Where to start a courier business? First of all, you will need to decide on the place of activity. It is worth keeping in mind that it is most profitable to deliver to major cities. Small settlements do not need large volumes of services, which will negatively affect the amount of income.
After this, it is important to decide what weight and dimensions of cargo your courier service will take for transportation. This is due to different delivery conditions. If the goods are classified as dangerous, a special certificate is required. Only in this case will the transportation process be possible.
At the initial stage of development of the courier business, there will be a need to attract customers. To do this you should contact in various ways advertising and promotion of the company.
Staff selection
How to organize a courier service so that the business brings the desired income? You will need to invite a number of employees to work. The minimum staff of a delivery service should include a dispatcher, as well as an accountant and a driver. If you plan to transport heavy parcels, then you also need a loader.
To select employees, you can resort to one of two options. In the first of them, people with low wages(from two hundred to three hundred dollars per month). In this case, you will be faced with constant staff turnover. However, the recruitment problem will be easily solved due to the large number of people willing to fill the vacant position.
But it is worth keeping in mind that the quality of services provided, and therefore the company’s reputation, will depend on the level of remuneration. In this case, you can resort to the second option. How to organize the work of a courier at the highest level? It is necessary to ensure a rigid binding of a decent wages to certain rules and requirements.
Registration
How to organize a courier service in your city? You will need to select the legal form of the company (usually an LLC), and then register it with the Tax Inspectorate in your area. This will allow you to conclude long-term contracts with clients without any problems. You will need to seek the services of a lawyer. It will help in developing a contract template.
Selecting a room
At the next stage, you will need to rent a room. It is necessary to base the delivery service. Such a room could serve as a small office. For these purposes, some use a warehouse. It will also house office rooms. There should be a parking lot nearby. There is no need for an expensive and bright sign. The delivery service should look for the client, and not wait for his arrival. You only need a few signs for the building in which the courier service is located.
Initial capital
Big investment this business won't require it. However, some funding for a start-up organization will still be necessary. You will need money for a car. A vehicle will be needed if you do not plan to hire employees with a personal car.
Creating your own courier delivery service is not an easy task even for those who have been working in the logistics market for a long time. General manager TopDelivery Gleb Nikulin shares his experience of launching a courier service in Moscow.
Bookmarks
We launched in 2011 and focused primarily on delivering parcels from online stores to the regions. To deliver orders in Moscow, many stores hired couriers or used the services of local courier services, and sent them to other cities using Russian Post. We settled in the promising niche of deliveries from Moscow to the regions, but after half a year we felt the presence of major players.
It was difficult to compete with them - the companies obviously had large resources, and we gradually began to lose growth rates. Then we were saved by the speed of developing solutions specifically for e-commerce. We were one of the first to offer fitting and partial redemption services, the possibility of payment upon receipt, convenient API integration, SMS and email notification of recipients, and launched a collection of reasons for refusals. Flexibility and additional services helped to gain a foothold in the market, and are helping to develop now.
Our delivery to the regions is based on a reliable principle: for each city and its region, we create a delivery chain, the last mile of which involves a local agent with couriers or an order pick-up point, for whose actions we are responsible as if they were our own. All operations with an order, from its creation to the return of cash on delivery to the sender, take place in the TopDelivery system, which is developed by the company’s internal IT department. Local agents also process orders in the TopDelivery system. For a long time in Moscow we worked on the same principle.
History of order movement in personal account TD manager
Why did you decide to create your own courier service in Moscow?
If our agents in the regions - small companies who work in our system and according to our standards, then in Moscow potential agents are medium and large firms that have their own regulations and IT system. In the capital, complete freedom of action in introducing new services is possible either with a small contractor or with your own couriers. We understood that SCS (our own courier service) gives greater freedom of action in implementing the functions and services necessary for the client, so we decided to take a new path for us and open own service delivery.
I must say that in 2011 we already tried to launch our own courier service in Moscow. Then they realized that recruiting and training their couriers took too much time, and there was no longer enough attention to the development of the regions. Because of this, the pace of geographic expansion began to fall, and we made, probably, one of the most important decisions in the history of the company - we temporarily closed the delivery route in Moscow.
In 2013, we began to build delivery in Moscow according to the same principle as in the regions - we found two agents, prescribed work regulations with them and, for our part, organized and controlled delivery, but the introduction of new solutions and services was more difficult: the agents were relatively large, had their own regulations and system, and could not meet us halfway in everything. For example, we could not load orders at night to these agents, which forced us to pick up cargo from clients earlier with all the ensuing consequences.
At the end of 2016, we decided to make a second attempt to launch a courier service with our own couriers in Moscow. By that time, we had already connected the Maxima Express pick-up point network, and daily routes around Moscow became commonplace for TopDelivery. The decisive step towards opening our own courier service was a request from major client, who urgently changed the contractor in Moscow, and would be happy to send orders to our courier service, but on the condition that we pick up the orders at night, which we could only do by shipping orders directly to our couriers. And we did it.
What problems were solved?
We had only 3 weeks (since the online store needed to start exactly on February 1), a list of requirements from the client and an understanding of how the courier delivery department should function. Then we believed that to launch our own courier, forming the department itself and providing it with resources was a sufficient task, because we have been able to do everything else for a long time: integration with clients, the first mile, sorting, transfer of cash on delivery, support, and so on. But in reality, having your own courier service means introducing new functions in each department, which increases the complexity of the work. There were a lot more processes to think through than before. An important factor was that our representatives provided delivery services at a high level, and when switching to working with our own couriers, we had to maintain quality: provide the same large range of services and ensure the same high percentage of order purchases.
The main processes that we had to learn to do on our own:
- High-quality courier delivery aimed at a high redemption percentage
- Communication recipient-courier, recipient-operator, operator-courier
- Receiving money from recipients through your cash registers
- Reception bank cards
- Possibility of opening, trying on and partial return
In the 3 weeks allotted for the launch, we managed to train staff in the basic processes, which we then fine-tuned throughout the year. The company has introduced radically new processes, the bulk of which fell on the shoulders of transport department. Of course, this required dozens of improvements to the system and learning how to sort orders for couriers. If earlier we gave Moscow to 2 windows to 2 different agents, now we had to sort orders among 50 couriers.
As a result, there were quite a lot of changes:
- We created a new driver loading and receiving area, designed for more sorting points
- Developed operating regulations for the courier service
- Part of the fleet has been branded
- Implemented cash discipline
- Integrated the router into our system
- Expanded the call center for communication with couriers
- And many small but important changes
Branded car TopDelivery
There were overruns here and there. For example, cash registers had to be purchased twice. At the time of launch, we already knew that in half a year everyone would be required to use online cash registers, but the online cash registers themselves were not yet available for sale. Therefore, in January 2017 we purchased cash registers for the first time, and in June 2017 - for the second time.
In fact, we were only happy about the appearance of FZ-54. We have been receiving product items from clients since 2011; all that remained was to add VAT to our system.
The couriers removed a significant part of the worries - we took into account our mistakes and recruited experienced people who already know how to deliver orders from online stores, so at the initial stage we only trained the office in new processes. This saved a significant part of resources, and there was no need to close the direction as in 2011. On the contrary, our own courier service acted as a driver of development in 2017.
A week after the launch of the courier service, the business analyst and I decided to go out on a route with one of the couriers to see with our own eyes his work, to understand all the problems and needs. Honestly, I felt a surge of confidence from this trip: the courier told us how he plans his route, how many minutes he calls the client, we heard how he communicates with the recipients. Then I realized that if all our couriers work so well, the recipients will definitely be satisfied, and the business will grow.
About the season
November-December is the traditional peak in the e-commerce market. Everyone is buying gifts for the New Year, and the number of orders in online stores is always growing. We have been preparing for the season since July, but it still came unexpectedly: in mid-November we experienced a doubling of volumes in one day. We were ready for such a number of parcels, but we thought we would reach it gradually by mid-December. Now the courier was working at maximum capacity, and volumes continued to grow every day. We felt like we were on pins and needles. The busy season has begun.
The workload on the quality department, which deals with order problems, has increased. The percentage of problematic shipments has increased slightly, but due to general increase Due to the volume of parcels, the guys had the feeling that everything was heading into the abyss.
We urgently moved all couriers to work 5/2 and 6/1 instead of 2/2, but it became obvious that these measures were not enough.
During the season, time was running out, so I went to the warehouse myself to understand the processes, helping the head of the sorting center with this. A few days later I connected the technical and commercial directors. Together we completed over 40 operations improvement tasks in just 3 weeks. We applied the theory of small steps in practice. Tasks with a deadline of no more than 3 days were transferred to IT, updates were rolled out every day.
As a result, already at the beginning of December, the shipment of all couriers was returned to 7:00-8:00 with an ever-increasing volume of parcels. They began to bring out the couriers on duty in a second wave. There are fewer disrupted deliveries. To maintain team spirit, I tried to talk more often about the successes of the warehouse and courier service and spent as much time there as possible, establishing processes.
Results
I must say that our own courier service allowed us to have more control over processes and better resolve emergency situations. For example, in 2016 we had a limit on the number of orders at the end of December. Then, taking risks, we attracted more partners, but we understood that they too could introduce limits, and this would be a serious blow to our business and reputation. This year we had more possibilities influence productivity: put more couriers on routes, negotiate with each to increase days and hours of work. In the end, we coped with the volume: we didn’t get up, got ready and delivered everything.
Some long-time clients called me personally. Some cursed and threatened to terminate the contract with us tomorrow. Others, on the contrary, noted that we were doing a good job. Of course, some of our clients stopped cooperating with us and switched to competitors. But new clients also came to us from these same competitors and were satisfied. During the season, some "exchange" of clients is almost inevitable. It’s nice that the vast majority of clients went through the season with us, some not for the first time. It's great to have clients who, like us, are committed to long-term partnerships.
Conclusions
Based on the results of the season, I have two main conclusions:
1. The season will almost always exceed your wildest expectations.
2. A united team will save the situation.
It was the team that helped us cope with the increase in the number of parcels. We worked more than usual, went to work on weekends, took on more responsibilities. I am very grateful to those people who did more than I expected of them, without thinking in terms of “this is not my area of responsibility.”
We did a lot for the first time. And for the first time, I think it turned out very well. In my opinion, we had a year in three. I am confident that in 2018 we will have a more successful season. Taking into account our experience, we will prepare for the season a little differently.
This year for further development Let's start hiring more couriers and immediately train them in our work standards. Over the year, we have developed expertise in a number of things, which we now share with regional contractors.
Future plans
We are gradually closing all problem areas, and since January, positive results from the changes in December have become visible. On March 5, we moved to Nagatinskaya - the new warehouse has 60% more usable space, which will improve a number of processes and significantly speed up the sorting of orders and loading of couriers. The office is now located next to the warehouse, which means communication between departments will improve.
There are many large and small tasks in the plans. We are about to launch several important improvements, for example, acquiring in regions and online order statuses. Over the course of the year, we want to give customers the opportunity to send multi-place orders and expand the geography of delivery of large-sized cargo (currently we transport cargo cargo only in Moscow). We will continue to reduce delivery times. Last year they hardly talked about this, but in fact they began to deliver faster to about 40% of cities in our geography.
Before you start creating 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 individuals. Or combine several directions. Each option has its own nuances that must be taken into account. Consider what territory you can work in based on your budget. The wider the delivery boundaries, the more expensive it is to create an enterprise.
A courier delivery service is a business that you can start alone and spend only on travel and registration of an individual entrepreneur. This approach, however, will not promise great profits. Most likely, you will earn only slightly more than a hired courier ( average salary 25,000–35,000 rubles), and you will work many times more. You will have to look for clients, take calls and orders, and spin around. In large cities, where the market is close to saturation in terms of the number of offers, it makes sense to implement serious investments(from several million rubles to several tens of millions of rubles) and create high-quality service. Customers have the most complaints about the quality of services. Payback good service, provided that you correctly determine the needs of your target audience and you calculate everything exactly at the start, it can take about three years.
Room
The delivery service needs office space, in which dispatchers and management will be located. Couriers will also arrive there to resolve pressing issues. In the office you will 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 space. You don’t need a class A warehouse - it’s quite possible to keep it at $100–130 per sq. m. m per year. You can offer your clients paid use of your facilities. Storage inventory during the day, it usually costs the store an average of 50 rubles per cubic meter. You can also take care of the packaging - completing one order by courier service employees costs 10–50 rubles.
Problems with the service arise, among other things, due to the reluctance of courier services to work around the clock and on holidays. A flexible schedule and willingness to quickly provide services will help attract clients who find themselves in difficult situations.
Documents
After registration legal entity, take care of 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 waybill must be replaced with a goods transport note (CTN). It makes sense to accompany a valuable product with a certificate of no claims against appearance and quality.
Invoice forms can be downloaded on the Internet, in the 1C system, or ordered at a printing house. Be careful that they do not get lost. You will have to report to the tax authorities, including with their help, so all TTN must be in order. Remember that the invoice must indicate your and the client’s data, contain information about the cargo (size, weight, etc.) and payment.
If couriers accept payment, you will not be able to do without cash register. In case of its absence, the company faces a fine of 30,000–40,000 rubles.
Other expenses
Staff
Couriers are the most important employees of delivery services. They communicate with clients the most, so you need to approach the selection process very carefully. Firstly, you should choose people based on their preferences and expectations. The most stressful job for a courier is delivering food. Fulfillment of the order must begin immediately after receipt; little time is allotted for travel - on average an hour and a half in Moscow. At the same time, there is no way to plan a route. The most rewarding job is delivering 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 project creator is to convey to employees the idea that their work is important and useful. Logistics companies often complain about couriers disappearing along with goods or money. It doesn’t hurt to insure yourself in such a case - it works well official registration couriers to the state.
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 your information infrastructure. Customers usually choose courier services that offer an API (Application Programming Interface). This is an external application built into the website that completely automates the delivery order process.
You may have to invest in other infrastructure as well. You can give couriers smartphones or tablets with your company’s application installed. Special program You will also have to write to monitor how orders are delivered and what feedback the client leaves.
Promotion
Illustrations: Natalya Osipova
Thank you for your help in preparing the material: companies Bringo, Smartomato, Homeassist
Successful own business- the dream of many whose plans include a stable and high income. The courier delivery service is quite popular, but at the same time free niche. There is healthy competition in it, which allows you to offer customers something that other companies do not have.
This area will be discussed in more detail in this material.
Advantages and disadvantages of activity
When starting any project, you will be a follower. Someone must have done this before you. It is important to treat this correctly. If this person has already opened a similar business, he probably made mistakes. Your task is to make the most of your previous experience and avoid falling into the same rake again.
Advantages
- Delivery service in demand and assumes the presence of potential customers. People need your company's services. Having a wide field of clients, it is important to start interacting with them correctly, and the first profit is in your pocket.
- The advantages of this type of activity also include minimum investment. To get started, all you need is to have the Internet and a phone at hand. First steps in courier business You can start as a partner of a store or offline platform, as well as within the territory of one city. Later, having received your first profit, you will have the opportunity to expand your project by hiring workers, concluding contracts and purchasing the necessary equipment.
- Another advantage of this type of activity is wide range of specializations. Yours future company can position itself from different angles. This could be by land or air transportation, partnership with private company or large enterprise, delivery of press or large cargo, etc. It all depends on the needs of clients and current situation affairs in the services market. The main thing is that you can occupy any available niche.
- IN personnel selection even a novice entrepreneur will not have problems. This genus activity does not require employees to have a specific education. All that is required from subordinates is responsibility and physical strength. This will greatly simplify your work in recruiting staff and help you save on wages.
- Courier service does not require a special room. You can start work even without a warehouse. The main thing is to properly organize the process of cargo delivery, planning the route and keeping all costs to a minimum.
Flaws
- As a leader, you will need patience and the ability to make quick decisions. Courier delivery is always possible appearance force majeure. While your staff will have a minimum of personnel, all significant decisions will be made by you. Learn to quickly find a way out of the current situation, negotiate and give instructions correctly.
- Often in similar companies full-time employees can afford not to go to work. There are also a number of problems when the courier does not physically have time to get from one part of the city to another. Then you will need to quickly resolve the issue with replacement of personnel or staff replenishment.
- When opening a service there is always risks: damage to someone else's property, late or poor quality delivery. Many large companies still cannot eliminate such situations 100%. However, with strict control over the work of couriers and other employees, you can cope with this problem, forever winning the trust of the client.
Where should I start?
- You should start a business by monitoring the situation on the market for such services. This way you can take an advantageous position in this niche with the least competition. Large settlements are best suited for project development, but with the right approach, this idea can be implemented in small towns.
- After analyzing the data received, you will need to decide on the specifics of the goods that will be delivered by the company. Will it be the transportation of documents, medical supplies etc.
- The next step concerns the equipment. Answer the questions: do you need a car? If you deliver documents within small town or several areas, the courier can do this on foot. In the case of parcel delivery, you will need a car. You must clearly know what kind of car you need. This leads to a chain of questions about hiring a driver, paying him and related expenses. These problems can be solved at the first stages by concluding a long-term contract with a taxi or driver with a personal car.
- A dispatcher will be needed to receive applications. Again, in order to save money at the beginning of business development, you can combine the qualities of a manager and a dispatcher. Communication with clients should be around the clock. This form will make your service stand out from the rest.
- When the business is operating at full scale and you have a fleet of vehicles at your disposal, you should think about hiring a mechanic and loaders of large items. As the number of clients grows and the volume of work increases, a secretary, accountant and other drivers and couriers will also be needed.
Interesting information about this type of activity is presented in the following video:
Business development options
The development of new technologies and the expansion of trade have provoked the demand for courier services. Today this niche is incredibly popular, and it can be developed in all sorts of directions. Here you must clearly decide what specialization your company will be and how large it will be. In the process, all this can be adjusted and gradually expand the circle of your clients, as well as the services provided:
- A small courier company can deliver documentation and small parcels. Your potential clients are most often banks, law firms, various types of organizations. It is most convenient to organize such work in a small area. one city or several villages. Nearby ones are also suitable areas of a large metropolis.
- If you plan to work nationwide, then here the variations on the theme of the delivered cargo expand significantly. It could be like special delivery press, online store goods, and equipment transportation.
- A new level for delivery service – international. You can find a lot of information on the Internet about successful companies this kind. This can be either air delivery, land or water delivery. It all depends on the connections you have. You can stand out from your competitors by as soon as possible or additional services that other companies cannot provide.
Required documents and permits
You only need to complete the paperwork after your idea has been successfully tested. This provides a kind of guarantee that subsequent development costs will not go in vain, but will become an impetus for improving the business.
The form of enterprise required to open a courier service is LLC - limited liability company. In order to draw up contracts correctly, it does not hurt to acquire the services of a lawyer who will help in further questions documentation. Additionally, you should consider insurance for transported goods, especially if you work with hazardous substances.
Required Personnel
The staff is your support in doing business in the near future. Despite the fact that the specifics of the work do not require many special education, you should focus on qualities such as responsibility and diligence. Otherwise, this threatens to delay delivery times and affect the company’s reputation.
For a business in a small town you will need not large number personnel. They are based on a dispatcher, a courier driver and an accountant.
Without initial capital The duties of each position can be performed by a manager. Since the earnings will initially be small, you can do all the calculations yourself. In the future, you will need to resort to the services of specialists and acquire assistants.
As for the payment of wages, as a rule, they are paid based on output - the amount of goods delivered. With increase client base and orders can be switched to daily or monthly payment labor.
How to find clients
Customers are the basis of any business. Main task– sell them your company’s services. You need to look for your first clients yourself. Suggest courier services shops, restaurants or other city institutions. Surely banks, lawyers or flower shops They need similar partners to help them promote their product and generate additional income.
You can build your business on the basis of an existing one, taking the role of an intermediary between the supplier and the direct buyer of a product or service.
Very current direction in the field of courier service became lunch delivery. If your city doesn’t have one yet, then feel free to count it among potential clients offices and branches various companies. The main thing is to provide your workers with sanitary passports, and the dishes themselves with safety certificates.
Don’t forget to advertise your company: make contacts, advertise in the newspaper, distribute leaflets and call potential partners. In the future, you will be able to deliver goods to shops, supermarkets or deliver their products to customers’ homes.
Business costs and profitability calculations
The profitability of the delivery service business is one of the highest. This is explained minimal investment and high cost of services. Additional savings on personnel, which is convenient when working in a small area, will further increase the profitability of a newly started business.
The normal income level is up to 90%. The standard conditions for such profit are an average delivery cost of 5-15 dollars. The price includes the cost of maintaining staff, the weight of the cargo, its value, gasoline, delivery speed and much more. The average number of orders per day ranges from 40 to 50. This will allow you to fully recoup all expenses for travel, staffing and advertising.
The investment amount ranges from 3 to 5 thousand dollars, provided that you have your own transport. However, working in small town, you can start with the delivery of small-sized cargo that the courier can carry on foot.
Organized courier service - source high income. It all depends on how you prioritize. Small calculations and step by step description creating a business will help you create a successful project that will pay dividends after the first month of work. The main thing is to give the client the opportunity to choose and offer something new on the market for services of this kind. Then, even in the face of competition, exchange rate fluctuations and other enemies big business you will be able to fully realize your idea.
How to open a delivery service: 5 popular delivery options, tips for attracting investment, cost and profitability of this type of business.
Costs for organizing a business: from 400,000 rubles.
Delivery service payback period: 10-12 months.
Delivery business is gaining momentum every day, as it does not require such large investments, such as producing goods or opening a catering establishment.
One of the advantages is the fact that it is not so complicated in organization and design.
A delivery company can provide transportation services, such as oversized cargo, parcels, letters, or enter into an agreement with a company (more than one) and deliver goods produced by it.
In addition to the advantages, there are a number of nuances that you need to understand before thinking about how to open a delivery service.
First, you need to decide which goods will be supplied and to whom.
For example, you can initially deliver orders to your home in one locality.
This good option for a beginner to start because it does not require a large number of vehicles.
And if the business prospers, it will be possible to expand the scope of activity to the desired scale.
How to open a delivery service and what are the requirements?
As already stated, this industry businesses are not as difficult to set up as most others.
There are minimum requirements, once you understand them, you can open a business delivering flowers, parcels, valuable cargo and other items.
Choosing premises for a delivery service office
Interesting fact:
The story has survived to this day about the most iconic envoy of early antiquity - Phillipides, who brought a message about the Battle of Marathon to Athens. He ran a distance of almost 40 km and died of exhaustion after fulfilling his duty. His feat became a prerequisite for the founding of marathon racing.
As with any full-fledged enterprise, the first step is to rent office space.
Where it will be located, in a large building in the city center or in a residential area, is not so important.
There are courier services without an office.
But, as practice shows, this is only at the “embryo” stage.
After all, when expanding such a business, there will be a need to enter into contracts with reputable companies.
The absence of an office can negatively affect this partnership, and in general cause a lot of inconvenience.
Selecting transport for delivery service
The next, but no less important point, will be transport.There is nothing to do in the courier business without transport - this is a fact.
But the availability vehicle with considerable dimensions will increase the number of delivered parcels.
When choosing, you should take into account the expected volume of orders and the available budget.
Personnel and customer interaction
An important part of organizing the idea of opening a delivery service is finding suitable personnel.
It is necessary to hire couriers who will deliver parcels and staff to work in the office.
To improve communication, you can open a hotline telephone line or a website where you can always track what stage the order (package) is at.
It is equally important to set up communication between the office and the couriers, since customers who are expecting a parcel will first call the office and ask what the condition of the order is and how long to wait for it.
How to register a delivery service?
You can register an enterprise as a private enterprise (PE) or with limited liability (), but with registration in tax office it will get a little more complicated.
Since recently, courier activities cannot be subject to a single tax on imputed income; taxation of delivery businesses occurs on a general basis.
But this should not affect net income, provided that the business is successful.
Registration in local authorities authorities, and obtaining all the necessary approvals will cost approximately 15,000 rubles.
To open a courier service you do not need many documents, only information about the founders, the physical address of the company and its property (enterprise fund).
How does a delivery business depend on the city in which it is located?
When organizing a courier service in big city, there is no need to provide diverse services, you can simply choose a certain area and deliver only a certain type of goods.You can implement the following delivery service options:
- cooperation with online stores;
- cooperation with restaurants or (most often, such establishments have their own couriers);
- delivery of correspondence;
- water delivery business, flowers;
If the location is sparsely populated, the intra-city delivery business will not bring as much profit as we would like.
Therefore, it makes sense to engage in transportation between cities, as this will greatly expand the range of activities.
It is most profitable to cooperate with furniture manufacturing factories, transport it to the place of sale, and possibly to the buyer’s home.
You can also deliver things while moving.
For such large-scale cargo transportation, you need appropriate transport, and more than one.
But first, you can try smaller deliveries.
How to choose transport for a courier service?
Any vehicle for starting a delivery business is suitable, from a scooter to a truck, it all depends on the type of transportation.You don’t often see a driver with his own truck, therefore, for large deliveries between settlements, you will have to buy a car.
To section financial settlements They contribute not only the cost of purchasing a vehicle, but also the cost of its maintenance, as well as gasoline consumption.
Gasoline consumption depends on the following factors:
- vehicle condition (serviceability, mileage);
- type of vehicle (truck, passenger car);
- driver's driving style (fast, slow);
- weather conditions;
- road condition.
Approximate calculation of gasoline consumption for trucks and cars
Obviously, gasoline consumption depends on the car model and its engine.
But, based on the table, you can roughly calculate the difference in gasoline payments for cars and.
Required personnel for delivery service
It is most profitable to hire employees (couriers) who have their own transport.As mentioned above, it can be either a car or truck, or a scooter or motorcycle, since small orders do not require a large interior.
For example, deliveries such as flowers, or sports nutrition, can generally be carried out using public transport.
For this type of assignment, it is best to hire students, as they will do an excellent job and can be hired part-time or choose a flexible schedule.
If we are talking about large-sized orders, starting from bottles with drinking water, and ending with refrigerators, you will need at least a minibus.
Since it will be necessary to deliver water to several recipients at once, and it is more profitable to deliver equipment to at least several clients in one trip.
In addition to couriers, you will need an accountant, a call center operator who will answer incoming calls and provide the necessary information (a secretary can handle this task).
How to attract investment to open a delivery service?
Nowadays, finding someone who will invest money in starting a business is not so difficult.There are many sites (exchanges) for searching investors, which they themselves go to to find a promising project for their investments.
Naturally, no one wants to invest money in an unprofitable enterprise.
Therefore, you need to present your business plan as best as possible.
It is worth indicating all the nuances and aspects of the proposed project, identifying the benefits to the investor himself, calculating the approximate payback period and receiving the first income.
Describe in detail the services that the company will provide.
Also, the amount of investment must be clearly indicated, and a report must be provided on what and how much will be spent.
The knowledge and experience of the founder (founder) of the company in this area plays a significant role.
How much does it cost to open a delivery business?
Regardless of what kind of transportation you do (small or large), the costs for office and advertising will be almost the same in any case.
TO additional services It’s worth adding the creation of a website, this will cost from 10,000 rubles.
Regular investments
The rest of the expenses will go to the purchase of cars (if there is a need for freight transport), wages to employees, gasoline costs, etc.In the video below, experienced entrepreneurs talk about the features of running a delivery business:
Profitability of starting a delivery business
Before you open a delivery business, you need to understand that competition in this area is very strong.After all, in addition to delivery services, there are many private couriers.
However, despite the competition, the profitability of such an enterprise is about 25%, depending on the type of activity.
The company should generate income within three months.
If there is no profit during this period, this means that the company is operating at a loss.
The payback period will take about 10-12 months, subject to success.
As in any commercial activities, you shouldn’t start with something big, such enterprises often go bankrupt.
You can build a shipping empire starting with a small flower delivery business, and expand the scope of work every year.
This will speed up the payback period, reduce risks, and profits will begin to come as early as possible.
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