Every evening your buses leave for the same cities. Shops, pharmacies and families in those cities need to send boxes, documents and medicines between them. A parcel counter at your booking office turns empty luggage space into daily income.
1. Decide your branches
Start with the cities where you already have a counter. Each counter becomes a branch where parcels are booked and collected.
2. Fix simple charges
Most operators charge a minimum amount plus a rate per kilogram. Keep it simple at the start, and allow the counter to adjust for bulky items.
3. Give every parcel an LR number
An LR (consignment) number on the receipt and on a sticker on each package avoids mix-ups. The sender shares it with the receiver for pickup.
4. Paid or to-pay
- Paid: the sender pays at booking.
- To-pay: the receiver pays when collecting. Make sure your delivery counter records this collection.
5. Load with a manifest
Before the bus leaves, select the parcels going on that trip and print a manifest for the driver. At the other end, the branch checks parcels against the same list and marks them arrived.
6. Let customers track it
Most calls to a parcel office are "has my parcel reached?". An online tracking page where people enter the LR number answers that without a phone call.
7. Watch the numbers
Check parcels booked, paid at booking, to-pay collected and pending every week. Pending to-pay parcels that sit too long should be followed up.