Common Shipping Problems And How To Solve Them

Does shipping parcels give you a migraine?

When you started your ecommerce business, you probably didn’t envision spending your day searching for the best courier rates or managing customer concerns around delays to their orders.

But these are just some of the many common shipping problems that give ecommerce business owners anxiety and make them reconsider their decision to open an online store.

Fortunately, there are ways to overcome these issues so you can get back to doing what you love most. Here’s what you need to do.

1. Shipping Costs Are Too High

The Baynard Institute found that 48% of shoppers with actual purchase intent abandon their cart when presented with extra costs, such as shipping. This aligns with a recent Statista report that free delivery is the primary driver of purchases for shoppers aged between 16 and 64.

How to Solve High Shipping Costs

Creating a free Interparcel account is an excellent start, as you can easily compare rates from Australia’s largest selection of courier providers. But you’ll also want to employ these strategies to reduce shipping costs for your ecommerce business.

• Accurately measure and weigh your parcels.
  • Place your box against a wall to get the correct length, width and height.
  • Always round up to the nearest centimetre or two.
  • Calculate the volumetric weight by multiplying the length, width and height and dividing the result by the dimensional weight divisor.
  • Round this figure up to the nearest kilogram.
• Use Smart Boxing to avoid paying for waste.
  • Access your Interparcel account and navigate to the Shipping Manager.
  • Ensure your ecommerce platform is connected by checking the eCommerce Platforms page.
  • Proceed to the Inventory tab to upload your product dimensions and input all your products' height, width and length.
  • Click on the Smart Boxing tab and select Add New Box to input the dimensions of the shipping boxes you use.
  • Activate Smart Boxing by locating the Enable/Disable Smart Boxing section and toggle the button to enable it.
  • Once activated, the algorithm will automatically identify the optimal shipping box for your products in each order.

2. Couriers Add Surcharges After Delivering a Parcel

Have you ever received an invoice after a completed delivery with additional costs that you need to pay? Courier companies add surcharges when parcel dimensions are incorrect, or the wrong service is selected. Fortunately, there are ways to avoid paying these additional costs.

How to Avoid Paying Surcharges

Some costs are unavoidable, such as the fuel or extraordinary surcharge. However, these are included when you pay your shipping costs upfront. Here is how you can avoid an invoice arriving in your inbox.

• Provide the correct dimensions at the time of booking to avoid oversized fees.
• Ensure you select the right service for the type of parcel you’re sending to avoid paying manual handling fees.
• Only choose B2B services if you’re shipping to a business to avoid paying a residential surcharge.

3. Finding the Best Shipping Rate Takes Too Long

Do you still copy and paste each individual order into courier websites to find the best rate? There is a much better way that can save hours and allow you to focus on scaling your online store.

How to Find the Best Shipping Rates

No matter how technically savvy you are, it’s easy to fulfil orders using Interparcel’s user-friendly shipping tools. Follow these steps to find the best delivery rates for your business.

• Get a quick quote from Interparcel.
  • Go to the Interparcel homepage.
  • Enter where the parcel is coming from, where it is going and the dimensions.
  • Browse Australia’s largest selection of courier providers for the best rate.
  • Select Book for the delivery option of your choice.
  • Enter the rest of the details and complete the final steps to finalise the order.
• Use the Interparcel Shipping Manager
  • Sign in to your Interparcel account and go to Shipping Manager.
  • Ensure your ecommerce platform or marketplace is connected.
  • Hit Fetch Orders or upload a CSV file with your orders.
  • Compare rates from popular couriers like StarTrack, CouriersPlease, Fedex and more.
  • Follow the final few steps to finalise your orders.

4. Parcels Get Impacted By Delays

You and your customers likely experience the same feeling of dread when you’re notified that a parcel is delayed. AdAge learned in 2021 that 52% of shoppers would stop buying from a brand after one to three delays. So how do you avoid them?

How to Handle Shipping Delays

While you don’t have a lot of control over some reasons for shipping delays, you can manage your customers' expectations if they have to wait an extra day or two.

• Use the Interparcel Branded Tracking Portal
• Login to your Interparcel account and go to the Branded Tracking page.
• Input your company name and logo.
• Choose the colours that match your brand.
• Add a banner promoting your business or special offers on your site.
• Provide customers with a link so they can stay up to date on the progress of their delivery.
• Activate SMS or email notifications
• Login to your Interparcel account and go to Settings.
• Select the Communication tab.
• Select the notifications you want to receive about the status of your parcel.
• Update your customer with the progress of their delivery.

5. Natural Disasters Are Affecting Shipping Routes

Did you know there were 19 natural disasters in Australia in the first half of 2023? They range from the Benalla tornado in January to flooding in Southwest Queensland. Unfortunately, you can’t control the weather. But you can control the messaging you provide your customers if it will affect their delivery.

How to Manage Customer Communication for Natural Disasters

• Add a banner to your website advising deliveries may be delayed due to extreme weather events in specific areas.
• Post on social media about natural disasters and the impacts of servicing your customers.
• Display Live Shipping Rates and estimated delivery times at checkout. Read this guide to learn how to activate it for your Shopify store, or check out this one for WooCommerce.

6. Packages Get Lost or Damaged During Transit

The last thing you want to hear from a customer is that their parcel hasn’t arrived. You also don’t want to learn that it has shown up damaged. It’s impossible for you to deliver all the packages yourself. You need another solution.

How to Manage Lost or Damaged Parcels

Thankfully, there are multiple ways to safeguard your parcel when it’s out for delivery. Just follow these tips.

• Always pack your products in a double-corrugated cardboard box. It will protect the item when it’s out for delivery and can withstand sharp objects and bumps during the journey.
• Personalise the boxes you use with colours and patterns to make them stand out in a crowd if someone at the depot needs to locate your lost parcel.
• Purchase additional transit warranty with Interparcel for parcels valued at more than $100. Your first $100 is included in the postage cost.
• Ensure all the details on your shipping labels are clear and easily accessible. It should include:
  • Your address or an alternative return address
  • The recipient’s address
  • Tracking details for the courier

7. Managing Returns is Time-Consuming

Dealing with returns is the cost of doing business as an ecommerce owner. That doesn’t mean it’s not frustrating, especially if it takes up a lot of time to organise.

How to Manage Returns

We’ve made managing returns as easy as shipping a parcel to a customer. You can find it in the Interparcel Shipping Manager. It allows you to send the package in reverse so that it comes from the recipient directly to you. Here are some other great tips for handling returns.

• Create a robust shipping policy that’s easy to find and includes:
  • Your shipping costs.
  • The times to process an order, especially during peak sales periods and holidays.
  • Parcel details, including the types of materials you use.
  • Domestic and international shipping services your store offers.
  • How you manage service interruptions.
  • An outline of what you will and won’t accept regarding returns.
• Keep your customers informed about their return status. It will help make the difference as to whether they shop with you again.
• Monitor returns by customers and look to ban customers who consistently send items back to you.

8. Customer Addresses Are Incorrect

We’ve all made a typo. It could be in how we spell our name or where we live. Customers will make them too. In their excitement of purchasing a product from your store, they may add extra numbers or letters to their address. The result ends up being delays in their delivery.

How to Deal With Incorrect Addresses

You can stop customers from progressing with their orders before they get their address right. Simply use these tips to make it happen.

• Accept customer address changes within a timeframe if they contact you after they’ve realised a mistake has been made.
• Integrate an address validation application during the checkout process.
• Process your orders in the Interparcel Shipping Manager, which identifies incorrect addresses and provides recommendations for correction.

9. International Shipping is Confusing

You might be nailing it when it comes to shipping parcels domestically, but perhaps international deliveries make you nervous. You probably feel like it takes a lot more time and effort than printing a shipping label to get a product to another country. But it’s easier than you think.

How to Ship Internationally

While there are a few extra steps before you prepare a parcel for overseas delivery, it’s simple to complete. Just follow these steps.

• Confirm your product can be shipped overseas on our Prohibited and Restricted page.
• Complete a commercial invoice by including the following:
  • The country of origin for the merchandise.
  • The exporter’s, consignee’s and buyer’s name and address.
  • A detailed description of the item.
  • Quantities and weights of the products.
  • The purchase price of each item.
  • A tariff code.
  • A certification of origin.
  • A copy of known Free Trade Agreements, if it's required.
• Choose a courier with experience delivering parcels worldwide and can manage a lot of the process for you.

10. Customers Are Unavailable During Delivery Times

Some of your customers might plan ahead and make themselves available to collect their delivery. However, the majority will be busy at work or running errands. The last thing these customers want to see when they come home is a slip of paper advising them they need to go to a depot to collect their item.

How to Get Parcels to Customers When They’re Unavailable

Australia Post’s Delivery Experience Report recommends removing the requirement to receive a signature on delivery as it can improve customer experience. Fortunately, this is easy to accomplish when you ship with Interparcel: Choose from one of many Authority to Leave (ATL) services, which allows couriers to place parcels in a safe place for the recipient when they’re not available.

How to Avoid Future Shipping Problems

Delivery experiences can make or break a relationship with a customer. While some shipping problems are unavoidable, what you can control is how you manage each situation and communicate with your shoppers.

You can also mitigate many of the risks of issues arising by ensuring you measure parcels correctly, create a shipping policy and utilise the best tools for streamlined fulfilment.

Another benefit of using Interparcel is that you can access our highly recommended customer service team. Get in touch with them today to discuss your shipping problems so they can provide you with tailored solutions and a fulfilment strategy to help grow your online store.