The Top 4 Most Significant Changes to Modern Courier Jobs

In the transportation industry, developments have come and gone for as long as this age old form of social transaction has existed. But the current and specific fluctuations in the market, and the work patterns of those who take packages from location to location can take some getting used to for even the most experienced worker, let alone the novice.

Global Operations

One of the most significant changes to the operation of courier jobs is derived from one of the hallmarks of modern transportation: the global marketplace. While globalization is vital to business operations, a driver or independent operator must be aware of how connected they are to the international logistics of global delivery. A small package can travel from one side of the globe to another as easily as letters passed through the hands of a local post office in the past. Even if you deal with relatively remote aspects of this, the trade rules, currency fluctuations, and logistical routes will not only impact your business more than ever before, but also provide greater opportunities.

Special Deliveries

The role of specialisation in courier jobs has broadened and many independent operators and small companies find greater benefit in targeting special deliveries rather than niche communities. Utilising the aforementioned opportunities of access to a shrinking global marketplace, couriers can now target medical, legal, personal, and restricted small goods transportation. This may not be as regularly used or moved as more commonplace bread and butter jobs, but since it places greater demands on time or duty of care, it presents a higher return per item. Developing a reputation in a specialist area can bring about lucrative return business.

Online Performance

The virtual world has routes that crisscross the world just like the physical world and it can present as many opportunities as the shifting of small cargo by air, sea, or rail. In regards to modern courier jobs, even if you don’t take advantage of the freight forwarding options or online trade networks that allow you to deliver around the world under the auspices of your company banner, online performance matters. An online presence on forums or exchanges, as well as a basic awareness of online outsourcing capabilities, gives even the most modest operator a broader scope to pick up deliveries.

Diverse Work Types

Courier jobs have become more flexible yet also more demanding than ever before. Shift work, weekend work, night hours, revolving schedules, job sharing, outsourcing, route sharing – aside from the logistics, there are now myriad ever-developing ways to physically handle routes. This gives even the smallest team of workers chances to adjust their operations to tighten margins and garner new ways of penetrating their local and international markets.

Norman Dulwich is a correspondent for Courier Exchange, the world's largest neutral trading hub for same day courier jobs in the express freight exchange industry. Over 4,000 transport exchange businesses are networked through their website, trading jobs and capacity in a safe 'wholesale' environment.

Writer and Online Marketing Manager in London.