This post is an edited version of an article I wrote for the latest issue of National Newsagent.
Home delivery is in play in newsagencies across
While newsagents in
Thanks to work with several distribution newsagents, new technology has emerged to make it easier to process home delivery accounts, stops, starts and other transactions at retail only newsagencies. In the past such processing has been slow, cumbersome and incompatible with existing systems. I know because I have experienced this myself in my own newsagency.
The newer technology delivers better outcomes. This leads to happier customers, happier newsagents and happier publishers and makes consolidation of distribution territories easier – thanks to maintaining an excellent public face for newspaper home delivery customers.
Any number of retail newsagents can act as shop fronts for a warehouse based distribution business and maintain stable access to their retail software. From their counter they can handle stops and starts, process payments, note missed deliveries, add new customers and handle queries. The distribution newsagent can control the level of access for retail newsagent staff using sophisticated security settings.
Above all else, the latest changes improve customer service and that is what matters most.
Mark;
Having come from a newsagency in Beechworth that delivers 350 – 400 newspapers a day with fantastic delivery staff; to now owning a newsagency in Seymour that delivers 700 – 1000 papers depending on the day a week, i can understand why newsagents want to walk away or sell of the distribution model. (4 weeks in and i am still plugging holes with home delivery, i feel like Noah; in charge of an Ark with lots of holes). From drivers that don’t show up to late delivery from distributors, there are many uncontrolable factors that put a noose around the retailers head. You also look like an idiot in the eyes of your customers as they couldn’t care less whether a driver deicides not to show up.
I am reviewing all procedures for distribution at Seymour currently as the perception of this business to the community is that it is just a newsagency. (Newspapers and Mags). This is also one of the reasons i decided to sign the store up with NewsXpress; to give the customers something new and try to change the perception that we are retailers of much more.
It is a difficult decision to make for many a country newsagency as to whether distribution should still remain a core part of the business or whether you contract it out to someone else. There has to remain a community connection also, whereas in Melbourne and suburbs this is not a requirement.
I suppose i am venting my frustration at the non viable model in place for distribution, especially at this business. Any decision that i make about the restructure of home delivery will be a commercial one based on facts.
Vaughan
I am also of the opinion that delivery is a business dead end.
For example Australia Post charges 50c for a 0.01 kg letter and we charge 20c for a 2kg paper
Before you say 50c gets you anywhere in Aus what if you just want to send a local letter to granma? they give you a discount?
Not to mention the economy of the scale Aus Post have at their disposal.
If there are specialists thinking they can make money by delivering 000’s of paper each day be my guest, cuz I don’t think it will work in long run because of the ‘net and all free information on it.
People come to shop to buy a paper because of the relationship they have with the newsagent. With better relationship comes future sales, and this increase with every purchase and face-to-face contact with the newsagent
With delivery this relationship is tenuous at best and eroded by issues like bad throws, missing papers and double bumpers etc etc
The design of a digital newspaper is becoming more appealing – see http://www.acrylicapps.com/times/
I am from a small country town in SA. We deliver around 55 papers during the week and around 70 on Sundays.
Currently we are losing about 30c each paper we deliver and with petrol going up the way it is this is only going to get worse.
From what I understand if we want to stop the delivey we stand to lose the retail agency as well, we do make money out of magazines etc. As far as the Advertiser is concerned the “Newsagent” is the one that delivers the papers. We have two contracts with them, but it seems the retail contract is worthless without the distribution contract – got that verbally from one of their employees this week.
Sad thing is that we are not the only ones in this position, other newsagents I have spoken to in our region recently are in the same position, losing considerable $$, but are afraid to take the matter further.
Seems to be a bit of an imbalance here.
getting rid of your run and becoming a 12.5% subagent for your newspapers from another newagent may still be more profitale in the long run. or at worst, draw even, in which case you arent losing money, and giving you more time to pursue other avenues for more profitable products in your store.