Courier Services for Your Business

Finding a courier services solution in the Mid-Atlantic can be a challenging process. You most certainly want to find a courier services company with availability 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year. That's non-negotiable! But there are many other important attributes to the best courier services providers in the Mid-Atlantic region. So what else should you look for in a courier and logistics company? Keep reading, and we will tell you all about different services, how to best use them, and which industries they are suitable for!

The right courier service for you must have an experienced and professionally maintained fleet, multiple service locations, state-of-the-art technology, and a commitment to service excellence. Most couriers work with all industries and provide the following courier services:

• Dedicated Delivery
• Medical Courier Services
• On-Demand Delivery
• Scheduled Courier Services
• Temperature Controlled Pick Up and Delivery Services
• Less-Than-Truckload (LTL) and Full-Truck-Load Services

What to Look For in A Courier Services Provider

The courier service provider you select will have their drivers in front of your customers. Because of this, they truly are a direct extension and reflection of your business. Excel Courier's customers keep coming back to us because we're reliable, hold ourselves to high customer service standards, and have decades of industry experience. Look for these attributes in the service provider you choose.

 In addition, make sure that all of the drivers are trained appropriately and arrive in uniform with all of the paperwork your business requires. Your courier should always be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year. 

Finally, what really differentiates courier services is their flexibility and capabilities. For example, Excel Courier stands out from the competition due to our ability to customize any of our services! Our pricing isn't cookie-cutter – we listen to our customers' needs and design a pricing structure that fits their business demands. That's the advantage of working with a certified small business like Excel Courier.

The Six Key Characteristics of a Reputable Courier Service Provider

To summarize, when searching for the right partner, there are six key things to look for when evaluating your courier provider:

1. 1. 1. Reliability
      2. Excellent Customer Service
      3. Industry Experience
      4. Trained Drivers
      5. Availability: 24 hours a day / 7 days a week / 365 days a year
      6. Flexibility to Customize Services

What Types of Courier Services are Available for My Business?

Dedicated Delivery Services

Outsource your fleet and reduce internal costs.

Does your business' success depend on deliveries? Then Dedicated Driver and Delivery services are for you. Typically a courier company will have a 24/7/365 support team that can handle deliveries to your customers 'round the clock. The drivers are knowledgeable about your business and your products. We send over the drivers to your location each day and you manage the deliveries they will be making.

With this type of service, you'll see the same driver(s) each day at the same time. They will arrive at work just like your other employees. But, you get the best of both worlds. By outsourcing your fleet, you not only save salary costs, but you also save on things like truck maintenance, workers' compensation, and recruitment headaches. Essentially this driver is your driver and will represent your business out in public. A good courier service provider will always have a trained, backup driver ready to go for you in case someone calls out sick. All drivers are prepared to handle any situation with the utmost professionalism. You essentially will outsource your transportation needs yet maintain the benefits of having your own fleet.     

Excel Courier specializes in serving those businesses that are looking to outsource their fleet. 

Medical Courier Services

Every minute counts.

When you are looking for pick-up, transport, and delivery of medical specimens, be sure to select a provider that specializes in Medical Courier services.  Your courier must understand that their work impacts your patients' lives. Look for teams that do their jobs with compassion. The ideal medical courier provider has a dedicated support team and knowledgeable drivers for your recurring and routine medical courier needs. The courier services provider should have experience working with laboratories, hospitals, medical centers, health systems, pharmacies, blood centers, veterinaries, physician offices, and more.

The best courier for your medical business will have years of experience in medical specimen transportation and be your partner for patient care. They could be helping you with organ deliveries, blood transport, cryogenic transport, therapy transport, prosthetics, pharmaceuticals, and, of course, specimen transportation. It is imperative that all drivers are trained, certified, and compliant with HIPAA TSA, OSHA regulations, the chain of custody, and blood-borne pathogen protocols. And, if you have specific training requirements, communicate those requirements to your courier services partner to ensure every single one of your drivers receives that medical courier training as well.

Excel Courier offers different types of medical courier services depending on your needs. We work with medical facilities that require a dedicated route and also those that call us on demand. With Excel Courier's services, you can rest assured that our team is highly trained, patient-focused, and available 24/7/365.

On-Demand Courier Services

Same-day requests, delivered on time.

Unexpected, time-sensitive delivery needs call for superb, high-touch, On-Demand courier solutions. This means the on-demand courier will need to utilize the latest tracking technology, allowing them to serve your on-demand needs. These types of courier services require the ability to fulfill same-day requests and deliver on time. Ideally, they can provide you with real-time views of where their drivers are located at all times.

The best on-demand courier services provider will give you the ability to schedule your service on the phone, via email, or using a self-service portal. Usually, a self-service portal offers an option to connect directly to your business via an API enabling you to streamline your operations. There should also be some type of integrated app, such as Hypership,  that you and your service provider will have access to when a driver picks up your package or parcel, when it's in transit and when it's delivered.

Excel Courier provides on-demand services and more! After using Excel Courier just once, you will have all you need to understand why Mid-Atlantic businesses recognize us as the best regional courier. Depending on your urgency, you'll be able to choose delivery anywhere between one to four hours!  

Scheduled Courier Services

Automatic scheduling for recurring needs.

Do you have recurring courier needs? Maybe you need mail picked up and delivered twice a week. Or medical specimens are picked up twice a day at 7 am and 5 pm to be delivered to the lab. When your pick-ups and deliveries are consistent, recurring, and scheduled, you can save time by pre-arranging them. Whether it's every day or once a week, it can be fully automated in the provider's courier system, so you don't have to worry about it. Once your pick-up or delivery is scheduled, the courier services provider will send out an expert driver to take care of your business delivery needs! 

Temperature Controlled Courier Services

Cold or ambient temperatures, the right provider will have you covered.

No matter what you are transporting, your courier services team must have the tools and experience to meet your needs. This is especially true when you are searching for Temperature Controlled Courier Services. Their supplies need to include insulated delivery containers, dry ice, small coolers, ice packs, and refrigerated trucks, to name a few. Their fleet and drivers will be capable of maintaining the temperature anywhere from 0 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit. In addition, this type of courier services provider must be able to ensure the cold (or ambient) -chain is not broken and provide you with the documentation once your product arrives at its final destination.

Less-Than-Truckload and Full Truckload Services

LTL and FTL

One size does not fit all, and we'll help you find an efficient way to transport your less-than-truckload (LTL) or full-truck-load (FTL) shipment needs. We provide FTL and LTL services throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. In addition, Excel Courier can professionally manage your fleet for you, alleviating the hassle of buying or leasing new trucks and the stress of unpredictable situations.

Operations Center - The Hub for Courier Services Providers

24 / 7 / 365 monitoring

Excel's world-class courier services operations center monitors every piece of the delivery journey to ensure no obstacle risks on-time deliveries. Traffic patterns, breaking news, local events, weather conditions, construction, accidents, detours, and other monitored information help Excel Courier's operations center with fleet monitoring.  

 Excel's operations center is always open and serves as command central for its courier services operations, logistics operations, and client support services.

• • • 24/7/365 call center
    • Customer service
    • Sales and Order management
    • Courier dispatch
    • Fleet monitoring and routing
    • Alerting and notifications
    • Escalation Policy / Escalation Management
    • Coordinated scheduled services
    • Dedicated delivery management
    • Logistics services coordination

Courier Services for Every Industry

Just about every business in every industry can utilize courier services. Below are a few industry examples, but fundamentally a courier service will help you move any types of documents or goods from one place to another. It entails picking up, transporting, and delivering items from where they are currently to where you want them to be. Here are some ideas to help you determine how best to use courier services to save time and money for your organization. Remember, it's much easier to have a courier service pick up and deliver versus taking an employee off the job to run an errand. Why take an employee out of work when there are services to pick up and deliver for you?

Don't see your industry listed? Call us for more information or a request a custom quote.

Medical and Healthcare

Courier services employ well-trained drivers who are equipped to handle your specimen pick-ups and delivery. In addition to specimens, a well-known, reputable courier service will work with physician practices and local hospitals that need to quickly move pharmaceutical drugs or medical equipment within their network. Some of the most rewarding work is working with local hospitals to ensure that transplant organs are delivered rapidly. This is just one example to give you an idea about the importance of a courier service's job within the medical and healthcare industries.

Law Offices

Couriers frequently work with law firms throughout the Mid-Atlantic area to make sure legal documentation is delivered. As the face of your law firm, courier service providers do it with the utmost professionalism, a high level of customer service, and a sense of urgency. In addition, law firms will hire couriers on an ongoing basis to assist with deadline-driven requests such as court filings that must be stamped and dated. 

Banking and Finance

Businesses across the Mid-Atlantic, like architectural firms, retail stores, and restaurants, schedule courier services to pick up their daily or weekly banking deposits. The courier will make the deposit and return the receipts as needed. Excel Courier offers delivery solutions for banks, credit unions, insurance companies, and accounting firms.

How to Place a Courier Services Order

Below, we'll show you how our customers place their service orders. It's quick, easy, and efficient for businesses to place courier services orders with us. Our customer service team is standing by 24/7/365 to assist with large, or small, pickups and deliveries.

Here is our 3-step process:

1. 1. 1. Request a quote or place your order via email, phone or online.
         • Call (703) 478 0140.
         • Email info@excelgroup.com.
         • Order online through our client portal.
      2. One of our professionally trained drivers will pick up and deliver your order.
      3. You receive delivery confirmation!

Total Visibility and Job Tracking

The Courier services company that you select should provide visibility into each courier services job from start to finish. Specifically, you want them to always be able to answer the following three questions:

• • • When did my pick-up occur?
    • Where is it now?
    • What's the ETA?

State-of-the-art courier management technologies are available so that you are able to rely on the tracking data given by your courier. Here at Excel Courier, we have that technology. In fact, technology combined with Excel's client services team makes answering the questions above very simple. In addition, our customer service center is staffed with experienced professionals 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, all year long who are on top of every detail for our customers. Job visibility is essential and it is best to find a service provider that makes it convenient and easy for you to have the data and tracking you need.

Transportation Fleet for Couriers

Every courier service must have a fleet. Without a fleet, they will not be able to partner with you and provide delivery services! Every courier business' fleet should consist of various types and sizes of vehicles, from compact cars to temperature-controlled vans, trucks, and tractor-trailers. All of the vehicles should be equipped with GPS and state-of-the-art communication supported by real-time tracking. When speaking with a potential courier service provider, make sure they have access to these types of vehicles:

• Compact cars and vans*
• Small vans* and step vans
• Medium walk-in trucks and city delivery trucks*
• Large walk-in and large delivery trucks*
• Tractor trucks and large refrigerator trucks

*Temperature control capable

Final Thoughts on Choosing Courier Services for Your Business

There are many types of courier services available to businesses in the Mid-Atlantic area. Hopefully, this blog post has given you ideas about how to best leverage the tools of courier services. Here at Excel Courier, we would be honored to have the opportunity to answer any questions you may have and partner with you and your business.

Depending on the urgency of your need there are a few ways to contact us. You will be able to reach someone 24/7/365 who is available to help you schedule your pick up.

• The quickest way: Call Us.
• The most efficient way: Order Online.
• The "old school" way: Email Us.

All of us at Excel Courier and Logistics hope this article has helped you better understand what type of courier services are available, all of the different ways you can call upon courier services and given you some ideas to run your business operations just a little bit smoother and more efficiently.