With millions of shipments travelling around the world on a daily basis, it’s statistically likely that some will go wrong. Whether it’s unavoidable issues like extreme weather or road accidents, or it’s a case of human error before shipment, there are some huge delivery fails that grace the industry each and every day. While there’s not much anyone can do about other people’s accidents or extreme weather, those looking to send shipments can avoid some common fails on their part! Without further ado, here is our guide to the biggest delivery fails you need to avoid when shipping.
Oversized Packaging
Not only does oversized packaging put your goods at risk, but it’s also a guaranteed way to spend much more than you actually need to. You wouldn’t put a mobile phone in a box big enough for an elephant, so why risk using something even a little too big? Without extensive knowledge, you’d be forgiven for grabbing the first box in sight, but by choosing the right sized box and packaging your items correctly, you can reduce the chance of your items knocking about, limit the amount of packing material that you need and you could save yourself a pretty penny in the meantime.
Compromised Boxes
When transporting any box, you may be surprised to know that it’s likely your packaging will lose 50% of its strength throughout its journey. From bumps and knocks due to vehicle movement, to weather-related weakening, your box has the potential to go through a lot while protecting your goods! With that in mind, imagine if you were packing your goods in a box that already only held 50% of its strength – by the time of arrival, your box would only be 25% of its original strength, or less, which undoubtedly puts your items at risk. In order to give your box its best fighting chance, make sure you pick up the strongest boxes you can find and reinforce the corners and edges with tape before sending.
Autofill Forms
When you come to fill out our online quote form, be careful of any autofill! If you’ve filled in our form before or have been searching around, it’s possible that the form will autofill details that could be different from previous shipments. Not only will this give you an incorrect quote for your specific shipment, it could also mean that we don’t have the service you need when you need it. Take care when filling out forms online, especially if you ship on a regular basis!
Not Opting For Tracking
When shipping any kind of cargo, you and the recipient can benefit greatly from some kind of tracking system. Whether through contacting your freight forwarder for more information about important stages of the journey, or simply asking for regular updates than you can pass on to the recipient, keeping track can add something valuable to your supply chain.
Wrong Address
This may seem like an obvious one, but it’s vital to ensure you have the right address on the package, in the package, and that your freight forwarder knows exactly where it’s supposed to end up. Incorrect addressing accounts for a significant amount of missing or delayed deliveries, so make sure to take out the time to check up on your address before you send off your cargo.
If you’re looking to send cargo via international shipping, why not fill out our quick quote form today? We’ll give you a bespoke quote for free, or you can get in touch with us today for more information on your shipments.
