3 things that you should know before you select a courier partner for your eCommerce Store

The success of your eCommerce store will largely depend on your ability to deliver orders to customers fast and reliably. You will be dependent on a logistics partner for the same.

Apart from regular evaluation of the logistics partner, ensure that these 3 things are fully understood and known to you before you choose the logistics partner.

1. NDR Process –

NDR or Non-Delivery Report is a notification shared by courier companies specifying the orders which could not be delivered in a certain timeframe. When a delivery agent is unable to successfully deliver the order, which might happen for a variety of reasons like “incorrect address” or “customer unavailability”, the order is marked as an NDR. RTO is a reality in Indian Market.

Do understand :

• How robust is the NDR (Non-Delivery Report) process of the logistics partner?
• Does the logistics partner offer automated NDR or do they also have actual call to customer based delivery resolution?

2. Weight Discrepancy –

Weight discrepancy refers to an issue arising between the online seller and the courier company for the attributed weight of the shipment. It happens usually when the courier company disagrees with the order weight provided by the seller. Many times this weight discrepancy arises when the online seller mentions the gross weight of the shipment during the processing of a shipment, but the courier company prefers to charge on the volumetric weight of the shipment.

Do understand:

• How easy is the process to raise disputes?
• How soon are the disputes resolved?
• Is this process on recurring basis or once a month?

3. COD lead time –

Cash on Delivery (COD) allows buyers to make payments for their purchases via cash or card at the time of delivery of their orders. Delivery agents collect the invoice amount of a shipment from the buyer in the form of cash at the time of delivery. The collected cash is then paid to the eCommerce store that made the sale. So, the faster the realization of COD money the better it’s for the cash flow of the eCommerce store. Typically it can vary between 1 to 15 days.

So, do understand:

• How soon will you get the money for COD orders?
• Does the logistics partner offer early payments program?

With control over the above three factors, you can have a smooth and efficient run with your delivery process.