Schedules are important in all types of haulage, but nowhere
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does the ticking of the clock sound more urgently than in the parcel and courier business. From the mighty fleet operators to the modest man with a van, consignments have to be collected and delivered promptly, often at just minutes' notice. New technology is at the forefront of this sector, and the Internet and track-and-trace facilities are more crucial than ever. Such attention to detail puts pressure on the operator but, as David Taylor reports, those with a sufficient dose of character can reap the rewards.
Few sectors of the road transport industry are as densely populated by household names as the parcels business, and few can be as diverse. At one end of the scale is the Post Office's own parcels division, Parcelforce, with more than 18,5oo outlets—post offices—all over the country. At the other end of the scale is the self-employed inner-city courier in Lycra cycling shorts weaving in and out of the snarled-up commuter traffic on his racing bike.
It is hard to believe these two operators are in the same business—but both are about delivering parcels in double-quick time, and in many ways they are in direct competition.
Where they are most likely to diverge is in the type of delivery they undertake. The parcels sector can be neatly subdivided into two quite separate services: same-day and overnight. The local courier is most unlikely to offer an overnight service, and, although some of the big blue-chip firms offer a dedicated same-day service, their biggest market is overnight deliveries.
The overnight parcels sector is one of the most complex and finely tuned of road transport businesses. Here, sophisticated logistics,