When most people think of couriers, we imagine the people handling last-mile delivery for a wide range of consumer products.
However, there’s also major demand for couriers in a commercial context, and that’s where specialist providers come into the picture.
So what do industrial couriers bring to the table, especially in a supply chain context?Let’s look more closely at this vital niche to better understand its relevance in the modern world.
What does an industrial courier service do?
Modern industrial courier services are not that dissimilar to standard courier companies, in that they aim to provide the rapid delivery of goods to customers, going above and beyond what the basic postal service can provide.
However, where they diverge is in the scale of their operations. Industrial courier providers are capable of coping with much larger items than their consumer-facing counterparts, which of course makes a big difference where business clients are concerned.
What types of items can an industrial courier company handle?
There are lots of examples of goods and materials that industrial couriers can move quickly and safely. A great example of this is auto parts, which are often required to carry out emergency repairs on vehicles when time is of the essence.
Likewise if modern construction projects are in need of building materials, a typical courier won’t be equipped to wrangle them, but an industrial courier will encompass this type of job on a daily basis.
Heavy equipment can also be hauled by courier companies in this segment, whether that’s components for factory production lines or even full-scale vehicles.
The list goes on and on, and as such it’s easy to see why there is so much demand for industrial couriers across a whole heap of sectors and commercial niches.
How do industrial couriers streamline the supply chain?
It should be obvious by now, but it’s worth restating just how crucial courier firms in this category are to the smooth running of the supply chain in a multitude of areas.
The efficiency of their operations makes them preferable to the alternatives, since many offer same day delivery on items shipped within a given geographic area.
The upshot is that businesses can afford to be more flexible and agile, rather than running up against unforeseen obstacles in their own operations.
The aforementioned use of couriers in the auto industry is a good illustration of this. When mechanics need a particular component to repair a customer’s car, and they don’t have it in stock on-site, industrial couriers can whisk it to them from a local distribution center ASAP.
It’s that last mile delivery that makes all the difference, and means clients don’t have to accommodate a huge inventory themselves, which saves them money in the long run.
What other services do industrial couriers offer?
The added benefit that commercially-focused couriers bring to bear on the supply chain is offering collection as well as drop-off.
That means if a client wants to send a component back to the distribution center, this can be done efficiently using the same vehicle that’s delivering another item they need.
Greasing the wheels of business is done in many ways, and this is a clear demonstration of how impactful and eco-friendly industrial couriers will be for organizations of all sizes.
Final thoughts
If you run a business and you’ve yet to consider switching to an industrial courier in place of a standard counterpart, now is the time to give this a try.
You might be surprised by just how much easier it is to keep the supply chain moving, and also what this does to your bottom line.
