You might have heard the phrase that the world is becoming a smaller place. Obviously it isn’t, the world stays the same size, but the methods of transport and delivery that we have in place today makes it very easy to get goods from one side of the globe to the other with minimum fuss.

It’s a service that we can very easily take for granted. We make a booking for a courier company to collect our packages (either online, on the phone or via a visit to their depot). The courier then arrives at our doorsteps and the package is taken away. The next thing we know is that it has been delivered, perhaps tens of thousands of miles away.

Sounds so simple?

There is a good chance that your parcel has undertaken several journeys to get to its destination, using many different methods of transport.

For example, if you live in a rural part of the UK, you parcel might have first been delivered at a local hub and maybe even stored there overnight. The following day it might have been whisked off to the airport and loaded onto a freight plane. Depending on the size of the package it might go via sea but most packages can go via air as its quicker and generally more cost effective.

Once the package reaches its destination country there is still a lot of ground to make up. If the destination is the same place as the airport then it might just end up going to a delivery depot where it goes out for delivery the next day. However if the destination is further still it might have a long road or rail trip ahead of it, or maybe even another trip by air.

You might be able to see that there is some very particular planning that needs to take place to ensure that the parcel does not miss it’s next pickup, especially if the consignment is on a time sensitive delivery (that is it has to be at its destination by a certain time).

So, the world might seem like its becoming a smaller place, but this is only thanks to companies and individuals that work tirelessly to make it happen!