Global courier and delivery services are divided into two sections namely larger couriers and smaller local delivery companies. Smaller local delivery companies like Fulfillmen, DB Schenker, and Kuehne Nagel are on the rise to face logistics giants such as DHL, UPS, and FedEx to meet the delivery needs of consumers.
North America has one of the most highly competitive couriers and local delivery services. Established couriers such as USPS and FedEx, are competing with developing couriers like Estes, Paquetexpress, Telepost, and Newgistics. These developing couriers are expected to cater for the needs of the consumers.
E-commerce and international commerce are relatively new ventures for South and Central American residents as these markets are just starting to develop. Correo Paraguayo, Correos de Cuba, Correos de El Salvador, Correos de Nicaragua, and Correos del Ecuador need to step up their game to meet the consumers needs.
Over the years, the expansion of the growing e-commerce in Europe is boosting economic performance within the continent. This, in turn, increases the rapid growth of the courier industry with globally known couriers like DHL and La Poste facing challenges from rising couriers such as BPost, Hellenic Post, Hermes (rebranded as Evri), Nacex, PostNord, Yodel, and many more!
Eastern Europe is an intriguing, rapidly rising e-commerce region where digital transformation has accelerated substantially in recent years. Alongside Russian Post, some small couriers such as Bulgarian Post, Ceska Posta, Magyar Posta, Poczta Polska, and Slovak Post are expected to boost Eastern Europe’s acceleration of e-commerce.
The expanding B2C e-commerce market is one of the primary reasons for the driving growth of courier and local delivery services in China. Contenders like SF Express, 4PX, Cainiao, Yun Express, Yunda Express, etc., are expected to contest the national postal service, China Post.
As Asia is learning to live with the pandemic, many businesses are pivoting from brick-and-mortar shops, with online shops and e-commerce becoming more prominent than ever. This has resulted in many countries having an increase in demand for courier services such as India Post, PHLPost, BlueDart, Chunghwa Post, E-kart Logistics, JNE Express, Kerry Express, and Lao Post.
The demand for courier pick-up and delivery services is forecasted to grow over the next years in Oceania as online shopping is becoming popular with consumers. Couriers such as the Australia Post, New Zealand Post, Fiji Post, Samoa Post, etc. will have to prepare for these demands as it gradually increases.
Despite the recent global pandemic, the transport sector in Africa is one of the fastest growing sectors, making this a good opportunity for the rapid growth of national postal couriers and small couriers like La Poste Cote D’ivoire, Algerie Post, Ethiopian Postal Service, Kenya Post, Mauritius Post, and many more.
The Middle East relies on logistics companies to transform the industry like the warehousing and last-mile delivery sectors as the growth of e-commerce are anticipated to take over. Bahrain Post, Qatar Post, Saudi Post, and Syria Post are some of the couriers that are expected to face this pressure.
In the logistics industry, a courier is a company that sends out parcels to a recipient.
There is often confusion between what a courier service is and what postal service is. Courier services are an all-inclusive premium service that collects packages at the most efficient time span while postal services are more related to delivering letters and mail and generally take a longer time to arrive at their destination.
Courier services often deliver things such as emails, letters, or packages to an individual, business organisation, or government agency. The deliveries can be done by foot, bikes, cars, trucks or public transportation.
While couriers and carriers deliver shipments, they are not necessarily the same. A courier typically delivers smaller loads, does door-to-door services, and has a faster delivery speed while a carrier delivers heavier loads, does not do door-to-door services, and generally takes a long time to deliver.
What are examples of couriers?
A courier is a company that delivers a parcel from one place to another. Some examples of well-known couriers are UPS, USPS, China Post, DHL, India Post, Royal Mail, PHLPost, Cainiao, and many more.
Browse through the couriers from each region above to see which courier fits your type of service.
There are a variety of couriers to choose from when shipping your parcels, so choosing one might be difficult. However, be mindful when choosing the right one by considering the price, location, services, global reach, and more. Research a courier in your and learn more about its services and tracking.
The procedure of the delivery on how the courier works depends on the contract, location, and the company itself. The company can either offer its own fulfilment centre and have the courier pick it up or the courier can pick the package up at the sender’s location.
Some courier companies often use multiple courier companies to fulfil orders but some stick to their own depending on the bulk of the shipment or the area in which it is going to be delivered.
An example of the delivery is as follows:
The majority of the couriers take around 1 to 3 working days to deliver domestic parcels and 3 to 7 working days to deliver international parcels. Some couriers provide different kinds of services depending on the delivery time and the urgency of the parcel.
The delivery time and hour it takes for standard courier delivery may vary depending on the service and route you are taking. Domestic deliveries could take as fast as 1 to 2 days while international deliveries could take as low as 3 to 7 days. Of course, the speed of the delivery will depend on the courier you choose.
Express couriers deliver parcels around 24 hours to 72 hours, depending on the location it is being delivered to. Some couriers offer next-day delivery within the following hours 9 am, 12 pm, or 6 pm although different couriers might offer different time options.
Parcels that are shipped internationally through express couriers that require customs clearance will typically increase the delivery time. Meanwhile, parcels that are shipped within the free trade zone can reach their destination in a much shorter time and can be delivered as fast as the next morning.
Before sending a parcel through a courier, there is one that you should do carefully and that is to package your items properly. After packaging the items, just follow these five simple steps:
Make sure to include both the sender’s and recipient’s address and also some additional information such as phone number, name, etc. The more information the shipping label has, the better.
Choose a courier service that would be most convenient for sending the package. May it be the standard service or the express service, you should choose a service that is appropriate to the urgency and safety of your package.
Before sending a package, make sure you check the courier’s website for the prohibited items to avoid complications. When shipping dangerous goods, they require special procedures so be sure to check the courier’s website to get up-to-date with the rules.
You can contact your courier to collect the shipment from your house or you can drop it at their office. Before doing this, check the website or app of the courier you have chosen to see if they have a pick-up service.
Use a third-party tracking website or use the courier’s website to track your package. Just enter the tracking number provided and track your package’s journey.
To get updates on the current status of your packages, you can head over to the courier’s website or use a universal tracking system like Ship24. Once on the site, enter the tracking number that has been provided by the courier and enter it on the website. You should be able to see real-time events of the packages being sent to you.
The biggest courier in the world according to revenue by far is UPS, ahead of large competitors such as FedEx and DHL. UPS has a yearly revenue of around $85 billion in 2020.
This means that the courier has received the packages or shipments and that it is on their way to the addressee.