Achieving Sustainable Competitive Advantage Through Service Differentiation Strategies Used by Courier Service Operators in Nairobi: a Case Study of G4s Courier Service Company

Abstract

There are over 225 postal and courier operators in Kenya, which include transporters and freighters, which handle documents and parcels appropriately falling under the definitions of the Kenya Communications Act 1998. As part of the global G4S Security Services network, G4S Courier has always been a head in the Courier business. When people were content to send their goods and parcels as unaccompanied bus cargo, G4S made sure of delivery by using a courier to accompany the mail. Competition in the courier industry has increased considerably and in such a crowded market, firms need to stand out and draw customers’ attention to themselves and create repeat buying patterns leading to loyal customers. Differentiation strategies are essential for firms to be able to distinguish themselves from their competitors’ services- As the courier industry becomes more sophisticated, with technology also taking a centre stage in its progress, firms need to offer differentiated courier services which will enable them retain their market share and growth. This study was to determine the extent to which service differentiation strategies can be used by G4S Courier Service Company operating in Nairobi to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. This was a case study targeting 40 overnight service customers of G4S courier Service Company based in Nairobi. Pertinent data was collected from overnight service customers in Nairobi using structured questionnaire. The questionnaires were dropped and picked later from the respondents. To assist in the tabulation of large amount of data, computer software was used to collate percentages, frequencies, mean and standard deviation. The findings of the study were that service, personnel, image and channel differentiation strategies are used to a very large extent by G4S Courier Service Company operating in Nairobi to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. The limitation of this research were that the research applied to only 40 customers of overnight service while the estimated number of overnight service customers is 200 . The study did not make consideration for the factors influencing the use of individual strategies. Account of these two factors would have yielded a more conclusive resultIt is suggested that a research to determine the extent to which service differentiation strategies can be used to achieve sustainable competitive advantage by courier companies in Kenya be done. It would be valuable to determine the factors that influence the choice of each strategy