EXPRESS SHIPMENTS
Many business houses are selling classes of goods which are most successfully shipped by express. This is especially true of those houses that transact the larger part of their business by mail. The question of shipping by express is, in itself, quite simple, but there are numerous details connected with the handling of such orders which require close attention. While these details vary in different businesses, as a typical illustration the business of selling books by mail has been selected.
When an order is received, the first step is to check the source—whether from circularizing, a re-order, or periodical advertising, and if the latter, the name of the publication. This information should be entered on the original order.
Cash and charge orders should then be separated, and on the charge orders the next step is to investigate the credit and check the address, especially when no advance payment is made. The address is checked against any list that may have been used, or against city directories, when such are available. If the list used has proved reliable, it usually is safe to pass the order from one whose name appears therein. Or the occupation given in the directory may warrant the acceptance of the risk. If he is a customer, his manner of paying in the past is the best guide.
Should all of these sources of information fail, and if the customer gives no references, it is well to secure a report from some commercial or collection agency. It may be necessary to follow up the agency, but if a reliable agency, like Martindale, is unable to obtain information, it is best to refuse the order except on a cash basis.
The order having been accepted, it should be entered in an order register, giving the name of the purchaser, the address in detail, description of the article ordered, source of the order, and the price. A sheet, as shown in Fig. 15, should be used for each day's sales. The sheets should be in duplicate, as a copy is needed by the statistical department, from which to tabulate the sales from different sources.
The next step is to open an account on a ledger card, as shown in Fig. 16. At the same time a collection card should be made. Both of these cards should be filled in from the original order—not from the register. If the number is large, the accounts should be numbered, the number being entered on both the ledger and collection cards. From the ledger cards, the numbers are entered on the register. Two indexes are made—one alphabetical and one geographical—on plain index cards, only the name and address, name of publication ordered, and the account number being shown. One of these cards is filed alphabetically and the other geographically, while the ledger cards are filed numerically.
Fig. 16. Ledger Card