Inside the Secret World of the Parcel Couriers

courierUsing an online parcel courier to send a package abroad has never been easier. These days you can arrange a delivery about as easily as you can order a pizza. Once you’ve found a courier that offers the service you need at a price you like, it should be no harder than entering a few details into a website and deciding how to pay.

But once your parcel has been collected how many hoops will it need to jump through before arriving at its destination? – Probably a few more than a Deep Pan Hawaiian.

Because international delivery companies handle thousands of parcels on a daily basis they have developed sophisticated technologies and processes to ensure that everything arrives where it should, when it should. The courier, who collects your delivery, takes the package back to his depot at the end of his day, and your parcel will be unloaded and processed along with all the other parcels that have been collected that day. This sorting process separates the international and domestic deliveries before moving them on to the next stage of their journey.

If your parcel is going overseas then it is likely to be moved to a larger hub where international deliveries are again sorted according to destination â“ those going to America, for example, will be separated from those going to China.

Upon arriving in the correct country these consolidated consignments are again sorted at a hub depot before being moved on to the local delivery depot closest to its final destination. Once at the appropriate local delivery depot your package will be assigned to a driver for delivery.

As you can see, the further your parcel needs to travel the more it will be handled along the way. That’s why it makes sense to ensure your parcel is properly packaged before it starts the journey. After all, if your pizza arrives with its topping spattered across the inside of the box you’re not going to be too happy, are you?