October 10, 2018
PACK & SEND A Business for our e-commerce times
‘Connecting people with parcels when they want, where they want them’ is a mantra – but how are PACK & SEND doing that while making a business out of it as a franchise?
A staple for more than two decades in the Australian franchise sector, and now with 100+ locations across Australia, PACK & SEND has been an award winning brand for its success and dedication to embracing technology.
In a business climate that seems to have many of us pleading with it to “slow down for just a minute!”, any business, let alone a mature business, is always looking to be certain it is on-trend and future- proofed.
The nature of leading a business into the future,
is that it is a constant balance to meet or exceed the
market needs at the time, but with an eye to the future.
Sending parcels made easier
PACK & SEND is a business that is built on the premise of making the sending of parcels easier for all. That hasn’t changed, but with the boom in e-commerce globally, the way it is achieved, certainly has.
In simple terms, PACK & SEND describes the role it plays in the market as ‘connecting people with parcels when they want, where they want them’.
Even with me being in the franchise sector for many years, at times I’ve still grappled to get
my head around all that PACK & SEND
do in their market. I asked Greg Prussia,
Network Growth Manager to explain the
business in simple terms.
“Think of the analogy of Flight Centre – you go there to work out the most cost-effective way to get your destination. Flight Centre has all different carriers to get you there and you find the most cost-effective for you.”
“Our premise is basically the same, customers come to us to get the most cost-effective way to get items from A to B.”
“ PACK & SEND describes the role it plays in the market as ‘connecting people with parcels when they want, where they want them’.”
Ok, I’ve got all that, and that part of the offer I believe always looked pretty obvious to the market, and is primarily what I understood it to be.
“But still, that is just one small part of what we do.” then offers Greg.
Now that’s where I’ve clearly been missing something.
If parcel delivery from A to B is effectively only a small part of what they do, it occurred to me that if I’ve missed this point, who else has?
Greg explains further.
“Do you travel much? Do you go straight to Qantas or Virgin to price up and book your ideal trip itinerary?
No, we all go to the aggregator sites like Web Jet, Booking.com, Expedia and so on.”
“For freight and parcels, as either a consumer or a business, you also want the best price and most convenient movement according to your needs. Effectively, our online technology plays that same aggregator role to provide that service for anyone 24/7.”
“Think of our stores
or service centres as we
call them, as the home
base. That centre runs as
a retail business during
trading hours. In addition to this trade,
we’re doing business and generating
income 24/7 via our online freight
booking system.“
The technology that the company
has invested heavily in, is an aspect
of the business that PACK & SEND
is always keen to portray. The
reported advantages their proprietary
technology affords, is a constant focus
of the business’ message to the market.
The business offer for potential franchisees
In explaining the business offer for potential franchise owners, the company generally breaks their product and services offer down into either active or passive sources of income for franchise owners.
“ Our premise is basically the same, customers come to us to get the most cost- effective way to get items from A to B.””
“Our active daily income sources for our centre owners include, domestic and international delivery services, parcel collection, packaging services and sales, and local value-add freight and delivery services and more.
In particular, expansion globally of the ‘last mile delivery’ service is being driven by online consumer sales, and demands for prompt, efficient and flexible delivery. Our centres across the country accept parcels from courier companies for flexible time deliveries and pick-ups.”
“Our passive income sources include 24/7 mailbox rental, import/inbound deliveries, online self-service platform for freight movement globally by multiple freight movement companies.”
One thing is for sure, the global demand for parcel and freight movement is not slowing down. Seeing this first-hand in any suburb you live in, with the daily flow of courier vans circulating, it’s fair to surmise that being well-positioned in that market is a pretty solid platform for the future.
More about PACK & SEND
