See our report on Courier Companies and the World Wide Web

Efficiency Plus!

Are You Taking Advantage of the Internet?

So much to do--so little time! That's probably the way to describe the unlimited resources of the Internet. Many delivery companies have web sites and some of them are very elaborate. Has it helped them? Are they increasing their revenues or is it just there because no one wants to be left behind?

Our publication has been doing very well with this medium. Our web site, www.couriertimes.com, is updated with each new issue and subscriptions are being received from all parts of the world. It's also been a way for those unfamiliar with the courier industry to "check us out." Well, that's for us. But how about you? How have you fared?

"We use the Internet all the time," said Sandy Grasdalen of PDQ Delivery in Rochester, New York. "I must spend almost four hours a day examining all the options available. Although we haven't generated tremendous revenues from this area, we are getting good feedback. We actually started with a small web site about 2 1/2 years ago. It was a simple site showing Rochester and the vans that we use. Now our site is more up-to-date. We've connected to our e-mail, we show more about our company, credit applications are available and it won't be long before we actually start taking some orders this way." To see it's web site, it's: www.pdqdelivery.com

Over in Cleveland, Ohio, Primetime Delivery, headed by Dave Reichbaum, says they use the Internet only for some billing at the moment. "It takes time to make good use of it and time is always so precious," said Dave. "We'll be doing a lot more very soon."

"We get a lot of use out of the Internet," said Kaye Allen of Freedom Express in Tulsa, Oklahoma. "It's a very good tool that helps us communicate with prospective customers. Instead of doing a whole lot of talking on the phone, we urge them to visit our web site where they can see the different services that we offer. We also receive orders for deliveries which are routed to our fax machine. It's also been a big help when we have job openings. It's another way to reach out to that market. Soon we'll be offering our customers the ability to track all their shipments via the Internet through the web site. We're already averaging a 25% increase per month in the number of hits we receive. There's so much you can do with a web site. Take a look at our site," said Kay. You can see it at www.freedomexpress.com.

"We have it running all day long," said Charles Chiusano, Jr., President of Service Messenger Company. "It's running in the background of our other programs and we call upon it several times during the day. The information that can be gathered from the Internet is incredible. Maps for drivers, phone numbers, research, that's the way we use the systems." To view the site: www.nymessenger.com.

With so much information available, how are we all going to put it to use? After all you've got a business to run. Yet it's fascinating. Schedules, reservations, book orders, medical advice--you name it! Some companies have machines dedicated to just accessing the web. Even if you don't use it for advertising your services, you can at least use it to make your life easier.

Some of the way's I've used the services of the World Wide Web: I wanted a listing of public beaches in the state of Connecticut, five minutes later I had that information. I needed a business book that was hard to locate. Called several stores but it was unavailable. Went to the Barnes and Noble site (www.barnesandnoble.com), put in my information and a few minutes later I ordered the book and at a 30% discount as well. Even with shipping costs it was considerably lower in price than the stores were selling it for.

It's a whole new ballgame out there, and if you want to be around for the finish you will just have to keep up. I remember when the fax machine was making inroads against the courier companies. Everyone was so upset they even refused to purchase one for their own office. Then after a few years they could no longer ignore this fantastic piece of equipment and they yielded. Now is there anyone who doesn't have a fax machine? You use it to send copies of signatures, invoices, applications, etc. Well the same is going to happen with the Internet. You better learn as much as possible about it now. It's new, exciting, it's useful.

Bill Goodman