Yes, we use COURIERMATE software for bicycle transport

COURIERMATE: Getting to grips with the online platform

New year, new providers, new software. Always searching for better. Looking for that all in one boxed bicycle and other items transport solution all across South Africa. Which is why we are #bicyclecouriers are testing out new things all the time. because you won’t catch a fish unless you have a line in the water. Which is ironic, because I don’t fish. I cycle. Here we go. Let’s see what we can learn today. PS, more info on Couriermate right here.

Welcome to the COURIERMATE dashboard

Welcome to the MY COURIER customer portal. In this customer portal, you will be able to do the following 8 things, amongst others. Create Quotes for new bicycle deliveries. Create Collections for boxed bicycles that are ready for pickup. And Create Deliveries and waybills all-in-one, quick and easy with PDF exports. Or even Create Load Sheets if you want to send through to bike shops for single or multiple bicycle collections. View Invoices for bicycles already delivered and to be paid for. View Pending Deliveries or bicycles that are still in process. Track Deliveries or bicycles that are in transit, from point (A) to (B). Manage Your Addresses of where to collect and deliver boxed bicycles.

Let’s consider the Couriermate TABS one-by-one

1. Dashboard – the default view which is essentially just a welcome screen to mention what you can do as above.
2. New – from where you create new quotes, collections, deliveries, load sheets and more for all the boxed bicycle deliveries.
3. Operations – where you can view everything that is in the system, pending, in transit, existing quotes and collections and deliveries and load sheets and import/export data.
4. Imaging – here is only 1 options and that is to view all the scanned and scanned in documents ie PODS which stand for proof of delivery to see who received the bicycle.
5. Finance – nifty to see a summary of all previous weekly and or monthly invoices plus all the deliveries that are in the system and pending but not yet invoiced for.
6. Reports – here you can see an overview of all the KPI key performance indicators, collections, deliveries, and status report, ie when an electronic waybill has been substituted with a manual waybill when the driver collected the boxed bicycle.
7. Global – there is only 1 single option under global and that is all your addressees. I also use the portal by first creating a new address in here and then doing a quick new delivery which creates the PDF waybill to send to the bike shop.

And now for a few notes of what can be found and done under each tab.

NEW tab for bicycle couriers in Couriermate

• New quote — not as intuitive as you would think! I would assume the most basic info needed is: which account, item volumetrics, service type, and from and to postal codes. But 3 tabs and many fields to navigate make this just too many clicks. The web frontend version is much cleaner. And so is that of DSV clientzone (when their addresses work!).
• New collection — load a collection without a waybill. You manually enter the addresses and the parcel details. But great that you can pick the ready DATE & TIME. and you can click to convert to a delivery. Which I assume would then generate your waybill. But is a more lengthy process than what is necessary for our boxed bicycle deliveries.
• New collection (quick) — what is the difference between a new COLLECTION and a new DELIVERY? The collection sends out the driver to collect. But using a manual waybill by default. vs the new delivery that creates and triggers a new PDF waybill, and then books the collection. Which is exactly what I want.
• New delivery — don’t use this because such a lengthy process by comparison. With 4 tabs to complete. Including general details. Collection and delivery addresses. item details. And POD when concluded. Rather move on to this quick and easy option:
• New delivery (quick) — this is what I use all the time. Just enter FROM and TO locations. And the reference number from WooCommerce on our website. And the boxed bicycle size, work on 160*30*80 and 30kgs for larger. Or 140*20*80 and 20kgs for smaller.
• New load sheet — assign items to routes, drivers, agents, vehicles, accounts, etc. not needed for what we do. I can just book a new delivery and it generates the corresponding PDF waybill to print and stick on the box. And triggers the collection instruction for the boxed bicycle.
• New tracking event — looks like you can manually add tracking events if required. Because sometimes the scanned info does not pull through. Or the boxed bicycle was loaded on a manual waybill iso the pre-generated e-waybill.
• Parcel sorting — with options to finish a batch and generate a load sheet. Not used for boxed bicycle couriers. At least not for ad hoc shipments like what we do. Maybe for bulk orders from a depot to a bike shop etc.
• New distribution — the default view shows you a list of all your addresses. With an option to click next to it. To generate a new delivery. I assume this would by default go from your main location. Which can be a quick and easy way if you frequently send repeat orders from the same warehouse.

OPERATIONS tab for bicycle couriers in Couriermate

Here we see Quotes, Collections, Deliveries, Debriefing, Parcel Tracking and Load Sheets. Also View Stats On Quotes, Collections, Deliveries, Load Sheets, Documents And Invoices Using Our Custom Graphs. Other than the NEW tab in the previous section, which is where you load all the NEW versions of each event. This operations tab is where you see all the existing actions that are either in the system and being processed at the moment. Or the historical quotes and collections and deliveries of boxed bicycles that have already taken place.

IMAGING tab for bicycle couriers in Couriermate

Imaging. Scan Various Documents (PODs) Into Your Own Image Store. Barcode Recognition. Great for seeing who signed for the bicycle. Because we deal with many different people. And a paper trail is ever so important. Now we can see who signed for and received each bicycle at the click of a button. And many different formats. Isn’t technology great?

FINANCE tab for bicycle couriers in Couriermate

There are two reports here:

• One for a summary of all Invoices
• And another for uninvoiced Ie Pending Deliveries for Invoicing.

Invoicing, Credit Notes, Debit Notes, Payments, Statements, Age Analysis and Accounts. I love the weekly invoicing because it allows you to stay on top of the finances. Daily is too cumbersome. And monthly can become too much at one stage and you tend to forget. So weekly is perfect. And allows for you to delete any duplicate waybills. Ie when a boxed bicycle collection was booked online and a PDF waybill generated. But then for some reason the driver loaded the bike on a manual waybill. Because the sender couldn’t print the e-waybill. Or for other reasons. Please note that delivery instructions should only come from us. And we log all addresses onto the system beforehand. And did you know that Financial Transactions Can Be Exported To CSV, Pastel Express or Pastel Partner? There are also options to Track Sales Commission for Your Salespeople Using Different Commission Structures.

REPORTS tab for bicycle couriers in Couriermate

• P.I. Report and K.P.I. Version 2 Report — this is an overview. Similar to the conformance report from DCB. To show all collections, dates, areas, addresses, depots, reference numbers, senders and recipients, volumetrics, service type and delivery days.
• Delivery Pieces Report — shows more item-specific detail. Including volumetrics. Ie the exact scanned dimensions per boxed bicycle. Or parcel. Including LWH in cms and weight in kgs. Plus the exact billed amount and VAT and more. Plus delivery status.
• Delivery Charge Breakdown Report — shows on which invoice the waybill was billed. Details are similar to the above. Including account number, to and from, service type, waybill number and invoice number. But no dimensions or exact amount that was billed.
• Collections Report and Collections V2.0 Report — collection dates and times. This report shows those lovely green tick boxes that light up during the day as the boxed bicycles are collected. Other info includes waybill and reference numbers and origin and destination for the boxed bicycles. Also under comments if an e-waybill was collected under a manual waybill number.
• Collections Exceptions Report — supposed to show the following, but empty No data available in table. Headings include the following. Collection Number. Collection Created Date/Time. Driver Assigned (Collecting Driver). Collecting From Hospital/Branch. Origin Town. Origin Hub. Reference number. Service type. Col Pcs and Col Mass. Collected flag Yes/No. Collection Date/Time at Hospital. Driver Collection Comment. Not Collected Pcs.
• Status Report — here you can see the delivery status and many other details for each boxed bicycle delivery. Plus, very important and easy to open and view: the individual POD’s (proof of delivery) showing the recipient name and signature scanned in and photographed on the original waybill used for the boxed bicycle delivery.

GLOBAL tab for bicycle couriers in Couriermate

Just the 1 option here. Addresses. Discussed in detail above. I didn’t use the option to import existing addresses. But rather used the opportunity to clean up existing addresses. loading then brand new 1-by-1 as required. And it goes very quickly. Because within a month of testing this new platform we’ve already loaded 125+ new addresses. **One question: would an address that I create from a new delivery capture automatically be saved here and appear under global addresses once used before? Or should I do as now where you first come and load the address and then select it from the drop-down menu when booking a new delivery?

What does COURIERMATE cost?

There are various editions for Starter, Standard, Professional, and what we use the Enterprise edition at just under R5k pm (R4799 mth). The reason being is we need all the bells and whistles, and the Enterprise version includes all of the following. 20 Users, Operations, Imaging, Finance, Website Tracking, Client Web Portal, 1000 Client Users, API / Integration, eCommerce Shops, Driver Mobile App. Etc. of most interest to me at this stage is the API integration. Let’s get our very own online quoting system up and running. And integrate the WordPress website directly with the Couriermate platform for receiving and booking new collections.

Now, where can we send your bicycle using Couriermate today?