Introduction to Parcelforce

• A courier and logistics service based in the

United Kingdom.

• A trading name of Royal mail group Ltd.

 History of Parcelforce
• The Parcel Post service of Royal Mail started in
1883.
• Used services by the railway, but later Red star
parcels and British road services were also
used.
• in 1986 Royal Mail's business was separated
into three divisions and in 1990, Royal Mail
Parcels was rebranded as Parcel force.
 Global operation
• Its international partner network allows it to
extend its delivery reach worldwide.
• The European delivery partner General Logistics
Systems (GLS) is also part of Royal mail group Ltd.
• Delivers more than one million parcels a day
across 34 countries in Europe.
• A direct competitor of other worldwide delivery
brands such as DHL, FedEx and UPS.
• Operates a "hub and spoke" collection and
delivery system.

• Two hubs based at Coventry. One for UK and

international parcels each.
 Customer oriented approach
•Market research based on the understanding of customer
choice and competitive relationship in the marketplace

•Emphasises to stay close to the customer and to put the

customer at the top of the organizational chart

•Defines the purpose of a business as the creation and

retention of satisfied customers.
 Parcelforce
• Adopted the unique selling proposition (USP)
as the main approach relation to the
customer.
• Put yourself in customer’s shoe.
• Know your customer behaviour and buying
decisions.
• Give customers the reason to buy other than
from competitors.
• Summarises issues from the business
environment and the strategic capability of an
organization most likely to impact strategy
development.
• The only way to estimate the strategic position
of an organisation is to do a SWOT analysis.
• An integral part of any business strategy
especially the marketing planning.
 Major issues addressed
• Known strengths and weaknesses.
• What is the balance between the strengths and
threats?
• Is the business environment dynamic?
• Market attraction
• Key performance indicators (KPI) and the trends.
• Financial strength
• Future expectations, either optimistic or
struggling.
 Why SWOT
• The management can decide whether they
should pursue with any available options.

• An opportunity for businesses to explore the

relationship between its strategic capabilities
and the environmental influences.
 Parcelforce worldwide
• Their SWOT analysis is more focused on the
domestic competition than global
 Strengths
• Part of Royal Mail Group
• Largest network in UK
• Great collaborations worldwide
• Equipped with latest Technology
• Highly trusted UK brand
 Weaknesses
• Driver’s performance as Customer Services
Representative
• Lengthy re-deliver procedures
• High prices
• Union driven (Unionized)
 Opportunities
• Less competition globally
• Open Market
• Availability of Resources
• Big network nationwide
• UK Based
 Threats
• Strikes from the Union
• Uncertain Future
• Change in external Factors
• Tough Competition
 Observations
• The biggest threat is a strong employee union
which arises a possibility of strikes
• The strength includes the technology and that
they are a part of the Royal mail group
• The management can focus on opportunities
• They can also deal with the weaknesses
 B2B
• Customers purchase to sell further and not for
personal use
• Companies highlights the quality of the
services, price and other economic aspects
 B2C
• Business parcels delivered to the customer's
home
• The focus is on the AIDA model that is more
directed to the end consumer
 Parcelforce
• The automatic processing of incoming calls
was eliminated to deal with b2c customers.
• Additional teams were hired to provide e-mail
and other staff training
• In B2C, special arrangements for home
delivery and return are made
• For b2b deliveries, a tighter schedule has to be
followed as shops are busy in office hours
 Open market
• Price of goods and services is governed by the
forces of demand and supply.

• Cartels or government policies do not have a

say in the decision process.
 Differentiator
• Every business must make profit.
• To do so, it should have something that sets it
apart from the others in the competition.
• Not enough to offer fair prices and friendly
service.
• To stand out from the rest, It’s important to
show that how you are truly different.
 Examples of top differentiators
• Google – blank main page, highest rating
matches
• Apple - quality, functionality and marketing
campaigns
• 3 - cheap tariffs
• Primark - reasonably priced and range of
product under one roof
Parcelforce Competition
 Differentiators
• Speed - Europe and US deliveries in 3 working
days and 4 for other destinations
• Pick and drop – deliveries can be scheduled
online and even for the same day
• Carbon management – option for sending
carbon neutral parcels
• Benchmarking – compares itself to other
peers worldwide and learns from the best
 Benefits
• The company emerged from the 2002 crisis

• The latest figures show a growth of about 8%

 Conclusion
• The various practices discussed all have a
positive effect on the business as seen is the
case of Parcelforce worldwide