Recurrent delivery mistakes can affect your business and your operating expenses significantly. At Zendfast we appreciate the quality of courier services and we understand that providing these services timely and efficiently depends on the customer, nearly as much as the courier provider handling your deliveries.
Every industry has specific shipping requirements mainly based on the nature of their consignments and how fast are their deliveries are expected to move from point to point. That’s what typically determines the type of courier service that the customer needs. and the respective OpEx cost charges that the company has to pay on a regular basis. Apart from these two being the most deciding factors- affecting the price difference of shipping between different industries or businesses, the main cause for unpredictable operating costs and overspending on delivery come from common mistakes that shippers do when managing their packages and scheduling.
In the next few sections, we are discussing 6 of the most common shipping mistakes that we’ve seen in our practice, from the perspective of a customer. Hopefully, this will clear up any ambiguities regarding the delivery process and help you streamline your operations by minimizing some of these recurring mistakes within your supply chain.
Wrong packing
This is probably one of the most common and costly mistakes we see in courier services. Customers often pick boxes and packaging that do not fit the contents of their parcels and they often fail to optimize their delivery costs to a maximum. It’s important to find packaging that is just the right fit for your items, and leave as little empty space as possible. Failing to do so, may incur a lot of extra costs if you have to add padding and extra filling materials to keep the contents of the box intact during the journey.
Wrong weight
Customers often happen to underestimate the weight of their parcels at the quote stage of their shipping. What typically happens is that the weight of the packaged item does not correspond to the actual weight that we receive, so an extra charge can be added to the shipping fee as compensation. If you are making recurrent deliveries by using a 3PL courier services provider, you are best off keeping an inventory list with all item weights before and after packaging. This way, you will be in control of your operating expenses to the last digit, in case you need to make future corrections or go over past records.
Incorrect Instructions
This is another common mistake that customers make when they send deliveries to addresses with specific instructions. As a quality courier company, we have a responsibility to guarantee timely transportation from door to door. The problem comes when the driver has reached the final destination and the instructions do not match with the address provided, or there is important information missing. If you have a particular person or a place that you need your parcels delivered to, you will need to specify these in as much detail as possible. Otherwise, you risk wasting time that will probably cost you money… If you are sending deliveries to companies with many employees, make sure to specify the recipient and their contact details. This can save the driver the hassle of figuring out these details himself and make the job more costly and timely than it should be. Also, keep in mind that some shops and businesses are closed at lunchtime or at specific times during the day. This could overcomplicate things by making the driver re-schedule the delivery for another day or a later hour, which could also add to your total delivery costs.
Losing your receipts
Customers often forget to keep track of their delivery receipts and all the associated costs along with them. If you want to stay on top of your operating delivery costs in general and make sure that any damage or loss can be accounted for, you ought to keep your delivery receipts as soon as you receive them. Zendfast sends e-receipts of delivered parcels that contain the signature of the recipient or a picture of confirmation. This can help you identify problems during delivery such as damage of the item- before or after shipping has been completed.
Return policy transparence
Lowering your delivery expenses also depends on the return policy of your company and how efficiently you handle your item returns. Finding a friendly return, refund, and exchange policy that works for all stakeholders can boost your business greatly and help you streamline every leg of your parcel’s journey in a more complex supply chain. Managing returns effectively and quickly gains the trust of your customers immensely, thus boosting your reputation and optimizing the total costs from a larger company perspective.
Wrong service for your job
This is not the most common mistake customers do but it’s also not an uncommon one that we see. Most businesses that have an established relationship with a courier provider discuss the range of services that are offered to them and choose the one that is the best fit for their company model. However, new customers or ones that do deliveries less frequently often choose solutions that are not necessarily ideal for their specific needs. Our best advice here is to discuss all the delivery options that are offered to you by your provider and make an informed decision after speaking to a customer service representative. Oftentimes, courier companies like Zendfast have fixed and bespoke solutions that you may not know of, which could ultimately give you a better price and function match to what you need for your deliveries.
Final words
If you are looking to reduce the recurrent costs you have as a business, it’s always best to start by avoiding the most common delivery mistakes. It may sound easy at first, but if you are managing dozens to hundreds of parcels per day, missing out on important details can become a problem costing you money.