How To Start A Delivery Business In Australia Or NZ AQAP?

In the last year when the pandemic hit, several delivery business start-ups did flourish immensely in Australia. With the sudden splurge of the online market and eCommerce; it’s still the best time to invest and start a delivery business. But launching a delivery service ‘As Quick As Possible’ can be pretty challenging.

With this info-need, you could start a delivery business right away; Just by working on 2 solid factors that include Strategic Plan and Methodical Technology.

Acknowledge What Exactly A Delivery Business Is?

A delivery business basically concentrates its services on carrying, transporting, categorizing; and distributing goods & products. The process starts by picking up goods from an origin like a shop or a factory to deliver the product safely to its assigned address. A delivery business is not easy as it includes a ton of work and patience. Delivery is intricate work, which needs your full attention.

You have to treat the products and goods like valuable treasures and hand them over to their actual owner securely. Delivery business runs basically on trust and dependency. People often send over personal and fragile goods to their loved ones. Which they want to be received in their actual condition. You cannot be sketchy in this business. You need to take care of the goods and hand them over cautiously.

Services that a delivery business can offer include a restaurant and home deliveries (food and perishable items), parcels from shops and factories, grocery deliveries, flowers, and other fragile item deliveries.

A delivery business needs a lot of planning before actually kick-starting your business. So here’s what you need to plan.

Create A Solid Business Plan

Before actually getting into the Australian market, you need to create a solid but practical business plan. Planning can often avoid tension and problems in the future. A business plan will help you select your niche, focus on your idea more, make you target a particular audience, and stick to it more. And more to that, you will be able to see what potential your business can hold and what opportunities your business can grasp.

Understand The Size Of a Market & Competitors

When it comes to courier or delivering a parcel, we generally think of Australia Post, Pack & Send, Sendle. These are just a few names. The size of the courier market is emerging and competitive.

You can get a spot if you’ve got something better to offer your potential clients.

Why so?

This is because the bigger post and courier companies have already established their position. It’s nearly impossible to defeat a government organization like Australia Post.

And the obvious reasons why Australians trust AusPost are:

• Trust
• Loss or Damage Coverage
• Timely Delivery
• Affordable Rates
• Numerous Offers & Deals
• *Government Owned (which is one of the biggest factor).

Still, you can be a winner because AusPost is still unpreferable in terms of secondary deliveries. It does not deal with food delivery. And still lacking behind in Pick-Up & Drop-Off Service Model.

This does not mean other couriers are not doing so.

Overall if you see, AusPost is not your competitor but other courier companies are.

They deliver anything and everything within Australia and overseas as well.

How are you going to win?

Is Your Courier Service For Personal or Business Purpose?

Deciding on who your service is for will clear your vision of reaching where you want to be. Some courier companies serve all the clients including:

1. Individual (Personal)
2. Companies (Business – Profit & Non-Profit)
3. Enterprises (For-Profit Business)
4. Government Bodies

When you plan to start a delivery business, it’s preferable to choose either 1 or 2 stakeholders. At a small level, you could easily analyze the performance and operational tendency of the business.

Initiating big is either not going to harm. But will require more numbers of employees to operate on a daily basis. And strong technology is a ‘Must’ to manage and track the items.

FA Queries You Need To Ask Yourself To Start a Delivery Business

Make It Legal Before Proceeding

Whether small or large every business has to be registered in Australia. In order to make the functioning of services smooth, identifying the business type & its criteria is significant.

Our partner company has been one of the best support to new businesses. The registration process just gets too easy to start a business.

Required Steps to Set-Up a Business

Here Are All The Required Steps You Need To Include While Planning For Your Delivery Business In Australia:

Find Out And Choose A Suitable Niche:

Before doing any planning whatsoever or selecting your services, sit down and find your niche. Find out what you actually want to do and what area interest you the most. Focussing mainly on one service will make you a professional rather than jumping into different services. That can be pretty stressful for you and your business, so if you have a crew who can handle fragile stuff, then you should probably get deriver flowers from boutiques and florists. Or, if you have access to trucks, you can go for delivering grocery goods.

Choose On One Delivery System:

Once you have found out your niche, choose a way to deliver them. You won’t be delivering small, fragile items in big trucks or make someone carry 50 kilos in a small bike.  So select if you want to be a motor vehicle courier, a pedestrian courier, or a bicycle courier, and so on.

Choose A Proper Business Composition And Structure:

Now, this can be something you have already decided or need some help in doing. When starting a delivery business in Australia, you need to be extremely clear with your business structure, rules, and regulations. Sit down and decide whether you want to carry out a delivery business on your own, i.e., is solo. Or go for partnerships with another person who you think has the same potential as yours. Or do you want to start a company holding a legal entity and hiring paid workers?

If you are serious enough and have already done the planning, you need to register your business legally.  You need to register for the Australian Business Number (ABN). You also need to register for Goods and Services Tax (GST). If you don’t pay the correct tax, you may have to shut down your business midway.

How To Get A License And Legal Paperwork?

Running a delivery business in Australia can be pretty smooth if you register your business and get the proper license. To run things properly, you need a number of correct legal documents. Our partner company can get all your legal requirements done in one place. Get all legal services registering the company

You also need to know else should be taken into consideration:

Workplace Health And Safety Policy

A delivery business requires a lot of man labor. In this case, you need some rules that will ensure each employee’s safety and proper health. This law protects them from other employees and guarantees a safe working space.

Employee Agreement

In a delivery business, you need to hire a lot of drivers who will do the actual delivery work. So, you have to hire full-time or part-time employees or on a contract basis. This law is to make sure that all the hired employees are working as demanded and are getting their promised salaries, and know the mindset regarding the responsibilities, benefits, and incentives they might get from the company.

Partnership Agreement

If you have decided to open a delivery business with a partnership, you need agreements and legal paperwork for executing this plan. Both you and your business partner need to sign a contract stating both your clauses and wants. All the responsibilities should also be mentioned in the agreement to avoid conflicts later.

Insurance For Your Business

While your employees are out there delivering goods, one might get damaged in all that transportation process. Parcels can also be damaged or broken in transit. Here comes the insurance which you have done for your company. You don’t have to pay as much or have risks of costly compensations. Your insurance will have your back. Not only your employees but all your transportation vehicles and equipment will be covered under Public Liability insurance. This basically makes you a bit tension-free while you work for better opportunities.

Aussie Guide’s Story & Courier Experience With Sendle

In the year 2020, I did want to send some confectioneries overseas. A number of companies appeared in the search result when I looked for an international courier service. The one I thought of choosing was Sendle solely based on their pick-up service for international delivery, at affordable rates.

The items were packed and handed over after labeling according to their standards. It was supposed to be delivered in 20-30 days.

After multiple ticket generation and long email conversations. Guess what? It was delivered post 5 months.

It’s easy to blame the courier agency, but one shouldn’t.

It isn’t the delivery company’s fault. The delay occurred due to the strict lockdown going all across. Sendle did refund the whole amount stating the items were lost.

No matter what the status was, but the taste of confectioneries did turn terrible.

In the year 2021, again I thought of trying our the same company. This time the item sent was pretty expensive. As usual, the parcel was packed with no rattling at all, according to their international delivery standards. I did mention the details accurately which were disclosed on the label itself. This helps the custom officers know what items are being sent, without opening the box.

The recovery amount I paid was around AUD $27 for the cover-up to $1500 to the max.

I just hoped this parcel to be delivered to the right person not taking more than a month.

Fortunately, the parcel was delivered to the right person within just 16 days. Isn’t that awesome!

Overall, the point sharing it was to elaborate on how delivering company takes care of:

• Constant communication with the sender
• Loss and damages to be paid understnding the circumstances
• Cover the customer’s general and expensive items through insurance for losses and damage.

How Can I Make My Delivery Service Suitable For The Government Authorities?

Firstly, the government already has established ‘Australia Post’ for public and government’s internal services.

For a new company, it’s nearly impossible to get government solutions to be delivered. Unless the company is providing a unique service that other delivery agencies aren’t.

Confidentiality and trust are the important factors government authority look into. Furthermore, your online reviews and social media comments would reveal the level of service you offer.

If a courier or delivery, the agency have terrible reviews being reflected in search engine. You’ve got no chance to become a delivery solution partner for the government.

It may take years with a maintained reputation and goodwill before you approach a government enterprise for partnering.

Wise Investment In Methodical Technology

Lastly, Let’s Give You A Brief Idea Of How To Invest In Methodical Technology? And What You Must Invest Your Money In.

Methodical technology is to apply logic to make your tools’ usage more systemized.

• Invest In Paid Software:

In a delivery business, you need delivery management software and accounting software for all the finances. To smoothly execute your delivery tasks for customers and other couriers, you need proper software. From digital mapping to tacking and suggesting the fastest routes for your drivers, one software/application will help your business a lot.

Secondly, you need software for invoicing, maintaining your accounts, payrolls, etc. One accounting software can help you save a ton of time and money.

• Invest In Hardworking Staff:

While hiring your staff who will deliver goods for your company, you need to check their credibility. All your hired drivers must have a license and special allowance in their license, which will allow them to carry goods. Then you must provide your staff with a licensed vehicle whose ownership should be yours. Then, the staff should understand the responsibilities and pay them their promised salary. You should also be clear on how you will pay them. The payment should be understood and accepted by all your employees.

• Payments and Charges:

Lastly, set up a proper payment method for your customers. There should be payment gateway traffic that discourages customers during payments, and it can be delayed many times. Also, set realistic charges and according to the market and demand. No one will pay you extra bucks for the same services offered by ten more delivery companies in Australia.

Starting a Food Delivery Business?

This is a very specific and in-demand niche almost in every country. In Australia, some of the food delivering brands are already leading the market. These include Uber Eats and Door Dash.

But the restaurants here do assign a separate ordering system either on phone or through a website. These restaurants could be your target to tie up with. Share your offers and benefits by opting for your delivery services.

The restaurants really won’t care about how new or old you are in the market. But they’d look for minimized delivery rates fulfilling orders on time.

If you’ve got something other delivery agencies don’t. You’d be the winner.

It is quite essential to reserve your position in the market when you start a delivery business. Because people are used to accepting the exceptional service provider already doing good in the business. Switching to new could be tough.

Dropshipping Opportunity

Dropshipping is the other opportunity you could include in your service. The youngsters in Australia are more heading towards selling other products on their website through the dropshipping model.

You’ve got to understand the model by picking up orders from either a company or home; And deliver them to the given address.

Note: You may have to disclose the sender’s branding card or label conversing with the sender. Every individual in this model has different policies to comply with.

To get and start a delivery business on a large scale you need to embrace this modern selling method.

How Do I Promote The Delivery Business?

The courier or delivery businesses generally emphasize more on search-based marketing. One of the ways to promote your newly established business is through our platform ‘AustralianStreet’.

Here you can enlist your business, the rest of the task including SEO, featuring, publishing research-based content, and assigning to AMB sponsorship. Further, you or your team member could get access to premium content. This will not limit your reach to helpful content that can be used for knowing how other companies are doing in Australia. And how you can market your solutions reaching thousands of potential customers waiting for your service out there.

Get enlisted to AustralianStreet for the betterment of your business.

Already owning a business?

7 Ways To Promote Your Delivery Business Making It Better

These 7 ways to promote your delivery business could make your service even better.

Already a premium subscriber? Access the full content ‘7 Ways To Promote Your Delivery Business – Publishing Soon‘. Unlock the restricted content.

Any Suggestions Prior To Starting a Delivery Business In Australia or New Zealand?

I would recommend providing services in 6 suburbs first. With the delivery within the same city.
For instance, a company from CBD could request delivery to Summer Hill within the city of Sydney.

The advantage of starting small is:

• You could easily control the daily operation
• Losses & Damage would be at no to low rate
• Easily Evaluate Losses and marketing efficiency within a small sector
  
  The customers from these 6 suburbs may ask you to deliver parcel to anywhere in Sydney. The pick-up areas should be limited at the initial stage to evluate the petency. But the destined address shouldn’t limited, but extended across the specified city.

Final Words To Start a Delivery Business

Starting a delivery company in the countries like Australia and New Zealand can be a tedious process. But definitely worth the smart work. Both nations have exponential expertise in technology. So the utilization of digital power through eCommerce is common now.

For every small task, the residents apply tech skills to get things done at their fingertips. We hardly see long queues waiting for the solutions. So why would someone wait to deliver items?

We all want it to be pick up from the origin place and deliver to the destination.

So, a delivery company is bound to flourish when you offer them reasonable prices with beyond expectation services.

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