How does Rock Solid Deliveries ensure it stays competitive?

Rock Solid Deliveries are a leading company who specialise in same day courier services. We ensure we stay competitive in the market but the question some of you may be wondering is how we do this?

Our ethos is that we believe value for money and great service go hand in hand. If we combine both of these elements to our business model and in our work, we believe that a company will benefit from repeat business and word of mouth. The extra sales and new clients then allow the company to stay competitive benefiting new and existing customers alike.

Some courier companies claim to give their customers ‘value for money.’ This sounds very exciting at first, until you sit and think what value for money actually could be, and who might be paying it. Ultimately, you might conclude, is the customer paying for value for money in poor service? Value for money is what we all want, but if this at the expense of a service where there are problems with deliveries, items going missing, or not arriving at their destination it hardly becomes worth it.

What about great service? Think about flights and the difference between standard class and first class. At the heart of the difference is the extra quality service and individual attentiveness that is received. The trouble with this is that it comes at a price and people have to end up paying (sometimes substantially more) for something that really should come as standard.

We at Rock Solid Deliveries are aware of the need to strike a balance between value for money and great service. This is why we offer both as standard to our customers, whether you are using us for same day delivery or another courier service.

Think about courier for a second. What is one of the biggest sources of money spent in any delivery business? It has to be petrol and diesel. Fuel can make or break a courier company and be the difference between offering good value for money and not.

‘Fuel stress’ is a big problem for everyone right now. All of us have noticed the rocketing cost of petrol and diesel at the pumps and the impact this has on our finances. For business and for organisations that use transport (such as us Rock Solid Deliveries as same day couriers,) this rise in cost is having a massive effect on company finances. It does also mean that companies are struggling to absorb the rising prices, which ultimately means these being passed onto customers.

Fuel prices are critical to any business or industry. Those that are impacted the most though, are ones which involve travel and journeys. It is no surprise therefore that a courier company who has a fleet of vans on the road everyday travelling from A to B are amongst some of the most likely to be affected. Petrol and Diesel is definitely the ‘blood’ of any courier company.

Most courier companies can stomach a rise in fuel price. The problem comes when that rise is sustained for a long period. This then starts to impact on profit margins and can make offering competitive services difficult for customers. The problem with rising fuel costs is that it is not a localised or individual company factor. If fuel prices rise, all courier companies are affected and likely to be in the same boat, so shopping around for better rates for example isn’t something which is likely to work.

As far as saving fuel is concerned, there are steps we can all take to help make the tank last a bit longer. Saving fuel and money is in everyones’ best interests, so it is well worth seeing if you can adopt some of the following tips to help.

1) Weight

Couriers ask about the weight of parcels for a few reasons, but one of these is fuel considerations. The heavier the load, the more fuel is required to be able to ‘pull’ the weight, and transport the vehicle around. Customers with heavier shipments would expect to pay more for their delivery, as fuel calculations are factored into this. When sending a parcel, think about the contents and whether there is anything you can do to make it lighter.

2) Driving style

Changing driving style can have a massive positive effect on fuel consumption. Although fuel is used in all aspects of driving, accelerating and braking use the greatest amounts. Everyone needs to speed up and slow down so there is no avoiding this, but the way it is done can make all the difference. Smoother braking and accelerating can reduce fuel consumption, so it really is worth considering driving styles.

3) Anticipate traffic

This one is common sense, but it is not something everyone thinks about. Sitting in a traffic jam for an hour can waste fuel. Sometimes accidents suddenly happen, you can be stuck along the route, and there isn’t much that can be done. However, being aware of pre-planned roadwords for example, where an alterative route can be found, can save the time the vehicle is just sitting doing nothing and using fuel.

4) Stick to lower speeds

Laws of physics tell us that higher speeds use higher fuels. No one can do 30MPH on a motorway, but excessive speed can use more fuel. Speed limits are not only designed for safety reasons but to be the most economical for the circumstances, and sticking to these will help with fuel use.

5) Keep the vehicle in good mechanical order

Tyres which are incorrectly pressured, faulty air conditioning systems etc are all examples of factors associated with the vehicle that can cause wasted fuel to be used. Whether you are a courier using a van, or a family using the car, keeping your vehicle mechanically sound is not important for safety reasons, it just also has the added advantage of saving fuel too.

6) Lobbying

Over two-thirds of petrol and diesel price is nothing to do with it’s cost, but fuel duty and VAT in the form of taxes. If businesses all challenge governments in the difficult times, they have to listen?

7) Electrical models

Petrol and Diesel vehicles will stop being made in the near future. We are now in an era of hybrid or fully electric alternatives. Sometimes the price of these alternatives can be the biggest obstacle, but there is nothing wrong with exploring options and seeing what is viable. Cost will have to come down at some point as petrol and diesel will be a thing of the past, so it is only perhaps a matter of time?

8) Consider the fleet

Many couriers can look at their fleet and consider its effectiveness. Are lots of large vans needed, where downgrading size with smaller engine capacities could be an alternative for example, thus saving fuel costs?

Staying competitive in the courier industry is key, whilst still trying to offer the best and most efficient service possible. Who knew that fuel prices played such a big and integral role in this?

Want to know where we deliver to? Anywhere in the country! Just click our locations page and find the town or area you require.