Sending your parcel for Christmas delivery

We just took a phonecall from a lovely lady looking to send a present abroad. We explained that at this time of year, it takes longer as EVERYONE is sending parcels, and most parcel carriers see a surge in their normal capacity.
As a customer that means you need to send your parcel abroad right now. You cannot delay, at Christmas it may take twice as long as usual. Whatever service you select, make sure the parcel or package can be tracked. Quite simply you need to know whether the parcel is in the UK or at the port of another country awaiting customs clearance, without tracking you have no idea who to ring to chase your parcel.

Parcel Force delivered a package to Spain last year for us. It was posted on the 2nd of November and it arrived on Christmas eve. It was the tracking that enabled us to locate where the parcel was and what we could do to help.

Which leads me to - Packaging. Make sure your parcel is package well. It's going to get transhipped and thrown about even if it's fragile. Strong brown parcel paper with thick tape works best. It may not look like a Christmas present, but it will look ok when it arrives. If you are not sure how something is going to look after being thrown about, wrap it in extra bubble wrap just to be safe.

And remember - send it now, the last minute means it will arrive in January!

Sarah

Helping Chelmsford deal with the postal strike

With the Royal Mail set to strike, small businesses across the country will be affected. Here at Arrow Light Haulage we have been thinking up some solutions as to how to continue business as best as possible and where a courier is essential.

Firstly and perhaps most importantly, Parcel Force is not going to strike. That means the cheapest option for sending out parcels and packages under 5kgs is still available.

So if you are a business that sends out one or two parcels a day, and send your invoices by email and pay your customers by Bacs, you will be in a strong position to carry on business as usual.

Until the 14th of October, if you click the link above to book your parcel delivery through Parcel Force and type ‘new’ at the checkout, you will receive a 15% discount.

Secondly, as mentioned above. Use bacs to pay suppliers instead of posting cheques, it’s greener and far more efficient. If you are sending invoices, send them by email too. If like us you have to send additional documentation, scan and email that too. Again it’s greener, faster and far more efficient than the Royal Mail.

For companies that use direct mail for their marketing campaigns, have a look at other methods such as an email mailshots – think of the benefits to your carbon footprint as well as the traffic to your website and the ways to reach customers that may not respond to direct mail. If you need support for this we recommend business consultant Jeff Nutbeem, he can be found via his website – Small Business Consultant

You could be really old fashioned and pick up the phone and call the customers direct and send them a tailored email afterwards. More time consuming perhaps, but may have better results. If the Phone isn’t your thing then talk to an expert, we recommend Shaun Gisbourne at Phone for Business

More importantly, when to use your courier.

Use them when you usually do - for same day deliveries, for urgent items, for fragile items. You may think you need to use one for your every day mail service but the truth is, you can do a lot of it now via email, fax and instant messenger. These are often secure and safe, and if it really is that confidential you will already be using a courier to deliver it.

Sarah

Same day couriers in Essex

PS if you need to send birthday cards either send them with a present, arrange friend to do it if they live nearby, send a video via email – think a bit creatively! The chances are this won’t be the last strike and we can find ways not to let it affect our businesses or personal lives.

Please note, we have used an affiliate service to obtain the codes and links for the Parcel Force discount.

Same day courier or parcel courier?

There are a few types of couriers / courier services and they are easily confused.

First we have the most common type which are the parcel couriers or carriers. They take parcels and packages up to 25kgs in weight and when they are sorted (usually at a central depot) they are then multi- ped to their destination. Prices range from £ 5 upwards and delivery is done overnight, 48 hours, 2-3 days or another length of time that you specify.

Most people when they call a courier they assume that they are the parcel carriers, they are getting a low cost but high volume service. Breakages are not uncommon.

Check before you call.

Then we have Same day couriers or Express couriers who work with urgent consignments that have to be delivered right NOW! These are more expensive because they are ad hoc and a specialist service in some cases. Arrow Light Haulage specialises in same day courier work with vehicles up to 7.5 tonnes. Breakages, well so far we have had 100% success in 7 years of trading. We are very lucky.

Confusing the two types of courier service may mean your parcel is dispatched same day but costs you 4 times the price! Check which service you require and if you are not sure, then call for advice.

Sarah
0800 917 6084 (calls are free)
Courier Services in the UK

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HP 8500 - the green printer trials

A few weeks back we delivered a ‘green printer’ to France (with the kind assistance of Darren Porter) for marketing and PR company Edelmann.
As a greener delivery company, it’s important to find someone who is going ‘that way’ when we arrange delivery of certain items – so it’s not so damaging on the environment (15% of emissions are from road transport).

HP OfficeJet 8500

We also collected the HP 8500 to trial ourselves at the same time. We take extra care with our back office and try to make is as green and efficient as possible. Waste is the worst kind of ‘not-green’ in this office, and we are often looking at creative ways to recycle things.

The printer, it’s a dream to use so far. We scan all our documents in and store them, we are often a companies unofficial back up of their delivery documents. We have saved approx 4 hours a week on scanning time alone.

We also have a an upcoming Business Scene event on the 2nd of July. I printed 150 red, black and gray invitations and only used a quarter of the ink that I normally do. I have enough ink to print up 100 or so posters for the Business Scene event in Brantham a few weeks later.

We also print a fair few invoices a week and other documentation and so far I am pleased with what the printer is saving me, in both time and money.

I shall keep you posted as to how I get on with it.

Sarah

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Furniture delivery Chelmsford

Do you need a furniture courier? do you have items of furniture that you have bought from a store, free-cycled or ebayed?

• Sofa


• Chairs


• Antiques


• Sideboards


• Dressers


• Beds


• Cabinets


• Desks and other items of office furniture

Arrow Light Haulage the Essex based same day courier company are happy to quote to move your items. Whether they are high value or sentimental value, we look after them as if they are our own.

All our furniture deliveries are wrapped in felt blankets if they are not packaged already, then strapped to the vehicle - so they don't slip and slide in transit.

Whether it's one item or a houseful, we can offer you help and a two man team if items are really heavy.

Kevin

0844 884 3331

Same day courier

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Getting your cargo from port to your warehouse

Sometimes the collecting part isn’t a problem but the fact that the forwarders are not 24/7 like us means you cannot collect your goods yourself (losing a days pay from work or having to take a days holiday). Time is money and it can be as equally frustrating to sit and watch it being wasted.Sarah & Kevin Arrow, West Thurrock & Dartford Courier and parcel services, Jun 2009Sometimes the collecting part isn’t a problem but the fact that the forwarders are not 24/7 like us means you cannot collect your goods yourself (losing a days pay from work or having to take a days holiday). Time is money and it can be as equally frustrating to sit and watch it being wasted.

We are based in Essex near Tilbury port, a drive from Harwich & Felixstowe and are 10 minutes from the M25, in other words we are real close to your goods. You no longer have to wait - if you want your goods we can collect on your authorisation and deliver.

If you are having delivery and collection grief, give us a call on 0844 884 3331 we are happy to discuss your courier options with you.

Kevin

Same day courier and delivery Essex

Chelmsford same day courier - what size van?

If you are looking to book a same day or next day courier service, you need to know what size vehicle you need. Your van size depends on the size and the weight of the items of freight or cargo, here are some guidelines -

*Small Van - up to 500kgs

*Transit van - up to 1000kgs

*LWB Transit / Sprinter up to 1500kgs

*Luton - up to 1100kgs, mainly used for bigger bulkier items.

(Both our Luton's have tail lifts)

Booking a vehicle that is too big is a waste of resources, but booking a vehicle that is too small may mean your items do not get delivered!

Call us and we will happily advise you 0844 884 3331, local rate wherever you are in the UK. Or use our call for free button.

Kevin

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Chelmsford Essex courier...

Ever wondered who you are doing business with? what your same day courier company was like? Now you can see what we are like, and what our suppliers say about us.

Same day deliveries in Chemlsford

When something is urgent and has to get there to a deadline, the best option is to use a same day courier service but what exactly does that entail?

A same day courier uses a dedicated vehicle to collect your goods and then goes straight to the delivery destination. Now here's the tricky part, some people say they do same day but actually co load your cargo with another customers cargo. Nothing wrong with that until you have something smash because its fragile and should not be transported with anything else. Oh yes, and you will still pay premium price...

When booking make sure you specify that goods cannot be co-loaded and if they can and they are non urgent, tell that to your courier too. Of course when you book an express or same day courier, you are booking a premium service and the price reflects that level of service and urgency.

A same day courier is also known as an express courier. Remember if you tell us it's urgent, then we will quote express / same day prices.

We are happy to collect and deliver same day urgent goods in the Chelmsford and Maldon areas, to all over the UK. We don't co load and we don't miss a deadline. Priceless really ;-)

regards Kev
07816 528421

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Often we buy things and then when we move house we have a near cardiac arrest about how we are going to move them! A Trampoline is one of those items, a shed/ gazebo is usually the other one

Generally speaking to move a trampoline (if applicable) you would first removed the supports for the safety net, You would not necessarily have to dismantle all of the poles and neither would you have to remove the net ties.

Once removed this can them be strapped together and easily lifted by two people onto your removal van.

The main body of the trampoline may or may not have to be dismantled depending on the size of the removal vehicle. Having said this I would strongly recommend removing the canvas and the protective paddings to prevent damage during transit, thus leaving only the metal frame.Moving in Essex? You need Essex Removals, Jan 2009

If you need any help, or are reluctant to do it yourself, we can always do it for you you. Just give us a call or drop us an email.

Sarah

The Most Expensive Delivery in The World?

Seriously how much for delivery… $42 million dollars if it was a Nasa space shuttle. Nasa are planning on selling their old ’stock’ delivery  / shipping and handling is $42 million dollars.

Why so much? Moving a wide, heavy load is expensive.  A fully loaded shuttle can take up to three hours to move one mile.  Now in this instance it will not be carrying the fuel so it should be able to move that bit faster. Banksmen and other technical and non technical support is also required. You cannot just through a shuttle on the back of a lorry and hope there will need to be police escorts and co-ordination with the highways agencies etc. It could be split down and sent by road and air but most likely it would be shipped.

If you can afford to buy one, I am sure the delivery charges are not a problem the good news is decommissioning fees are also included!The Most Expensive Delivery in The World?

What would you say if Nasa called and ask YOU to deliver a shuttle? ;-)

Kevin

Delivering big, awkward, bulky items but most certainly NOT space shuttles