A courier service is an organized business that provides a unique delivery experience of packages and documents that range in size from an envelope and multiple skids. A courier service is typically much faster delivery time than other methods typically provided by companies such as DHL, FedEx and UPS. The courier service industry is a fairly robust industry in the Western world with over 11,000 courier businesses in United States of America. Courier service industry is one of the oldest industries which has been around since the need to deliver messages over great lengths. In today’s world of international business, a courier service is a pivotal to we used in everyday business. Services such as the fax machine enough of simply complemented the great need of delivery or physical products.

Courier service industry in the United States is a $59 billion industry and the largest player being United Parcel Service delivers more than 1 million packages globally each day. The average courier company in the United States does approximately $2.5 million a year in volume. The courier service industry in the United States is a very fragmented industry that has failed consolidation of several attempts. There are little barriers to entry into this business with very little government intervention compared to other regulated industries.

Most courier companies in the Western world use independent contractors move packages. It is estimated that up to 80% of businesses in the United States use independent contractors were delivered. These independent contractors utilize their own vehicle to make a direct route of delivery and get paid a percentage of the revenue. They are typically responsible for all their own expenses and essentially an independent contractor is running their own business.

Companies that use a courier service range from attorneys two major parts manufacturers. Consumers are beginning to utilize courier services deliveries and white glove delivery is from retailers and e-commerce stores. Courier service industry can move practically any package across the country in the same day and many couriers are beginning to offer national retail distribution.  This industry can also deliver and set up furniture, goods, electronics and other products through a service called white glove delivery.

By utilizing multiple couriers and other cities, integration of technology, and existing infrastructures such as the commercial airline industry, a national network has been created compete with the overnight carriers and offer same-day delivery in the United States.

With the increasing demand of consumers, courier service industry is poised to join the retail and e-commerce industries. Online retailers like Amazon, offering their local express delivery service, have begun to provide same day delivery to their customers.

With increasing technology, courier service business and provide electronic tracking via GPS with electronic signature capture from the point of pickup through the point of delivery from any point in the country. This means that customers and track their packages and real-time and receive real-time delivery and pickup notifications. By utilizing existing wireless technology, existing commercial infrastructures such as the commercial Airlines, and existing courier businesses with independent contractors, this industry and deliver the same quality of service is the major players with their own network.

The courier industry is not immune to criminals creating scams. There have been a number of different scams brought to the attention of  same-day courier service Naparex; but the most common one in the United States belongs to criminals claiming to be a company called United Express Delivery. Naparex recently received a call from a gentleman in Nevada who was trying to find the source of a phone call from a courier company claiming to be a Las Vegas Courier Service.

Usually a targeted individual will receive a call on their cell phone from an operator claiming to work for United Express Delivery. They go on to say that a package needs to be delivered to the individual’s home and will require a signature. Sometimes the company will ask for missing details in the address they have; usually an apartment number or a suite number. They seem specifically interested in when the individual will be home, claiming that they need to know when to bring the package to obtain a signature. In reality these scam artists are phishing for personal information, detailed addresses and even time periods in which they know no one will be at the individual’s residence.

An even more upsetting aspect of this scam is that they set-up security questions with the individuals they are calling. Obviously security questions contain some sort of private information; sometimes the name of a pet which will give the scam artists notice of whether or not the residence will have a pet of some sort as an obstacle. Sometimes the security question will be even more personal; a father’s middle name for example. The bottom line is this is information that one would not want a scam artist to know about.

Though Naparex has no involvement in this scam we think it is important that individuals are aware of this scam and where they can find more information on the topic.

Steps an individual can take to prevent falling prey to this scam are as follows:
1. If you are not expecting a delivery of an item then be sure to ask the caller who the sender is. Verify this with the sender before giving out any information to the caller.
2. If you feel uneasy offering information regarding when you will be home to recieve the delivery offer to pick it up from the location instead.
3. There would be no reason a courier company calling to confirm a delivery would need to set up a security questions; if this is brought up you should be immediately suspicious.

Please visit this website to view the numbers frequented by this scam and individual’s personal experience with these phone calls.

If you feel as though you have been contacted by caller involved in this scam then you will want to report it here.

Recently announced, those who drive vehicles in the transportation industry and courier services industry are going to be federally banned from texting under federal guidelines that the US transportation Sec. Ray LaHood announced.

“We want the drivers of big rigs and buses and those who share the roads with them to be safe,” LaHood said in a statement. “This is an important safety step, and we will be taking more to eliminate the threat of distracted driving.”
This is effective immediately.

Those drivers who choose to text while conducting their commercial vehicle can receive the civil or criminal penalties up to $2750. This is received from the Department of Transportation in a news release.

There was no further information on the release on how prohibition will be enforced on the federal basis.
As recent as September 2009, the Transportation Department launched a website located at http://www.distraction.gov to raise awareness of the sheer magnitude of the dangers of this corrected drivers.

During this month, January 2010, the national safety Council President Janet Froetsher announced the creation of the ad as a group named FocusDriven.  This is an organization that sports the families from those victims of distracted drivers and this is a nonprofit organization That Is Modeled after Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

It is said that drivers take their eyes off the road for at least 4.5 seconds out of every 6 seconds while they are texting. This means that if driver chooses to text their eyes off the road at least 75% of the time.  There is a clear correlation with research that shows drivers who text are at least 2000% more likely to crash their vehicle.

As of January 2010, there are at least 19 states have passed laws banning texting while driving. Six of these states including the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands, completely ban the use of any handheld device while conducting a motor vehicle.
Included in this push, Pres. Obama signed an executive order requiring all federal employees do not text while driving any government-owned vehicles or government-owned equipment. This took effect January 1, 2010.
Information from the national Highway traffic safety administration, indicated more than 5900 people died in 2008 in automobile crashes that involved a driver that was texting, and there were at least half 1 million individuals in the United States that were injured.

In light of this new law, it is highly recommended and encouraged at every single independent contractor and driver in Courier and transportation industry do not utilize any of their devices while conducting their vehicle. When providing courier services, a driver to pull over to the side of the road to communicate with their electronic device.

Many drivers don’t realize that there are changes they can make in their daily driving habits which will make them save gas. This translates to a direct impact on the environment, especially if these habits were adopted by millions around the globe, as well as direct savings in your wallet as you spend less on fuel. Naparex is a same day courier service company that is committed to the “green” concept, being more fuel efficient and environment friendly, trying to pass on the savings to our customers.

Here are ten tips that can help you be a gas saving driver. 

1. You have to keep your tires inflated. When your tires are low your fuel consumption actually increases a great deal. Something else that many people don’t realize is that there are low resistance tires you can purchase which also improve mileage. These aren’t really suitable for driving in inclement weather, but can make great summer tires in an urban area.
2. Look in your trunk. Next, take out everything you don’t need on this trip.  Extra weight in the car means that the car needs more power to travel at the same speed you usually travel at. This means higher fuel consumption.
3. Look into alternative fuels. Fuels like ethanol and even bio-diesel can improve the environmental impact that you can have, and bio-diesel can also be incredibly affordable.
4. Simply put, slow down. Going just a little bit over the speed limit can increase your overall fuel consumption over the course of a long trip by up to 10%.
5. Upgrade your car. Car technology is improving all the time, and even without moving to a hybrid you can get a much more efficient car by upgrading.
6. Share your car by using a service, or on your own. Services like Zipcar provide a great alternative for people who don’t need a car every day. Also, some people are organizing their own car shares.
7. Carpool. Carpooling has been one technique for saving fuel that has been advocated for a long time for a very simple reason – it works.
8. The Four day workweek. Not only does this save on gas, it’s been shown to increase worker efficiency to the point that States are even discussing making laws to help companies find it easier to allow this type of structure.
9. Use Transit – The most environmentally friendly and cost effective suggestion on the list.
10. Work from home. The number of people telecommuting is increasing exponentially. Imagine how much gas you can save by just not having to leave your own home to go to work every day.

The current trends in the economy have been hard on everyone, but particularly hardest hit has been the Postal Service. In the last year alone, the Postal Service lost what amounts to billions of dollars. Of course, this has required the powers that be in the government and within the service to consider new ways to cut costs and to increase revenues.

The first and most commonly discussed method for decreasing the costs of maintaining the Postal Service has been that the service should potentially reduce mail delivery to only five days per week. Postmaster General John E. Potter feels that this reduction is going to be one of the best ways to help curb the spending that has put the service billions of dollars in debt.

Despite this being one of the principal strategies being considered for helping to right the financial ship of the Service, the voice of the American people suggests that people are more concerned about the potential of their local post office’s closing than they are about this potential reduction in service. While the Postal Service has acknowledged that concern, they have stated that these closures represent only a very small piece of the overall puzzle, and that no sites will likely close before January.

Other steps which are being discussed, and some of which will certainly be implemented, include restructuring of the Postal Service network. This will likely bring about a reduction of employees that are working for the Service, but will also include refitting the delivery fleet with newer, greener, vehicles that will be more fuel efficient and therefore cost much less to run. Hiring a courier service to deliver your time critical packages is not a bad idea given these circumstances.

 A large piece of the overall strategic picture has been the potential for Post Offices to sell and bring in revenue from things other than just stamps. Courier Services are begining to compliment and replace postal services.  In an interview, Potter did not disclose exactly what he thought the Postal Service should be selling, but it is clear from the numbers alone that extra revenue of some kind is going to need to be found in order to help balance the books.  Perhaps it’s same day courier services?

The changing face of how we communicate has also changed the postal service. Potter has made it clear that moving forward into the twentieth century, the public, lawmakers, and the workers within the Postal Service all have to accept that the service is going to change. The important thing is to discover what it must transform into in order to continue providing an important service to the entire country.

Although Amazon has emerged as the most powerful bookseller in the world, they do retain a certain amount of healthy competition from their brick and mortar rivals. Physical bookstores typically do even better against the online giant as we get close to the holidays, and people have less time to accommodate long shipping times.  They call this service Local Express Delivery.

Amazon has come up with a strategy to make shopping even more convenient for last minute Christmas shoppers by offering a same day delivery option in major centers. This newest service is only currently available in seven cities, but three more will be added shortly. The cities the service is currently available in include Washington D.C., Las Vegas, Baltimore, Seattle, Boston New York, and Philadelphia. The first expansions to the service area will take place in Indianapolis, Phoenix, and Chicago.

For many people, the worst part about last minute holiday shopping is having to contend with the throngs of people that are out picking up last minute gifts. This is something they will be able to easily avoid with this new same day shipping option from Amazon. The offer is going to extend as late as 1:00 PM Christmas Eve, making last minute shopping from your home computer simple.

The prices of the new service will differ depending on the type of account that you have with Amazon. Anyone that is an Amazon Prime Customer will only have to pay $5.99 per item that they want shipped the same day. While others will face higher rates, they will still get the same quick turnaround time on shipping.

The best thing about the newer service is that it is going to open up the usefulness of shopping online in a much more practical way. The problem with the online method of making purchases is that most sites always require you to wait to get your products, something that has driven many people out to a brick and mortar store. That barrier is now being removed.

The only problem that people have so far with the service is the amount that it costs to get this same day service. A Goldman Sachs analyst by the name of James Mitchell does predict that those prices will be dropped in the future though. Once more people become aware of the new service and their shippers are able to keep up with the demand, the price for this same day shipping should become more accessible to the average shopper.

There is a lot of motivation to strive to be more environmentally friendly in most aspects of your life these days. There are tax breaks for buying environmentally friendly products and using energy efficient products, and you can save a lot of money on fuel costs. This certainly applies to driving as well, so here are some tips to try and make sure that you’re having the most efficient ride possible.

1. Always maintain the proper inflation in your tires. If you look at your tires you will be able to see printed on the tire itself the proper inflation pressure. The lower your tires, the more fuel you burn, and you can also make yourself less safe on the road.
2. Adhere to all posted speed limits. People don’t realize that just by going 10 miles faster than the posted speed limit you can burn as much as 10% more fuel, making your trip much more costly than the few minutes you gain are probably worth.
3. Get regular tune ups. Poor spark plugs, air filters, tires that need to be rotated, or transmission fluid problems can all cause you to have a less efficient car.  
4. Take your time accelerating. You don’t want to just jam the gas pedal when taking off or you will burn excess fuel.
5. Stay out of traffic. Starting and stopping uses more gas and puts out more pollution, so if you can drive in lighter traffic conditions you will have a more efficient ride.
6. Get regular oil changes. Every car is different, and if you follow your recommendations as laid out by your manufacturer you should not only get better gas mileage, but will also have a vehicle that will last longer.
7. Don’t bother with premium fuel. Certain cars require it in their engines, but other than that, you get no benefits from it, and only end up causing more pollution and costing you more money.
8. Don’t carry unnecessary goods in the car. The more weight you have in the car with you, the more fuel every journey will consume. Unload anything you don’t need with you on that particular trip.
9. Don’t use your air conditioner unless you absolutely have to. Roll down the windows or turn the fan on before you try the AC, as it will increase both the pollutants you put into the air, and the amount of fuel that you burn.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re just a person or in charge of a large company, if you find the right courier service, it can save you both time and money. There is a very large difference between the costs and delivery times from the best in the business and those that are at the bottom of the industry.

Everyone needs something delivered at one time or another. Companies all have their busy seasons and during the holidays, who among us doesn’t suddenly have a need for shipping something across the country as fast as possible? If you have a great courier at your disposal, you won’t have to worry about dealing with these types of situations.

The thing about the best in the business is that they often have a way of getting your package where it needs to go faster than you thought it might get there. A great business tip is to see if you can get faster delivery times even when you’re not in an emergency situation. You might be surprised at how much your clients appreciate getting their orders early.

There are courier companies of all shapes and sizes, and they can all be good, or bad. Choose based on the service you require, and the service you get, not the size of the company. For someone needing to have complicated multi-drop shipments made across the country, the best answer might be an international courier company that has employees in a widespread network in every major center. For someone who just does business within their city, a small operation consisting of a few guys and their own cars might be able to provide you with a better rate.

If you have a great courier, don’t just think about the money that it can save you. You also have to take into account the savings that you can make in time. After all, you didn’t start a business to spend hours having to try and get the best quotes on shipping or calling a hundred different couriers. You started it, because you have something you do well, or enjoy doing. Your hours are better spent on that then trying to find a courier.  Go ahead, so a search for courier service.

Once you have a great courier company, you’ve done most of the work. All you have to do is call them, let them know what you’re shipping, and they can quickly let you know how much it will cost, and when they can pick it up.

Naparex, LLC provides a courier service blog intended on being a resource for courier and same day delivery related news and events.  The Courier Service blog is fed to dozens of online news feeds and read by hundred of people daily.

Naparex is looking for guest writers.  We are looking for unique content that is related to the courier industry and same day delivery business.  There are some benefits to being a guest writer on the Courier Service Blog.

Courier Service Blog Benefits

1. Personal Exposure as an Authority – The Courier Service blog is moderated.  We won’t allow blatent promotion or low quality material.  This blog is viewed as an authority source and writers are well regarded.  This enhances your writing image.
2. Do Follow Links – Guest authors are allowed to include up to two links with anchor text to the online properties of your choice.  The Naparex blog does very well in the search engines and by having a link back to your own site helps you with the search engines.  As the Naparex blog does better, so does your site.  The more you write, the more links you acquire.
3. Great Resource to Exposre Theme Related Material – The courier industry is only so big, and by further exposing yourself on many courier related sites, you ulitimately increase your business by having increased online exposure.
4. Offering a Great Service – The problem with so much information on the Internet is finding it.  The Naparex Courier Service blog is a great place to come and find one source of information.  You’re contributing to a great free service for people.

To Become a Courier Service Blog Writer

1. Send an email to blogauthor@naparex.com along with your first, unique article or sample of your article.  You will be assigned a username and password.  Either we can get the article online for you or you log into our Wordpress Blog and post the article yourself.
2. Your article must be at least 400 words in length.  Your article must be related to the same day delivery business or courier industry.  Your article must not be a promotional piece and must offer value to a reader.
3. Naparex reserves the right to edit any article submitted. 
4. Your article needs to be unique, it doesnt’ not have to be original.  This means that you can not copy and paste an article that is already online.  You need your own words.  You can rewrite an existing article, just make sure you use your own words.  There are tools we use to check this.
5. You are not limited the number of pieces you require to send.  Therefore, you could write 5 articles a month or one article a year.

The recession may be slowly fading, but unfortunately the international business climate is far from a place where companies can stop worrying about their expenses. When you have to watch where the money is going, it can really help if you can find a few cost cutting techniques.  Same Day Delivery companies vary in size and services.

The interesting conflict in the current business age is that you have to do business with a wider customer base in order to keep most businesses running. Of course, the wider your client base, the more you have to spend on shipping in order to serve those clients. That is why one of the most useful money saving tips to apply is ways to save with your shipping. That way you can still ship all over the world without losing the extra profit on your shipping expenses.

Here are five ways to save money with your international courier service company, as opposed to local courier service.

1. Combine your shipping with other companies. You’re not the only company shipping overseas, and also not the only company that is trying to save money with their shipping. The larger load you’re shipping the better rate you can get, so always look for ways to combine shipping with other companies.
2. Just ask! Many people forget that the simplest way to get a better rate in many cases is to just ask your courier company. They’re not going to give it to you out of the goodness of their heart, but often if you ask you will find that they do have room for negotiation in their rates.
3. This rule is similar to number 1. Ship the largest orders you can possibly ship, as volume always brings a discount when shipping. Try not to ever ship just a single package as you will find that the shipping costs are much more prohibitive.
4. Don’t limit yourself to just one courier company. The more companies you talk to and the more quotes that you get, the better the chances are of you finding a better shipping rate. Also, don’t be afraid to take your best rate to another company and see if they can match or beat it, this is a great way to get better rates.
5. Use a courier consultant. Many people don’t even know these services exist, but these are professionals that specialize in hiring couriers for their clients, so they have a large database of couriers and their rates so that they can find the best one for your purposes.