If your company dabbles in shipping products as a supplier or as a drop shipper, there’s a risk you’ll encounter various issues. Shipping delays can happen due to different factors that even you, as the business owner, may have a hard time controlling. But there are still ways you can utilize to create leverage for your business. The deliveries your company makes are the bridge between customer satisfaction a positive brand recognition.

With that, here are nine ways your business can increase the success of package deliveries:

1. Prioritize Deliveries

Delays can happen for various reasons, and one of them is when you don’t have an organized system. Deliveries must be made depending on which order was fulfilled first and the urgency of the delivery. The most urgent ones should be shipped first. It’s the reason a VIP courier Sydney service and others exist around the world. When a customer opts for that upgraded shipping and collection option, the courier will place the parcel on their ‘high priority’ list to ensure that it gets delivered or collected on time, safely, and securely. It’s something that you can replicate in your business, or a feature you should look for in a courier when working with one.  

At the same time, you must also make sound decisions in terms of what to put on hold due to supply issues or product quality. You can use any software that can help you manage deliveries by placing ‘low placement’ as a status or following the purchase date.  

2. Offer Delivery Schedules

One of the many reasons packages seem to not arrive at a customer’s location are package thieves. They won’t hesitate to trespass on someone’s property to steal other people’s deliveries. While homeowners are welcome to install security cameras, it doesn’t solve the problem, especially if they’re not at home. As a retailer, you can set up a service that allows your customers to schedule the delivery so they’ll be prepared to receive their package. You can also set up options for how fast you want your parcel to be delivered, with varying price ranges.  

3. Send Notification Of Delivery

It used to be that customers get anxious and wonder when they’ll receive their orders. It’s also challenging to keep waiting for a package amid tight schedules that have them leaving their homes frequently. That’s why you should work with your partner courier to offer a worry-free delivery service through SMS notifications. It will help let your customers know that their most awaited order is within reach. Couriers make use of GPS to track the destination of the parcel. Customers can also reach out to your partner courier through a dedicated service number as an added safety measure.  

4. Allow Delivery Tracking

Some stores only allow standard delivery options without the reassurance that the customer will receive them. You can choose to make use of a delivery tracking software to ensure that the packages will arrive.

It’s essential to keep your customers informed about the status of their delivery. While it’s impossible on the part of the customer, you’ll need to coordinate with the shipping company so you can send email notifications that remind them of an approaching delivery.   

5. Work With A Delivery Service

Drop shippers should hire courier services that are reputable and have an equal understanding with you that prioritizing the delivery of orders is a must. They will have their system of delivery, but the customers always receive the orders. The wrong company will have low reviews and complaints regarding people’s deliveries. And because you’re associated with that company, it will affect your business.  

6. Check In With Your Driver

Checking the productivity of your courier service is an essential part of your business operations. That’s especially true when the output report shows a decline in the number of packages being delivered in a day. Speak with your drivers to get their insights so you can plan the following:

• Coordinate with the courier company you’re working with so you can identify specific locations where traffic becomes worse.
• Identify divers who are more familiar with particular areas so they can cover more ground.
• Determine courier to customer interactions and what happens during that time (if the customer needed more time to receive the delivery or something similar).
• Find out if drivers can only cover a specific area, so you can request for other locations to be added to their route.

7. Consider Same-Day Delivery

Same-day deliveries are undoubtedly becoming more popular because customers can have what they ordered on the same day of purchase. It’s like they went shopping, only that they’re willing to wait a few hours to receive their items. Amazon is a giant company with a same-day delivery option. You can replicate that by offering same-day delivery to limited areas where your main office or headquarters is located. You can provide a special rate that’s reasonable for the unique service as you go.  

8. Plan Ahead For The Holidays

Holidays such as Christmas and New Year are just some of the busiest times of the year as customers scramble to order gifts for their loved ones. You can expect a surge of orders that must be delivered on time. Otherwise, disappointed customers will either never order from you again or leave a bad review—or worse, both. It’s essential to be prepared for special occasions, so careful planning with your team must begin. During that season, you can offer free shipping for local or domestic deliveries, and for those who ordered from overseas, you can set rates based on the zone.  

9. Provide Proof Of Delivery

If customers are not receiving their orders, there’s a tendency to blame the business automatically. Therefore, an electronic document or proof of the delivery will serve as an official document that the customer has received the ordered items. Depending on the courier service, they may also require a photograph of the customer receiving the package, as well as their signature.

In Conclusion

Setting delivery options that your customers can choose from can encourage people to shop in your store. It also gives them the peace of mind that their orders are on the way, thanks to notifications and other communication mediums. Shipping is also an opportunity to provide good customer service. Customers also feel that they can count on your company’s customer service when you have a trained team who can address their concerns about the delivery. When your business has a sound delivery system in place, customers won’t have to stress and worry, and will give you more business in the future instead.