RAM Hand-to-Hand Couriers has launched an interactive, e-commerce website that makes it easy for SMEs and consumers to utilise the company’s extensive range of services to deliver anything from a letter or book to a critically important document or even a revolver and ammunition, in a few simple steps.
Should customers have any difficulty in negotiating the online process, they can click on a help button to launch a live chat session with an agent who will assist them and answer any queries they may have.
“Innovation has always been a cornerstone of RAM’s operations with our focus traditionally on the corporate business sector. Our processes were developed with that market in mind,” says Graeme Lazarus, joint managing director at RAM.
“However, demand for our services from SMEs and consumers has increased exponentially over the last few years and we recognised that our processes were not as user-friendly as they could be.”
According to Lazarus, the introduction of the interactive, e-commerce website has taken what was previously a largely manual, 12-step, one to two-day process to a three-step process that can be completed in minutes.
“In the past, customers who did not have corporate accounts with RAM were required to complete many of our processes manually with emails going backwards and forwards. Credit card payments could not be accepted and EFT payments had to be cleared before delivery could take place,” Lazarus explains.
Now, after logging on to the RAM website, prompts lead the customer through all required steps.
When the customer provides details about the collection and delivery points, the system assists with verification to ensure the full and correct addresses are provided. The customer immediately gets a menu of services and prices, clicks on the chosen service and pays using a credit card. The system then immediately informs the customer about the time of collection and generates a waybill that must be printed out and handed to the driver on collection.
Customers who opt for delivery services that require the parcel to be air-freighted will be prompted to declare the contents of their parcels to comply with the Civil Aviation Act. RAM is also certified to transport firearms and ammunition and the new system handles the stringent legalities associated with this much faster than before.
Once the parcel has been collected, the customer can receive constant updates about the progress of the delivery – if requested – until the parcel reaches its destination.
“These innovations are just the first phase of our new SME-focused service,” Lazarus says. “In the next phase, we will be introducing an easy payment solution for SMEs who make frequent use of our services.”
The new RAM Hand-to-Hand Couriers e-commerce website can be accessed here.
