How to Deal with the Common Causes of Shipping Delays

When you are sending out a package from your business, you obviously want to do everything in your power to ensure that it arrives on time. This means being able to anticipate problems wherever they arise, ensuring that they are dealt with quickly and effectively. So, here in this blog post, we are going to be looking at shipping delays, some of the common causes, and their solutions.

Driver Accidents 

The health and safety of your drivers should be made a top priority. First of all, you can ensure that they are properly trained in all aspects of the business, but you can also look into fleet driver coaching. The vehicle that they are using should be roadworthy and properly serviced and maintained. You should also ensure that your drivers are not expected to make an unreasonable number of deliveries over a short period of time as this is likely to cause them to rush and the chance of an accident occurring is bound to skyrocket as a result of this.

Logistical Challenges

Perhaps supply chain issues are the most common cause, and this is a problem which you have the most control of how to fix it effectively. First of all, proper planning for your warehouse is a great starting point. Ensure that the most commonly ordered items are available in the place that is the easiest to access. You should also ensure that you are managing your inventory well. This means not listing products that are out of stock. You also need to anticipate when there is likely to be a rush on a particular product. When the products actually get out on the open road, everything should be properly packed into the back of the van and your driver should have a good idea of their route every morning, as well as being able to deal with any last-minute changes that are likely to pop up along the way.

Incorrect Addresses 

There is nothing more frustrating for the customer and the delivery driver alike if a driver is unable to make a delivery down to a simple mistake like an address being put in wrong. Thankfully, modern technology has helped to alleviate this issue by asking customers to select their address from a dropdown list rather than inputting details that could be wrong. If you are running a small business, you probably have more time to check each individual address, but as your business grows, this is less and less likely to be the case.

Current Events 

Sometimes, it is a matter of the world around us impacting the speed at which packages are delivered. 

While you cannot do much about a freak weather incident or industrial action disrupting the roads, you can inform your customers at the earliest possible opportunity that there is likely to be a delay, and that the package is going to be with them as soon as it possibly can be.