You’ve probably dealt with a shipping exception before, even if you don’t remember it. In fact, It was discovered:
- 62% of people who have shopped online have had problems with delivery.
- 78% of customers expect the store to fix the problem when this happens, even if the driver was to blame for the failed delivery.
- Every 20th order made online never gets to the right address.
Shipping companies will do everything they can to make sure packages arrive on time, but sometimes it’s just not possible. Things like this do happen, but how you handle them and how ready you are for them can affect whether a customer buys from you again in the future.
We’ll talk about what delivery exceptions are, how they affect online stores, and what you can do to cut down on them in this piece.
What does delivery exception mean?
A delivery exception happens when a package gets stuck in transit for some reason out of the ordinary, which could cause it to take longer than expected to get to its location.
These events, which are also called “shipping exceptions,” can happen for a number of reasons, ranging from being out of anyone’s control to being avoidable in some cases.
Note: A delivery exception doesn’t always mean the package will be late. It just means that there was a problem along the way that made delivery more difficult than planned or that needed to be fixed at some point.
How delivery exceptions affect your business?
Businesses that sell things online know how annoying shipping problems can be. Here are some of the ways that shipping exceptions can hurt your business and why online stores should pay attention to them.
Reduced Customer Satisfaction:
One reason why companies and online stores give you a tracking number for your package(s) is in case of delivery exceptions. You can see what’s happening with your order once it’s with the carrier thanks to this openness.
When an online order is being shipped, even with the best tracking service, a lot can happen to the package and not all of it may be recorded. That’s why delivery exceptions can cause packages to be late or not brought at all, making customers angry.
More People Leaving:
Customers are always upset when shipping exceptions happen, and most of the time they can’t be avoided. This is why they need to be handled carefully.
If your customer has a bad delivery experience with an order from you, they might not buy from you again, even if it was officially the carrier’s fault.
Damaged Brand Reputation:
Many times, ecommerce brands aren’t to blame for delivery issues, but some customers may still blame them, even if it was their mistake, like giving an invalid or undeliverable address.
Decrease in Revenue:
Shipping mistakes and returns are examples of delivery exceptions that cost a lot of money. This could include the cost of re-shipping the order, which could include the cost of inventory and the cost of packing and labels.
Waste of Resources:
Delivery exceptions can cost money in shipping and/or product, but they can also cost money in marketing and the customer lifetime value (CLTV) that can’t be recovered when a customer is lost because of a delivery exception.
Delivery exceptions also lead to more WISMO (where is my order?) help calls, which make customer service teams busier and waste hours on delivery questions.
Common Causes of Delivery Exceptions:
Even though almost all online shoppers get their items on time, there are still likely to be times when delivery doesn’t go as planned. Here are the most common causes.
Customs Delay:
There are some problems that come up with international shipping. Often, packages are held up at customs for longer than planned, which means that delivery times are missed. It can be easier to ship items if you make sure you have the right tax codes at the SKU level.
Weather Conditions:
The package will probably be late if there is bad weather or a natural disaster (like a hurricane, tornado, wildfire, or flood) that blocks a delivery path. These unplanned delays that no one can control are called “acts of God,” and they tend to happen in certain areas.
Damaged or Missing Labels:
It’s possible for the package to be held up if the shipping label is damaged and the driver can’t read the address or scan the barcode. An exception code will be made when important information can’t be read or scanned.
Holidays:
If there is a national holiday in either the country of origin or the country of destination while the package is in transit, it may not arrive on time. If the government has a holiday, shipping companies won’t be working. When carriers need to play catch-up because of a backlog of goods, they often have to wait even longer because they have the day off.
Missing Documentation:
Having the wrong information about a package once it gets to the carriers is one of the easiest ways to avoid transportation exceptions. This could be a bad address, missing or wrong customs details, or something else.
Security or Regulatory delays:
Delays in security and regulations could be caused by threats against carriers or problems at borders for goods going between countries. These holdups may only last a short time and cause service exceptions.
Manage Delivery Exceptions with HermesLines:
Hermeslines is an expert ecommerce logistics provider Company that provides order fulfillment services for ecommerce merchants, including storing inventory, picking and packing orders, and shipping packages. Through our technology, there are several measures you can take to prevent and handle delivery exceptions with ease.