5 Useful Tips to Overcome Shipping Delays
No matter how efficient services you provide, shipping delays are inevitable that can occur anytime during your journey. Nowadays, your customers are very picky about their choices as they have several options. Even if you do 99 best things for them, a minor inconvenience will make you lose them.
Businesses most often think that they have little to no control over these delays. However, you must understand these delays to help limit their effect on your overall shipping duration. In this guide, you will know the cause of uncertainty and how to avoid them. Let’s start!!
Communicate Well
Delays, in any sense, can make someone angry and frustrated. In case of shipping delays, the power is in the hands of the purchaser or customer who spent money. Informing your customers about the delivery delay can control their angst up to some extent. When you inform your customers with a valid reason as soon as possible, it can save both your reputation and customers from the risk. Moreover, you also need to communicate well with your carriers before the journey to have a flexible contingency plan.
Proper BOL Preparation
One of the biggest causes of late deliveries is the improper documentation on the BOL. If you are shipping for the first time, you might not know how this single document can lead to massive shipping delays. Without providing accurate and complete information on your Bill of Lading (BOL), you cannot get your goods delivered efficiently. Your BOL contains all the information, including the shipment weight, shipment type, packaging information, labeling, etc. When your carrier matches this information to their data, they have to stop the delivery in case of variations.
Online Tracking
Nowadays, customers need complete transparency about their shipments. Also, it gives them the type of control over their goods, that they can take support of the services provider by seeing any delay at a certain point of the shipment. With real-time online tracking, customers can easily track where their consignment takes for so long, and they are offered tracking numbers and order IDs to track their orders quickly.
Proper Labeling
Labeling your goods is an essential part of the entire freight shipping process. As per the customs clearance guidelines, consignments with proper labeling or inappropriate labeling will not be accepted. Once the customs clearance stage rejects your consignment, it will be delayed. That is why labeling is considered the essential step of the freight forwarding process. Not only you’ll save time, but it will also protect your consignment from fines and penalties.
Compensatory Offers
Offers are an excellent way to reduce the anger of your customers. When shippers choose you for their goods, they have some expectations for the services. When delays occur, your overall goodwill degrades. No one understands that not everything is under your control during the journey. Providing them with attractive offers as compensation will reduce the damage to some extent. Even when you can’t save the delay, your customers will think that you regret the delays and respect their time. Additionally, it can quickly help you connect with them, and they believe you value them.
Can partnering with logistics services providers help?
The above five tips can help you significantly save the losses due to shipping delays. However, it is not easy for all businesses to involve in logistics management services to such a great extent. For this, they require some professional help that can help handle all their shipping needs. Partnering with expert logistic services will be an excellent step to efficiently save shipping delays as they use their industry knowledge to eliminate hurdles and reach deadlines efficiently.