You receive your first online order. Like any new seller, you are super excited to pick, pack, and ship it. After all, you want to see the expression of joy on your customers’ faces when they receive their orders. Following the traditional eCommerce process, you pick your inventory, package it well and hand it over to your courier for delivery. As you wait for the order to get delivered, you receive another message from your courier company saying that your order went undelivered! This might come as a shock but over time if this happens again and again you might want to reduce your undelivered orders.
Undelivered orders can be a huge disappointment for your business.They can make you lose all your money while you fail to create an impression with the customer. However, this doesn’t have to be the case.
Even though undelivered orders can happen due to small negligence, doesn’t mean you don’t pay attention to them. Reducing your undelivered orders can help you gain business profits. Alternatively, it can help you capitalize on the opportunity of a lost sale due to the product remaining undelivered. Furthermore, undelivered orders can turn to return orders in no time!
However, if you want to reduce your return orders, there is a way out and you need not worry! Read on to find out more about return orders and how they impact your business.
What are Undelivered Orders?
Undelivered orders are the orders that are not delivered at your customers’ doorstep. This might happen for a variety of reasons. But, the fact of the matter is that the order doesn’t reach the customer. In other words, the eCommerce experience is disrupted.
While we’ll come to the reasons soon, it is important to note that customers do not generate a return request for undelivered orders. Because they have not received it in the first place, they don’t take any action for these.
Your orders are usually marked delivered by the courier company depending on the reason for nondelivery of the product. The process for this is as follows-
Step 1
As your courier company takes your package for last-mile delivery, they are unable to deliver it to the customer.
Step 2
Once found undelivered, your courier will update the status of the package and inform you about the same.
Step 3
Depending upon the courier company, the delivery agent will attempt to deliver the parcel the next day and the day after. In other words, at least three delivery attempts will be made to deliver the parcel to the customer.
Step 4
In case, the courier is still not able to deliver the parcel, they will mark it as a return order. You will have to pay the reverse logistics charges for the parcel and it will be delivered back to your warehouse.
What Leads to Undelivered Orders? Common Causes of Undelivered Orders
There can be many reasons for your orders to be marked as undelivered. If you want to reduce your return orders, you have to pay attention to these factors at any cost. Otherwise, you stand a greater chance of losing out on your business even without realizing it. Check out the top reasons for undelivered orders below-
Incorrect Address
If you have mentioned an incorrect address on the shipping label or on the courier company’s delivery platform, it can lead to undelivered orders. On the other hand, if your customer has provided you with an incorrect address, it will lead to the same error. This way the delivery agent will not be able to locate the right delivery address of the customer and mark the order as undelivered. Therefore, to reduce your undelivered orders, you will have to make sure that your customer’s address is correct.
Negligence of Your Courier Partner
Another reason that your courier partner can mark your package as undelivered is due to their negligence. This happens if you are not shipping with a reliable courier partner. In other words, an unprofessional courier company might claim that they made a delivery attempt but didn’t actually deliver the parcel. If you want to reduce your undelivered orders, you need to take care of this issue. Alternatively, partner with a one-stop logistics company like Dash101.
Customer Not Reachable
Many times the customer is not reachable. They might also be not available to receive the parcel themselves. This can make your orders go undelivered. While this is no fault of yours, you should ask your courier partner for a second delivery attempt. Reach out to your customers and ask them whether they want the delivery of the package and the appropriate timings for the delivery attempt. Convey the same to your courier partner.
Damage in Transit
Last but not the least, your package must have got damaged in the transit, leading to it being marked as undelivered. Sometimes when you ship fragile items, they can be destroyed during the transit. When the courier company realizes it, they will not go ahead and deliver it to your customers. For example, if you are shipping liquid detergent and there was a spillage in the package, the courier will realize it instantly. Therefore, they will try to return it to you if possible, else destroy it in the transit itself.
How to Reduce Undelivered Orders?
Once you understand why some of your orders have been marked undelivered, you can work towards reducing them. To reduce your undelivered orders, take the following steps-
Real-time Tracking
Real-time tracking information can do wonders for your business. Suppose that one of your packages couldn’t be delivered due to the unavailability of the customer. Usually, the courier will mark it undelivered, hand over the excel file to you, and then take an entire day to move forward with the next step. However, that is not the case with real-time tracking.
With this, your delivery agent will update the status of your package and that will be reflected in your system instantly. Therefore, if the address was incorrect, you can quickly call up your customer and verify it. The same information can be updated in the courier partner’s delivery system. The series of quick actions can lead to the efficient delivery of your parcel.
Proper Labeling
Labeling your products the right way can have a huge impact on your business. If you forget to apply a label or mention some incorrect information, your package will be marked as undelivered. To reduce return orders arising due to this, you must label your products in the right manner. If you are shipping with a reputed eCommerce logistics platform, chances are they have a format of label. Alternatively, an automated shipping platform will help you generate your labels instantly. This can reduce your hassle and help your courier partner make successful deliveries.
Checking Customer Details
Check your customer details before you ship a parcel. This will ensure that you don’t miss out on any information.Many times sellers enter only 9 digits in the contact information or miss a digit from any of the numbers present in the address. This can lead to the package being marked as undelivered. If possible ask your customers to locate the address on a map that can further simplify the delivery process for you and your customer.
Partnering with a Reliable Courier Service
One of the most important factors that lead to undelivered orders is the lack of a professional courier service. Alternatively, you might get stuck with one courier partner if you are shipping all your orders with them. To reduce your undelivered orders, it is best to partner with a reliable courier platform like Dash101. Dash101 can help you ship with 7+ courier partners at rates starting Rs 23/500 gms. You get to ship with the top courier companies that live up to their promises of quality delivery.
Provide POD Payment Options
Provide your customers with a pay on delivery option to reduce your undelivered orders. Many times customers do not have cash ready with them to pay for the order. Therefore, in spite of the fact that both the courier and customer are able to get in touch with each other, the order is marked as undelivered. You can avoid this by providing an appropriate payment option to your customers. Ask your courier company to carry a card swiping machine. This way if the customer doesn’t have cash, they can via swiping their cards.
Conclusion
You must reduce your undelivered orders for your business success. If they are left unchecked, they will soon turn into return orders and create a huge burden for you. Sometimes the return costs can become too much that they become greater than your product costs. As a result of this, many sellers do not care to initiate a return to origin order. However, if you form good strategies, you don’t have to be in this uncomfortable position. Partner with a logistics provider like Dash101 and make business profits as you provide quality delivery to your customers.
