Alternative, Eco-Friendly Methods of Packaging

Posted on March 28, 2014 by admin

If you’re someone who has to ship gifts and parcels abroad quite regularly, you might find yourself having to invest in wrapping paper and other necessary parcel materials on a regular basis. This blog post will provide you with various other methods of wrapping parcels so that you can make the process eco-friendly and a little more exciting. Here are a few alternatives to the average parcel.

Newspaper might seem a bit tasteless, but in truth you can turn it into an excellent resource for parcel wrapping if you’re a bit more creative than the average person. Newspaper that gets regularly delivered to your house is ideal and you can use colouring pens, paint, stickers or whatever suits you.

If you aren’t so creative, why not have a look through the gift wrapping materials you’ve got leftover? You’ll be able to choose from all sorts of colours and designs that your addressee will admire, or you can just turn it inside out and use the blank white canvas instead.

Certain fabrics are prohibited in some countries but if you’re sending a gift somewhere where this doesn’t apply, you can always make the most of colourful fabrics from beds, cushions, pillow cases or whatever you can find. In fact, this is a common method of gift wrapping in Japan, so it wouldn’t be to out of the ordinary if you’re sending a gift to Japan.

Royal Mail Put Kids TV Characters on Stamps To Celebrate 50 Years of Children’s TV

Posted on March 26, 2014 by admin

You might have noticed some familiar faces on your stamps recently, especially if you remember the days of watching kids TV. Since the start of 2014, children’s TV characters have begun to appear on Royal Mail postage stamps as a means of celebrating 60 years of children’s TV.

There are some notable figures to watch out for, including a selection of newcomers such as Peppa Pig, Bob the Builder and Shaun the Sheep. Some of us might even get a bit nostalgic seeing the older characters Postman Pat, Mr Ben and Ivor the Engine.

Andrew Hammond from Royal Mail Stamps told the BBC that they simply couldn’t ignore the landmark. “It feels appropriate to celebrate all of these unforgettable characters on a set of very special stamps” he said.

If you plan on sending a letter or parcel abroad, you might be able to make the most of these unique set of stamps, especially if they’re going to a distant friend or a younger recipient.

We offer an unrivalled parcel delivery service here at RAND, so make sure you get a quote from us today to see how we can save you money when shipping parcels abroad.

The Postal Service During the First World War

Posted on March 25, 2014 by admin

To celebrate the news that we could be seeing Mail Rail back on track as part of London’s underground network for the first time in over ten years, we take a look at some of the other historical aspects of the postal service and how sending a parcel abroad might have differed during the First World War.

The Post Office was by far the most lucrative enterprise in the country back in 1914, becoming “the largest single employer of labour in the world” according to the British Postal Museum. Once the war began, many of the workers decided to leave their jobs as staff and left the country to fight or contribute to the war in other ways.

The number of postal staff that ended up joining the army was staggering, as they had been encouraged to enlist in the first place. There was even a battalion, the Post Office Rifles, created that was made up entirely of post office workers.

The APS was then introduced as a means of getting letters to and from the trenches. The Home Depot was introduced in Regents Park to sort all these letters. By the end of the war, the Home Depot had dealt with over 2 billion letters.

London’s “Ghost Railway” To Be Re-Opened?

Posted on March 24, 2014 by admin

There’s currently another method of transport that many people are unaware of beneath the capital; an alternative underground system that wasn’t meant for passengers. Instead, it was a method of international parcel delivery that fell out of favour back in 2003. The Telegraph recently claimed that, with proper funding, we could see the old parcel delivery service become an exciting way for the public to get around town.

It is essentially a forgotten part of London’s history, with no access to the public and just a few members of staff that ensure the tunnels are kept in good shape. However, it has been revealed that there are plans to make the first ever driverless railway system in the UK part of a new museum. This could be achieved if the British Postal Museum and Archive get hold of another £2million.

The Mail Rail, as it was known, would often carry as many as four million parcels a day below London’s bustling streets back when it first opened in 1927. Whilst it’s more of a ghost railway at present, £2million in donations could be what it takes to revitalise a significant piece of postal history.

Contact RAND for more information about our parcel delivery services and get an instant quotation today.

Green Week Final Day

Posted on March 21, 2014 by admin

We wrap up our Green Week with a look at the world’s greenest country; Iceland, as well as a couple of last tips to keeping tabs on recycling your post.

Around ten years ago, Iceland was dependant on coal for 70% of its emissions. Nowadays Iceland is only dependant on coal for 18% of emissions and is aiming for a lower percentage with each succeeding year.

Iceland also aims to be completely independent of coal and oil by 2050, and has been helped significantly by encouragement and involvement from residents. It just goes to show that a little help can go a long way!

Go Digital

For smaller letters and personal messages, email is always recommended. It costs nothing and is virtually instant. However a lot of people do prefer to receive hand written messages as it shows how much time and effort you have taken out of your day to talk to the recipient. Plus if you have a gift to give you can’t (not yet anyway) send it over the internet!

Why not use RAND Logistics to send a parcel to Iceland, or anywhere else in the world? With first class service at competitive rates and recorded tracking details available, RAND Logistics is unrivalled in quality postal services.

Green Week Day 3 – Rearranging Envelopes

Posted on March 20, 2014 by admin

Day 3 of our green week sees more ways you can reuse envelopes and parcels, and also save money in the process!

By carefully opening windowed envelopes and other envelopes, you can easily re-use them! Simply place a sticker over the current address and then write your new address on the used envelope. Remember that stamps can only be used once so you’ll need to cover the existing stamps with new ones!

Turning Envelopes inside out (Shown above)

You can also turn the envelopes inside out if you want to start afresh. Simply take care when folding the envelope out and then cello tape firmly back together once you’re done! These unfolded envelopes can also be used as scrap paper or to make shopping lists from.

Padded envelopes are great to keep and store just in case you need to send a friend or relative a delicate present and don’t want to shell out for extra packaging. If you just need the padding, simply turn the envelope inside out and use it inside a bigger box for extra protection!

As the Silver award winner worldwide, Switzerland is a wonderfully ‘green’ country and was actually the greenest country in the world in 2008, but has now moved into second place. With beautiful natural parks and effort made into reducing emissions, why not send a relative or friend a parcel to Switzerland with RAND Logistics to show your support?

Green Week Day 1 – Reusing Big Boxes

Posted on March 18, 2014 by admin

In honour of St Patrick’s Day, we at RAND Logistics have decided to make this blogging week ‘Green Week’. Recycling is incredibly important particularly when it comes to posting parcels internationally as individual packaging can be quite expensive.

By recycling parcels and cardboard boxes that you receive through the post and through day to day living, you can cut the costs of packaging greatly, and plus you’ll also be doing your bit to help the environment!

Electronic Boxes

You know those hefty cardboard boxes you get when buying a new set of headphones or a big plush toy? You can recycle them by using them as delivery boxes! If you don’t want to disappoint your recipient you can always turn the packaging inside out so that the blank sides are on the outside, and then stick a stamp onto the box.

You can also use old instruction manuals as packaging by shredding them, as this ensures that any packages or parcels delivered are sufficiently protected when going through the post.

Sweden is the fourth greenest country in the world, with plans made by the government to eventually switch most houses and businesses to renewable energy sources. You can send a friend or relative a parcel to Sweden through RAND Logistics, safe in the knowledge that we will ensure it reaches its recipient in first class condition.

St Patrick’s Day

Posted on March 17, 2014 by admin

March 17^th 2014 is the anniversary of the death of the Irish Saint, St Patrick and is also known as St Patrick’s Day. It is traditional to wear something green on St Patrick’s Day, particularly for those of Irish Descent, and some people even take it a step further to dress in traditional Irish Clothing, or by wearing a shamrock; a three leaved plant similar in appearance to clover.

The colour green has been associated with Ireland since the 1640’s when the green harp flag was first used by the Irish Catholic Confederation. What is known of St Patrick has been derived from the Declaration which shows St Patrick’s struggle after he was kidnapped by raiders and spent six years working as a shepherd in Gaelic Ireland. He ‘found god’ working there, and upon returning home, managed to convert thousands of pagan Irish to Christianity.

Whether you are of Irish descent or you have a close friend or relative who is celebrating St Patrick’s Day, why not send them a gift in the post? RAND Logistics have excellent rates on parcels to Ireland and further afield if your Irish relatives live internationally. For safety and security in delivering your packages, choose RAND Logistics.

Postage of the Future: Day 5

Posted on March 14, 2014 by admin

On our last day of focusing on the future of postage, we concentrate on how social media has changed the face of the delivery industry and whether or not it could have a telling effect in the years to come. The vast majority of delivery services have managed to achieve excellent results through their online campaigns with social media playing a stand-out role.

Client interaction is something that many delivery services look to build on, whether its regularly updating a Facebook page with new international parcel delivery opportunities or making the most of twitter to provide more clients with a information about their delivery, similarly to that of our Help & FAQ’s page here at RAND.

What’s more, clients can use social media to leave feedback regarding the services they have received. This gives delivery companies the chance to expand by promoting the feedback that they receive.

So how could the delivery industry continue to expand with social media onboard? For starters, social media is the first point of contact for most people nowadays so the option of enhanced tracking and communication is all the more probable in the future.

Delivery companies can also maintain a competitive service by staying in touch with social media and clients will be able to offer their own opinions on how they feel delivery services should operate. In the meantime, you can get a great quote from us here at RAND today should you intend to ship a parcel abroad in the near future.

Postage of the Future: Day 4

Posted on March 13, 2014 by admin

Yesterday we touched on how tracking parcels could really boost the efficiency of international parcel delivery. Whilst there are plenty of tracking systems available online today, many of us would love to be able to know exactly where our parcels are and exactly how long they might take to arrive, especially if it’s a delivery of particular significance or a heavy parcel.

Thankfully, it seems that the introduction of smartphones, tablets and other kinds of handheld technology might completely change the way in which consumers deal with postal services.

We mentioned the idea of using e-mail as means of getting in touch with addressees in yesterdays blog post. Rather than restricting tracking services to email, we could even see an application of some sort that lets delivery companies provide information to customers directly to their handheld devices.

There are also many useful applications already available on the app store that could benefit delivery companies and their drivers including ZipCodes, Postal Code and UK Postcode, all of which provide in depth information regarding locations and so on.

There has been a real explosion of tracking applications available on both Apple and Android’s app store recently. As long as delivery services continue to explore the possibilities of parcel tracking, customers could gain all sorts of useful benefits from the service in the future.

With regards to future technologies, work is currently going into tracking systems that could potentially tell us exactly where our parcels are in the world using state-of-the-art GPS trackers.

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