Delivery is another one of those hidden areas that can have a dramatic impact on both the top line and the bottom line. This impact can be positive or disastrously negative. It doesn’t matter if you are delivering physical items or digital content. If your delivery process is not well controlled, tracked and monitored it will inevitably deliver items late, deliver the wrong items, deliver the wrong quantity or deliver the items late.
When a business is reviewing the delivery process here are some areas to look at and questions that should be asked:
Is the shipping area clean and well organized?
Is the shipping process standardized?
Is the process followed?
Is the shipping schedule known in advance?
Are packaging materials purchased on competitive bids?
Are the packaging materials adequate in protecting items?
Are adequate lead times for shipping in place?
What percentage of shipments are shipped on time?
What percentage of shipments are delivered on time?
Are deliveries analyzed for on time delivery?
Are issues resolved promptly?
Are delivery problems promptly addressed?
To the client’s satisfaction?
Are your freight rates competitive?
If you allow your delivery to go out of control, you will run the risks of one or more of the following:
Losing clients
High return rates
Excessive return expenses
High shipping expenses
Excessive complaints from clients
Don’t let your delivery process(es) run your business, you must run your delivery process(es), keep them under control and economical.