A courier service is an organization which offers special deliveries of packages, money, documents or information. Courier services usually boast faster delivery times than any alternative method of transporting documents, and many services in the modern world rely on them. The idea of couriers and a courier service has been around almost as long as civilization, with rulers in antiquity using couriers as a means to make new laws and edicts known throughout their lands. In the modern age of international business, the courier service has become a keystone of enterprise, even as emerging technologies such as the fax machine and Internet have rendered them less useful in some areas. The largest courier service in the world is the United Parcel Service (UPS), which delivers more than 12 million packages globally each day. UPS has its roots as a courier service in the beginning of the 20th century, when it was known as the American Messenger Company. UPS survived the depression and the World Wars, and went on to thrive in the global age. Throughout the years it acquired other courier services, including the Motorcycle Messengers and a number of smaller European companies. Federal Express (FedEx) and DHL are other well-known global examples of the courier service, both with their roots in the early 1970s. Though not nearly as large as UPS, each company controls sizable portions of the market. FedEx is particularly well-respected for its overnight courier service, the first of its kind. DHL originally focused exclusively on the route between Honolulu and San Francisco in the United States, but grew to encompass the Pacific Rim and spread to Europe and the Middle East.
Smaller courier services abound, particularly in cities. This type of courier service finds its niche in smaller packages and documents which need to be transported from one location in a city to another as quickly as possible. Couriers in these companies often ride bicycles or motorcycles in order to achieve the shortest turnaround times from pickup to delivery. Indeed, the bicycle messenger, whizzing through crowded traffic at unbelievable speeds with a satchel over one shoulder, has become a symbol of the youthful daredevilry of city life. In recent years, with the emergence of more sophisticated communications technologies and harsh price competitiveness, the number of bicycle couriers in most cities has decreased significantly, but the market remains strong for those who continue to work. There is also a type of courier service which utilizes the extra baggage allotment of airline passengers to transport documents quickly and easily, with less hassle, through the Customs office of a country. These courier services offer greatly discounted fares on commercial tickets to foreign locations in exchange for the use of the passenger's baggage space. The passenger is then given all the requisite paperwork, which they simply deliver to the Customs agent at the receiving end.
Though technology has replaced many traditional uses of the courier service, there still exists a constant need to transport physical goods and documents over both short and long distances as quickly as possible. Barring the development of some sort of far-fetched teleportation technology, it seems certain that the demand for a courier
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Keeping record of parcels in a courier service company and their delivery information is carried out manually. A lot of files are opened for daily record of parcel received or delivered. This litters the office with much paper documents. Most often records are misplaced and when a client comes to collect his parcel, heshe spend some hours waiting for confirmation of the parcel. Hence delay is bound to occur while delivering parcel to customers.
1.3 Purpose of the Project
This project work is aimed at developing software for keeping record of parcel received for delivery and collection details. A database will be designed to store records of parcel received, their destination, date delivered etc.
1.4 Significance of the Study
The project work will help in a good number of ways to ease the queuing system in the courier service company as the computerized system will help process records on time. Also the new system will help courier companies to achieve the following:
o Keep track of parcel received or delivered in a day.
o Retrieve parcel information easily at the point of delivery .
o Maintain a database for all the parcel received in the office from year to year.
o Reduce paper work in the office.
1.5 Aims and Objectives of the Study
The objective of this project is to examine how courier Service Company parcel can be stored in a database for easy access and delivery. Thereby bringing change into the system by introducing digital technology to replace traditional filing system.
1.6 Scope of the Study
This research work is limited to parcel delivery using DHL Enugu as a case study. The software developed will be carried out using Visual Basic to manage the database.
1.7 Constraints and Limitations
This project covers all aspect of parcel record processing system using DHL Enugu as a case study. Due to time constraint, the program developed can only be used in DHL Enugu office. It can not be used nationwide because is not an online program. It is designed to run on a local area network. What ever is left out is as a result of time and finance constraints.
1.8 Assumptions
It is assumed that if this software is used by DHL Enugu for their daily operation, it will help to reduce stress and fasten their delivery process. Also it is assumed that the courier service company will acquire the necessary hardware needed implement the system developed.
| 1 - 5 of 96 Reviews |