Although often taken for granted, International Courier companies are a vital part of the infrastructure of any business that relies on sending shipments around the globe. Examples of such companies might be mail order, general retailers, marketing companies and financial traders. In most instances companies that require international shipping services need their good to be delivered within a reasonable time scale, and of course in pristine condition.

Depending on the distance of the transportation International Courier services can often be quite pricey, especially when there is a delivery cut off time if the consignment is urgent.

When people think about International Courier companies they often think of the main players in the market first, such as FedEx or UPS. However there are many smaller players on the market, some of whom not only offer the same quality service but sometimes at a lower cost. The pricing of each courier may also depend on their network within a particular country. If the courier has to ‘outsource’ part of the journey then the pricing becomes out of their hands for that part of the delivery.

Thanks to the growing network of smaller courier companies there are now many alternatives to the leading brand providers. The smaller courier companies offering International Courier services are known as consolidators and 'cherry-pick' between the leading providers and pick those services according to individual routes.

As with any business service there are two main factors that you need to take into consideration when choosing your International Courier supplier. Firstly you need to make sure that your courier can deliver on their promises. This means that they can successfully deliver your package to it’s destination within the agreed timescales. Secondly, cost is an important factor. You don’t want to pay through the nose for a standard service, but like-wise you don’t want to pay too much for poor service.

The International Courier market is flooded with companies offer services that most people expect from a courier, but see if you can find anything that makes a courier stand out from the crowd. Do they offer online tracking for example, so you can see where your package is at all times. Do they offer a price promise where they will match a genuine quote from another courier company?

Sometimes it pays to shop around – you should never settle for the first International Courier that you come across.