subject: Understanding Your Courier's Packing Guidelines [print this page] When you're planning on shipping anything with a courier company, you have to realize that you can't just throw everything in a box, scribble the address on the cover and expect that it will get to its destination. Every Chicago delivery service has their own set of guidelines as to how packages need to be prepared for shipping. When these guidelines are not followed, it not only created a bad situation for the courier, but it can end up costing you money.
The courier companies all carry insurance that protects the value of the packages that they are shipping for their clients. This means that if your packages are damaged because they get wet or are dropped, you will be compensated for your loss. However, poor packaging could increase the rate of damaged goods. That is why couriers are very careful to make sure that all packages are packed correctly. In fact, most drivers will have long standing instructions from their companies that say not to take possession of a package that is not properly packaged.
This means that they are not going to take your package, and will have to come back and get it later. This means that your shipment is going to be late in getting to your client, something that can certainly hurt the reputation of your business. In addition, the courier company will likely charge you a fee for the return trip that they have to make back to your location in order to pick up your cargo.
Realize that it doesn't take much effort in order to get your packages to adhere to all of the guidelines that are posted by your courier company. You should be able to find the guidelines online, or request a copy from your courier company. They are mostly common sense rules meant to make sure that every day stresses don't cause your package to get damaged. Typical rules that you'll see include making sure that the box isn't obscured with previous shipping labels, and that anything heavy is in a strong enough box, or boxes, to hold it.
Following shipping guidelines is also very important for insurance reasons. If your package is accepted but you haven't followed those guidelines and your package gets damaged, you could find yourself making an insurance claim that ends up being rejected. Packaging usually has to be presented to the insurance company in order for a successful claim to be awarded.
by: Paul McDuffy
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