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TRADE MEMBER PROFILE:

FAsTwAy cOuRIERs

PROFILE

With more than 700 franchise partners across Australia, Fastway Couriers offer a cost effective, reliable, timetabled courier service with local, shorthaul and national courier distribution around Australia. Though as retail trends change, the company has had to stay on track to ensure they continue to meet the demands of their customers, especially small to medium businesses.

Richard Thame, CEO of Fastway Couriers, has been with the company for five years. Having managed one of the company’s largest franchises for a year before taking on the national role in head office, Richard is all too familiar with facing the challenge of meeting constant demands and adhering to changes.

ACAPMAg asked Richard about Fastway, their

recent rebrand exercise and the importance of extending the traditional courier service.

Rebrand initiativeLast year, the company rolled out a massive branding refresh project with the aim of positioning Fastway as a leading courier service provider to the online retail industry.

“Online retailers told us that they didn’t have the luxury of dealing with their customers face-to-face, so they relied on their courier to be an extension of their business,” explained Richard.

“The project included: developing the refreshed brand; conducting road-shows around the country to the 25 Regional Franchisees and 700

plus courier franchisees, to bring them on board for the journey; updating van decals; uniforms;

wE aRE cuRREntLy wORkIng tO ExtEnd thE tRadItIOnaL cOuRIER sERvIcE IntO thE REtaIL EnvIROnmEnt

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depot signage; marketing collateral; stationery plus more, and then implementing the new branding.

“In addition, the corporate website and intranet underwent a complete redesign to meet the needs of our customers.

Fastways efforts were rewarded after winning the NAB Franchise Council of Australia 2012 Excellence in Marketing Award last year.

“The feedback from customers, franchisees and staff has been extremely positive, and the award highlights the hard work done by the Franchise Support Office based in Sydney,” said Richard.

“To this end, we have succeeded what we set out to. The professional image we present to delivery customers is a contributing factor in why online retailers choose to work with us.”

Going the extra mile“We are currently working to extend the traditional courier service into the retail environment,” said Richard.

“Research showed that people are looking for a place that is open after-hours, that is well lit, safe and secure – hence why our convenience stores system, called Parcel Connect, is simple to use and easy to operate. There is a large pent up

demand for return service.”

“We have trial stores operating in multiple locations at the moment and it’s working really well. We’re using the feedback received from these live stores to develop our system further.”

“Increasingly, customers are demanding a greater level of flexibility when receiving goods. Fastway is particularly well suited to provide the ‘last mile’ solution to retailers, given the franchise territory structure of our network, lower cost facilities, owner operators and internet based technology factors.

“Our overarching goal is to get the parcel to the door. We put a lot of emphasis on getting the product to the door and then representing small business the right way.

Extending the traditional serviceTraditionally, Fastway have been orientated more towards delivering to businesses than consumers. However, with the introduction of online retail, the company stands out amongst its competitors as they grow to accommodate the change in trends.

“Much of the expected growth will come from both domestic and international e-commerce sites that rely on the industry to deliver goods within Australia,” said Richard.

“As owner-operators, our franchise partners are dedicated to providing each and every customer with exceptional service; going the extra mile to ensure that parcels are delivered on time and with the utmost care. Our Courier Franchisees are the foundation of our business.

“We know our customers are time poor, and it doesn’t matter if they’re a start-up home internet business running out of their garage or a large multinational in an impressive glass building - we have a freight solution to suit just about everyone.

“Fastway's prepaid courier label system enables petrol convenience outlet owners to enjoy savings on their freight costs, as well as providing a simple system free of any extra paperwork or add-on charges. For medium to high volume senders such as petroleum distributors, we also have an electronic labelling system. We don’t transport hazardous material itself, but can provide a great service on parcels up to 25kg with up to $1,500 cover at no extra cost.

“Our receiver pays returns service also gives customers the option to send or collect parcels from third party locations on their account.”

• Cherie Mildwater