Delivery Issues

[GrahamB41]

For those using a fulfilment centre to handle your daily orders, how do they go about managing missing / delayed orders? I am having nothing but issues with Hermes who my depot uses. Also, do you find its yourself who chases up with the couriers or do you get your fulfilment centre to manage this. If the latter, how prompt are they at getting back to you?
Thanks

 

[Martin Patfield]

Hi Graham,

The best thing is for your customer to get their goods if that means sending out the product (should it still be in stock) by another courier on a 24hr delivery service.

Then have your fulfilment centre chase up the courier. It is their account with the courier not yours, therefore their responsibility.
They should have enough staff members in order to manage this because actually dealing with the couriers directly is hard enough as it is.

The problem with the mainstream couriers such as you're using is that everything happens overnight and will role into the next day which is frustrating, and then you have your customer complaining also.

Bane of my life .

 

[GrahamB41]

Cheers Martin.

I am understanding more that my depot should be doing more to help but they are lazy, head home early and do not chase anything up. Its my first experience with a depot so i don't have anything to compare with so appreciate your insight.

 

[Martin Patfield]

I would keep on to them. They will be wanting you to pay their invoices but they need to do and manage the tasks in hand.

Keep a log of issues and speak to the management team if issues continue. Ask for money off if issues continue further and they seem disinterested otherwise look elsewhere. Having seen it and experienced serving clients from the depot side I'd personally be looking at a medium price range rather than cheaper down the scale.

 

[Mr D]

Cheers Martin.

I am understanding more that my depot should be doing more to help but they are lazy, head home early and do not chase anything up. Its my first experience with a depot so i don't have anything to compare with so appreciate your insight.

Perhaps look at alternate fulfilment companies for future stock and drop this one over time.

 

[Iain Hill]

Hi GrahamB41,

I work for a fulfilment house and would agree with the above comment. The dispatches 90% of the time are sent out on our account. If the items have not been delivered we chase this up. We have a number to our local depot rather than a centralised call centre which is really helpful.

However, we do not use Hermes, we use DPD Local who tend to be quite good and deliver most stuff NextDay. Using a courier like DPD Local where you get the hour window etc. does cost more, but (in my experience) you spend less time chasing them up so it's money well spent!

Most fulfilment will want your customers to be happy. If you have happy customers they are more likely to reorder and make you successful. If you are successful then this makes the fulfilment company successful. So it should really be in their interests to help you!

Thanks!

Iain

 

[AW Swindon]

Hi GrahamB41.
I agree with Iain's comments, the choice of carrier seems to be a big part of the issue here. But also it may be the particular Hermes service that is being used, there are several services they provide. I think its fair to say that Hermes would not be the first choice of carrier for most fulfilment houses. We find DPD are excellent, but there is the additional cost. For the cheaper options we find Royal Mail very good. If the fulfilment house can use Royal Mail make sure that they are using the 2D barcode, this at least will give you the confirmation of delivery, missed delivery or returned to sender - that can be checked on the RM tracking website, there is no extra cost for this.
Hope this helps.
Regards
Alan

 

[GrahamB41]

Thanks all. I have decided to part ways with my current depot and im now in talks with others. Could i pick your brains with a few questions;
I have a Royal Mail option of 48hr tracked. Is it worth adding the signature on arrival for the extra 30p?
I have received some customers trying to pull a fast one with me, claiming Hermes have not delivered when Hermes has in fact delivered and shown me a picture proving the item was left at intended place. My thinking is, if i have a signature on arrival option then it will remove most of the chancers who claim items weren't delivered etc.

 

[AW Swindon]

Hi Graham
Problem with pictures outside is did they actually get left there, did some one come along later or did the customer get them and not say. Its really a bean counting exercise, it will be dependant on your product price, and your assumption of how many are going to try it on - compared with the cost of the signature on every parcel.
Signature is always the best for the reasons you highlighted.
To share the recent experience we had when we switched to 2D on normal 2nd class small parcels. We did not get them many, but the issues dropped by 90-95%, we put it down to them seeing the postman scanning the barcode or them seeing the barcode. We still get the Smart Alecs who try it on, but the the reduction was huge and it cost nothing.
May be worth setting a £ limit for orders so that fulfilment house can trigger a signature at a certain level, so if the order is >=£10 etc then send it signed for.
Is there any reason you are going tracked 48, do you really need to see where it is, its been?
Small Parcel with signed will be a little cheaper, and you can get the security of the signature.
Forgot to mention we found the 2D parcels also get delivered faster, so the 2-5 day it was taking, turned in to most be delivered in 2 days, and 3 days the exception rather than the rule.
If you need anything else don't hesitate.
Regards
Alan

 

[GrahamB41]

Hi Graham
Problem with pictures outside is did they actually get left there, did some one come along later or did the customer get them and not say. Its really a bean counting exercise, it will be dependant on your product price, and your assumption of how many are going to try it on - compared with the cost of the signature on every parcel.
Signature is always the best for the reasons you highlighted.
To share the recent experience we had when we switched to 2D on normal 2nd class small parcels. We did not get them many, but the issues dropped by 90-95%, we put it down to them seeing the postman scanning the barcode or them seeing the barcode. We still get the Smart Alecs who try it on, but the the reduction was huge and it cost nothing.
May be worth setting a £ limit for orders so that fulfilment house can trigger a signature at a certain level, so if the order is >=£10 etc then send it signed for.
Is there any reason you are going tracked 48, do you really need to see where it is, its been?
Small Parcel with signed will be a little cheaper, and you can get the security of the signature.
Forgot to mention we found the 2D parcels also get delivered faster, so the 2-5 day it was taking, turned in to most be delivered in 2 days, and 3 days the exception rather than the rule.
If you need anything else don't hesitate.
Regards
Alan

Hi Alan, cheers for this. Our average order value is £22. We send mainly Small Parcels which go with Hermes. Before we had a fufilment centre, we used to send 2nd class RM which was not tracked but we had the reference number to see if the item was delivered. This helped. One of the options at a possible new depot is RM 48 Tracked which will cost me £3 and an extra 30p for signed. The only reason i use tracked is because i thought it was a safer bet so i can have security that the item has arrived at intended destination and with tracking number, the customer can see for themselves its whereabouts. Are you suggesting that RM regular service with the added 2D option is possibly a more reliable option?

 

[AW Swindon]

Hi Graham.
I was just suggesting another option that may be cheaper, as far as I am aware they are all as reliable as each other as there are all using the same network. Without knowing all the details re volumes and sizes the £3.00 + 30p sounds a good rate for tracked. So we are back to the £22 + cost of shipping so £25.00 if you lose one, compared with 30p on every parcel. So you can lose 1 out of 83 shipments. (without taking in to account the potential feedback issues with lost shipments and the internal customer service costs). 30p sounds good investment.

 

[GrahamB41]

Hi Graham.
I was just suggesting another option that may be cheaper, as far as I am aware they are all as reliable as each other as there are all using the same network. Without knowing all the details re volumes and sizes the £3.00 + 30p sounds a good rate for tracked. So we are back to the £22 + cost of shipping so £25.00 if you lose one, compared with 30p on every parcel. So you can lose 1 out of 83 shipments. (without taking in to account the potential feedback issues with lost shipments and the internal customer service costs). 30p sounds good investment.

Cheers Alan, thats a good perspective. Really appreciate yours and everyone else's advice. All the best.

 

[Lawson@CBF]

Hello Graham,

Just to clarify 2D Royal Mail barcode is now standard across all shipments whether they are 1st or 2nd class.

Carrier choice is key, as Hermes have a lower successful parcel delivery rate than UK Mail or DPD. We also have direct contact with our local depo to chase delayed deliveries. This is essential for daily account management to keep our clients happy. It should be a basic service point.

Signature on Tracked services is always beneficial. The difference between a standard signed for parcel and a tracked delivery is:

1: Pre-notification of delivery by Royal Mail on tracked services
2: Free re-delivery of tracked items unlike standard parcel services which will be carded and the recipient will have to collect from the Post Office.

With our API integration it allows for the recipient to receive tracking number automatically and therefore they can tracked the parcel themselves if required. Our tools and others will communicate directly with the sales channel the goods are brought from pre-populating the dispatch information like consignment numbers and job statuses.

Happy to help where we can. Our warehouse has the capacity and we are always looking to improve and grow.