[PL] How do I send a parcel by courier?

Selling goods over the internet requires a partnership with courier companies who will take care of the collection and delivery of the prepared consignments. An alternative to working directly with couriers is the outsourcing of logistics services, which can be carried out under the Fulfillment model. Want to find out how to send a parcel by courier in-house? Here is a comprehensive guide to help you understand how to send parcels quickly while fully optimising your logistics costs.

Courier services versus an e-commerce business

When running your own e-commerce business, you need to bear in mind that signing a contract with a shipping company will be essential. This is the only way you will start shipping goods on a large scale. If you do not have a contract, you will usually incur much higher transport costs.and, in addition, you will never have a guarantee that the courier will turn up on the appointed collection day.

If you want to grow your e-commerce business quickly and offer your customers the best possible shipping prices for their orders, it is essential to work with a reliable courier company. This is essential these days, especially when it comes to e-commerce.

Note: An alternative to signing a contract with a carrier or carriers (yes, you can have several) is to outsource your logistics services. In this case, you don’t need to have your own warehouse with goods and the handling of orders and returns is handled by an external outsourcing company, such as under the Fulfillment cooperation model.

How do you send parcels with a courier? Where do you start?

Before you start working with a courier company, you need to know the basics of how courier services work. Each carrier has different logistical procedures that it has to follow in order to finalise the operation of delivering the parcel to the recipient.

For example: as an e-commerce company, you can send parcels to InPost parcel machines. However, this requires knowledge of the dimensions of parcels for parcel machines. Otherwise, it could turn out that the prepared parcel will not fit into the shipping chamber and the company will incur additional costs.

How to send a parcel by courier for an e-commerce company and what not to forget? Here are some key tips.

First of all, choose a courier company. It is a guarantee of successful cooperation, reasonable transport prices and trouble-free delivery of the prepared parcel. There are many courier companies on the market today, e.g. InPost, DHL, UPS, FedEx, DPD. Before you sign a long-term cooperation agreement, take into account: the price of sending a parcel, weight and size limits of parcels and opinions of satisfied customers.
Prepare your shipment so that it meets the technical requirements set by the courier company. It is also worth reviewing the carrier’s terms and conditions. Some companies prohibit the shipment of liquid goods that could be damaged in transit.
When ordering a courier, try to agree on a date and time to pick up the parcel so that you can be sure the package will be prepared on time.
Give the prepared parcel to the courier, while remembering to ask him to sign the transport report. This is a document that provides security for the online shop in the event that the parcel is lost or damaged in transit.

Courier companies usually deliver parcels in Poland within 2 working days, regardless of the region of Poland. Foreign parcels take slightly longer to travel, and this is mainly due to the distance the parcel has to travel through the various handling points.

Do you want to make sure that the parcels you send are always delivered safely? Bear in mind that shipping some items involves the fact that even if they are damaged, you will not receive the compensation you are due.

To avoid such situations, it is worth checking, what you cannot send by courier. These are usually items such as: liquids, chemicals, alcohol and other products that can be damaged and damage not only the contents of the package, but also its outer packaging.

Courier services – how to choose the best company to work with?

Before you decide to sign a contract with a carrier, it is necessary to carefully analyse the terms and conditions of cooperation. The parameters that determine the profitability of signing a contract with a carrier are:

the price of courier services – this is primarily about the unit cost for the transport of a single consignment,
delivery time – each courier company indicates an approximate time of delivery for parcels in Poland and abroad,
additional services – here it is worth noting the option of parcel delivery at weekends and holidays, the method of transport tracking,
customer reviews – is a reliable source of information that will help you decide whether it is worthwhile to cooperate with the selected carrier.

A key determinant of the profitability of cooperation with a particular courier company is also the level of customer service. In the case of a business relationship, the carrier should provide multiple forms of contact, so that online shops and other businesses using the courier service can seamlessly contact the service if there are any problems with their shipments.

Some courier companies have specific requirements on how packages should be packed, as well as relating to the maximum size of parcels.

If you want to make sure that the parcels you are preparing are always received by the carrier, invest in tried and tested cardboard packaging – boxes. The ones available at RAJA come in standard sizes accepted by most courier companies in Poland.

How do I order a courier for my company? Step by step

The process of order fulfilment in an online shop is closely connected with ordering transport by a shipping company. If the company has a permanent contract for the collection of shipments from the company warehouse, it is enough:

Create a transport order in the carrier’s system.
Generate a waybill after entering the consignee details.
Print a shipping label.
Label the package in a visible place.
Release the parcel to the courier who will be at the warehouse to collect the parcel in preparation.

The knowledge of how to send parcels to a courier should be used by every entrepreneur who works in e-commerce or simply sells goods at a distance. The procedures related to courier services are simple – all you need is a signed business contract and access to the carrier’s portal.

Note that it is worth placing the generated shipping labels in courier arrivals and kangaroos. These additionally protect the waybill from moisture and damage.

To sum up: cooperation with a courier company is essential if you run a business and send a dozen, several dozen or even several hundred parcels with goods on a daily basis. Before signing a contract with a carrier, find out, what influences the cost of a courier parcel. This will make it easier for you to assess whether the proposed terms of cooperation are beneficial for your business.