Delivery Mode and Terms

Delivery has been transformed by overnight delivery services that offer speedy delivery for a premium price. Yet faster is not always good business practice.

How do you decide when to use

• UPS or FedEx or Airborne Express?
• U.S. Priority Mail or regular mail?
• a trucking service or railroad?
• air freight or container on a ship?
  

Here are some cost comparisons to help in making a decision.

Transportation Cost Comparison
Origin: Ithaca, 14850 US
Destination: New York, 10001 US
Weight: 5 lbs

Delivery services offered by UPS, Federal Express, and the U.S. Postal Service are attractive transportation alternatives to trucks, ships, and air freight. They take smaller quantities and offer pricing options based on total monthly mailing volume rather than single item weights.

Businesses with small volume orders and those with quick delivery as a value proposition need to choose delivery mode based on speed as well as cost. Businesses can use multiple delivery modes, such as

• trucking or regular mail modes for initial large orders
• overnight options for reorders.

Mail order catalog and Internet businesses typically offer customers the choice of regular or fast delivery at an added cost. Some send everything by overnight mail. Consumers expect instant gratification from purchases. Overnight mail is one way that catalogs and Internet businesses can meet these expectations.

Mass customization strategies send products as they are completed, even as partial orders, to add value with quick response. Special orders, custom orders, and individualized products are usually small in volume and speedy delivery will add more value.