The Courier Industry in Kenya: by Eugene Orunga (self help books to read TXT) 📕

ü  Poor coordination of deliveries and collections.

ü  Weak audit trails arising from simple recording system (delivery book).

Administrative Headaches

With the current operations in most courier companies across the country, it is very difficult to manage parcel records and monitor employees/delivery people effectively. This is particularly serious where the courier company operates from multiple offices across the country. Some of the administrative difficulties faced by delivery companies include:

ü  Managing the parcel records, in terms of duplication of data entered in to the system.

ü  Difficulty in monitoring the riders/messenger/driver delivery activities and locations because of the myriads of variables involved- traffic jams, parking, identifying delivery points, waiting time for collections, vehicle breakdowns etc.

ü  Maintaining the personnel records for the riders/delivery people and other company employees.

Escalating Overheads

The direct and indirect overheads relating to parcel collections and deliveries are quite phenomenal. Some of them include:

ü  Cost of procuring and maintaining manual/paper records of all transactions

ü  Cost of running courier services in some routes

ü  Salaries for drivers/riders used in parcel collection and deliveries

ü  Time costs for messengers waiting to collect documents or submit documents especially at government offices, embassies (for visas), etc.

D-Trail is a parcel tracking and management application designed to help parcel/errands services companies to track and manage the parcel delivery processes efficiently. It is designed to help courier companies optimize their service delivery and better their parcel management processes by utilizing our cloud based solution which provides:

v  Remote office management

v  Parcel tracking

v  Rider location tracking

v  Proof of Delivery reporting

v  Route planning and optimization

v  Parcel management and reporting

v  Parcel delivery notifications to clients via SMS/Email

D-Trail System Overview

Summary

The D-Trail parcel tracking and management system provides a platform to manage your parcels and parcel related records as well as track parcel deliveries.  Parcel management is done via cloud based software. Parcel tracking is done using Bar Codes, Quick Response (QR) and Random Codes that are placed on the parcel. The system also helps in employee management, client management as well as rider/driver management.

1)      Management Function

D-Trail system helps delivery companies to effectively manage their parcel delivery processes through the main web based system, the D-Trail mobile app and bar code readers.  The system lets you manage all the parcel details, employees, and clients.

i)                    Parcel Management: Office admins can enter parcel details into the system. This helps to maintain the integrity of the data and is a great move away from errors caused by manual data entry in ‘delivery books’.

ii)                  Client Management:       Office admins can manage all client details in the system as well as communicating with clients via SMS or emails. Clients can be sent parcel collection reminders once their parcels are due for collection.

iii)                Employee Management: The Super admin can create accounts for all system users and assign them roles. Office employees can send each other message in the system either through SMS or the inbuilt system messaging (Dmail).

iv)                Rider/Driver Management:        You can track rider/driver location in real time. You can also assign parcels for pick to riders straight from the system.

2)      Parcel Tracking Function

This function helps parcel delivery companies to track the current location of their parcels in real time. This is done with the help of the D-Trail Mobile App. The system lets you track the exact location of the parcels and the riders. Office employees can view parcel and rider maps to check their current location and assign parcels to the nearest riders for pick up.

i)                    Parcel maps:        The system also generates parcel maps showing the route taken by the parcel. These maps also show the parcel status.

ii)                  Parcel delivery reports:  These are detailed reports showing the parcel details, parcel log and the parcel map. It shows which employees handled the parcel up to the point of delivery. These reports act as proof of delivery reports.

3)      Parcel Notifications

The system sends notifications to clients regarding the status of their deliveries.

i)                    Consignors (senders) are automatically sent notifications when

Their parcels have been delivered and to whom the parcel has been delivered to

Their parcels have not been collected within the specified time

i)                    Recipients (Recipients) are sent notifications when

A parcel that is to be collected from courier offices has arrived

Reminder if the parcel remains uncollected after the specified time.

The most notable features of D-Trail include:

        i.            User friendly interface- D-trail web based system provides you with a very easy-to-use interface with all system functionalities located on the dashboard. This can be seen after logging in to the system. The other sections of the system such as reports, sending parcels can be accessed at the click of the button. The system can also be customized to meet the needs and operations of every client, where the things like company details such as logos, report formats can be created in the system.

      ii.            Package status- The system allows you to check the status of the parcels throughout the process of transportation. The system is updated automatically to reflect the current status of the parcel, that is, if it has been delivered, or if a new parcel, or if it has arrived at a subsidiary office of your company.

    iii.            Rider/Driver Locations- The system also tracks the locations of riders. The distances are rider locations, maps and distances covered are displayed in the system in the administrators account. In case a client wants to have his or her parcel picked up from a certain location, the admin can easily find the rider who is nearer to the parcel and assign them the pickup job.

    iv.            Web based Tracking Reports- D-Trail provides you with various web based reports based on the details entered in to the system. The reports can be accessed easily by clicking the reports link on the dashboard. They provide information about rider performances, movement of parcels in and out of the company as well as parcel activities in subsidiary offices of the company. These reports can be relied on by the company management in making of decisions.

      v.            Automated E-mail or SMS notifications- The system sends messages to clients informing them of the status of their parcels. Both the sender and the receiver are notified of the parcels status at certain stages of the delivery process. The sender of the parcel will receive notifications when their parcel has been picked up for delivery, when it is on transit and when it has been delivered to the intended person. The receiver will be notified when the parcel is due for collection.

    vi.            Courier Personnel Analytics- D-Trail gives various analyses of the data recorded in the system in order to help you improve management of your parcel delivery process. This comprises of charts and graphs detailing the movement of parcels in the company, delivery rates of riders/drivers, performance of subsidiary companies. All this is geared towards improving your company’s parcel management.

The D-Trail mobile application allows for users to contact courier companies straight from the comfort of their homes or offices. The courier company will then come in to collect the parcel from where the client is. The clients will enter the details in the application, and then he/she will receive a verification code from the courier company. The code is to be shown to the rider/driver who comes to pick the parcel. The driver will enter the code in the system and the tracking process will begin. The client will receive notifications and updates about the whereabouts of his/her parcel through email/SMS.

For courier companies, D-Trail aims to be a stepping stone to better service delivery. With D-Trail, courier companies will be able to monitor the movement of their clients’ parcels and send them delivery notifications as well as manage their parcel records.

Courier companies face a lot of challenges. Most of them lack the capabilities to manage their drivers/riders effectively. They cannot determine the amount of time each driver takes to deliver a parcel, and how many parcels each driver/rider delivers within a specific period of time. Parcel delivery companies also face the other challenge of escalating overheads. The direct and indirect overheads relating to document collections and deliveries are quite phenomenal. Some of such costs include direct transport costs for motor vehicles, fuel, insurance, repairs, taxis, Postage costs for posting of letters within Nairobi among others.

D-Trail will go a long way in helping parcel delivery companies reduce the administrative inefficiencies they face. With the D-Trail application, companies will be able to effectively manage their parcels records, riders and their clients’ details. The system admin will be able to view reports detailing the performance of each rider/driver, reports showing the movement of parcels in and out of the company as well as any other subsidiary office of the company. The reports can be viewed in form of detailed graphs and charts. With this kind of reports, managers can make appropriate decisions to improve the efficiency of the firm.

Benefits of Using D-Trail

Efficient parcel delivery planning is the key to your competitiveness whether you are a national state-owned post responsible for round planning of addressed mail via letter carrier routes, a regional private mail or global parcel Delivery Company, or a door-to-door advertising company. The changes that latest technology has brought about in the business realm require businesses to alter their strategies and make use of the technology.

Whether it is delivery of letters to hundreds of thousands of addresses, express mail delivery with tight time-of-service restrictions, or the planning and optimization of other network-based functions, D-Trail provides the right mix of software and experience to help ensure that your organization keeps up with the demands of your operating environment.

Courier companies using d-trail can experience a lot of advantages the system has and will certainly be well positioned to be beat the competition and save more time, make more money and earn more clients. Among those the advantages a company is likely to derive from using d-trail include:

Measure your delivery performance: With D-Trail you can easily check whether you have delivered items to your customer’s expectations. If they paid for a Next Day delivery, you can use the delivery scan to check their item met this specification  

 ii.            Confidence when handling customer complaints:With a d-trail tracking system you can access information that enables you to physically check the delivery details that your customers may make inquiries about.

iii.            Know who received the item: If a customer contacts you saying their item was not delivered, you can use the d-trail system to identify the date, time and the name of the person who received the parcel.

iv.            Confirm delivery with a delivery track: D-Trail enables you to monitor your delivery process effectively because you can find out exactly when an item was delivered. What’s more some the system updates itself automatically to reflect the current status of the parcel and the customer receives the same information through notifications! With this kind of system you will be well armed if a customer tells you their parcel hasn’t arrived.

v.            Get the ability to track your parcel through the network: Tracking means you can easily locate the whereabouts of your parcel at the click of a button. What’s more if an item goes