A call at ten past nine
A print firm needs a pallet of brochures taken from Leeds to an exhibition centre in Birmingham by two o'clock. Your controller takes the details on a notepad, opens a map, works out the mileage, decides whether it needs a large van or a Luton, adds something for the tail lift, and quotes. It takes ten minutes, with two other calls waiting.
Another caller wants a price for an envelope across town. They ring off saying they will call back, and they do not. Online, the same customer found a courier website with a quote box and booked there.
Why quoting is slow
Same-day pricing depends on several things at once, and most of them live in the controller's head or in an old spreadsheet. Mileage is looked up by hand. Vehicle size is a judgement. Surcharges for out of hours, tail lifts, waiting time and two-person jobs are applied from memory.
| Pricing factor | How it is usually handled |
|---|---|
| Distance and route | Looked up on a map app |
| Vehicle size | Controller's judgement from the description |
| Urgency or dedicated vehicle | Different rate per controller |
| Out-of-hours, weekends | Surcharge remembered, sometimes forgotten |
| Extras such as tail lift or two-person | Added if the customer mentions them |
| Return journey or dead mileage | Sometimes ignored, sometimes overcharged |
Two controllers quoting the same job can come up with noticeably different prices. Regular customers notice.
What slow quoting costs
Jobs lost to whoever answers fastest. Controllers tied up with arithmetic when they should be allocating vehicles. Prices that are inconsistent and sometimes below cost, especially on out-of-hours work where the surcharge was missed.
It also limits growth. If every quote needs a person on the phone, you cannot take bookings outside office hours or from customers who prefer not to call.
Underpriced jobs are the hidden part. A quote given in a hurry, without the repositioning leg or the wait at a busy loading bay, can look like good business on the board and turn out to lose money once the driver has sat in a queue at the exhibition centre for an hour. Nobody goes back to check, so the same kind of job is quoted the same way next time.
The quoting tool we build
- Your rate rules written down and stored: base rates by vehicle type, per-mile rates, minimum charges, urgency levels, out-of-hours and weekend surcharges, extras.
- Route distance and time from a mapping service such as Google Maps, including the return or repositioning leg if you charge for it.
- Vehicle suggestion from what the customer describes: dimensions, weight, number of items, with the option to choose.
- A quote box on your website and a quote screen for your controllers, both using the same rules.
- Booking straight into your courier management system or dispatch board once the customer accepts, with payment taken up front for non-account customers through Stripe or similar.
- Referral to a controller for anything outside the rules: very long distances, hazardous goods, unusual items.
The rules are yours and you can change them. The tool simply applies them consistently.
What changes for your controllers
Quotes that come back while the caller is still on the line and are the same whoever gives them. Customers who can book at night. Controllers spending their time on allocation and customer service. And a record of quotes given and not accepted, which tells you where your prices lose work.
Signs your quoting is holding you back
- Every same-day quote involves a map and a calculator.
- Different controllers quote different prices for the same job.
- Callers ask for a price and do not ring back.
- Out-of-hours surcharges are sometimes forgotten.
- You cannot take bookings online.