Oh no! Shipment failed to deliver on time? 5 Best Practices to Avoid Failed Deliveries

Here are 5 practices on how to avoid failed deliveries.

1. Keep an up-to-date inventory.
2. Use a reliable shipping company.
3. Communicate with your customers.
4. Offer shipping insurance.
5. Have a backup courier.

It's the middle of the day, and you receive a notification that your shipment has failed to be delivered on time. This is definitely not what you were hoping for, especially for your customers. Unfortunately, this can happen to even the most experienced business owners, and there are some instances where a whole set of packages get lost. What should you do when these kinds of things happen?

In running a business, a lot of moving parts need to come together for it to be successful. This includes making sure that your products are delivered on time. While failed deliveries can't always be avoided, there are a few things you can do to prevent them. But before that, it's important to understand why this happens.

Why do shipments arrive late or fail to deliver?

Filipinos love purchasing products and services online, and it's well-known that shipments aren't always delivered on time. Why is that? There could be several reasons:

• The products ordered are out of stock and must be sourced from a different location. This often causes delays in the delivery process.
• The shipping company made a mistake and delivered the products to the wrong address.
• There was bad weather or some other unforeseen event that caused a delay in the shipment, which is common here in the Philippines.

Avoid failed deliveries with these 5 practices.

Knowing the common reasons why shipments fail or get delayed, let's look at a few best practices you can implement to avoid this.

1. Keep an up-to-date inventory.

This seems like a no-brainer, but it's crucial to ensure that you have an accurate and up-to-date inventory of your products. This way, if something is out of stock, you can either source it from a different location in advance or inform your customer of a possible delay in shipment.

2. Use a reliable shipping company.

There are many shipping companies out there, so it's important to research and find one that is reliable and has a good track record. This will help you minimize the chances of your products being delivered to the wrong address or delayed due to bad weather or other unforeseen events.

3. Communicate with your customers.

This is arguably the most important best practice on this list. If you know there will be a delay in the shipment of your products, it's important to let your customers know as soon as possible. This way, they can manage their expectations.

4. Offer shipping insurance.

There are many kinds of shipping insurances out there, but this is definitely something you should consider if you want to avoid the high costs of failed deliveries. If something does happen to your shipment, you'll have a backup to compensate for the damages.

5. Have a backup courier and another backup courier for the backup courier.

That's a mouthful, but no matter how well you plan or how reliable your shipping company is, there's always a chance that something could go wrong. We all know that. That's why it's important to have a backup plan in place in case your first choice of courier fails.

No business owner wants to deal with failed deliveries, but unfortunately, it's something that can happen from time to time. Through these best practices, there's a better chance for you to prevent it and make sure that your customers are always delighted.

We hope these tips will be able to help you and your business. If you have any questions on how you can get access to multiple couriers under one shipping platform like Shipmates, feel free to contact us!