Every courier company has its own unique pricing structure—it’s one of the things that defines your business. And it’s also one of the reasons why you might be skeptical about implementing automation.
But with new technology it is possible to automate your estimates, no matter how complex your pricing structure is. For example, some of OnTime’s customers have as many as 500 pricing sheets, and others have just one. The right software can handle both, factoring in all the elements that can affect the cost of shipments, such as package dimensions, service levels, weight, location, and more.
Here are five reasons why it’s worth your time to implement automatic online estimates:
1. Customized pricing
Some shipments are best priced by distance, others by weight, and most by a combination of charges. OnTime's price modifier system gives you the control to choose what factors you’d like to use in your pricing and build as many unique levels of service as you need.
2. Levels of service and budget options
Now more than ever, customers are interested in taking part in the quoting process. Online price estimates allow you to give them a more personalized experience. With the OnTime Customer Web Portal, every one of your customers can have unique price sets that have been negotiated ahead of time with any optional add-ons that you provide.
3. Saved quoting time
Many find that they simply cannot keep up with the demand when manually writing bids. Not only is automated quoting faster, but it is always consistent and accurate, saving the time you would have spent on making corrections.
4. Automatic confirmations and notifications
Customers want instant status updates on their deliveries. When a customer enters an order online, you don’t need to send out manual notifications. Your customers will automatically receive confirmation that their order has been received and will be notified automatically when their order is on its way and delivered.
5. Offer estimates from anywhere
Drivers or sales representatives can access online quoting tools from anywhere, even when out in the field. And the same goes with customers, who can get a quote or submit an order from a phone in seconds.
It’s clear that there are some significant benefits to using online quoting. If you’re thinking about using OnTime’s Customer Web Portal for automatic quoting, contact us to learn more about how OnTime can work for your business.