As a premium fulfillment and logistics provider, we at DCL Logistics have access to robust shipping data. We use it to help our customers optimize their inbound shipping strategy and last-mile delivery flow.
We track the actual times of all major shipping carriers and put that data against their guaranteed transit times to see how they are meeting their delivery promises.
We’ve been tracking delivery times for years, find our 2021 Transit Times data, or 2022 Transit Times data to compare to this current year.
Below are a few charts to track delivery times throughout 2023.
What are Carrier Delivery Times?
Carrier delivery times, also known as transit times, refer to the estimated or actual time it takes for a shipping carrier to transport a package from the point of origin to the intended destination.
Different shipping services have varying delivery times. For example, express shipping services typically offer faster delivery times compared to standard or economy shipping options.
Curious how to track the undeliverable packages, missed deliveries, and lost parcels? Your carrier should provide a delivery exception report with these listed and more.
Why are Delivery Times Important to Track?
All ecommerce brands want to grow their business. To do so they need to ensure products are getting to customers on time, and their shipping partners provide quality service. When these things aren’t met, it’s time to re-evaluate your carrier and shipping service.
Tracking transit times is essential for the following reasons:
- Customer satisfaction—timely delivery is crucial for ensuring customer satisfaction. If deliveries are delayed or inconsistent with your customer’s expectations, it can lead to frustration and disappointment, which can negatively impact the overall perception of your brand.
- Meeting SLAs (service level agreements)—many ecommerce businesses operate under specific rules that define expected operational timeframes. Most commonly shipment pickup and delivery times are what make up the bulk of SLAs. By tracking delivery times, you’ll have data to back up how your shipping partners are performing.
- Facilitating returns—outbound shipping gets a lot of attention, but returns can make up a big percentage of shipping cost and headaches. By tracking transit times, you’ll verify if your shipping carrier can help you process returns quickly and efficiently.
- Evaluating and improving performance—to make any shipping improvements, you need to first understand where the inefficiencies are. Other shipping metrics that are important to track include: average delivery time, on-time delivery rate, and delivery time variability.
If you or your 3PL provider can regularly track and analyze your shipping times, you’ll be in a better position to meet your overall business goals. Tracking delivery times helps businesses manage their operations effectively. You can more easily identify bottlenecks, optimize routes, and improve overall efficiency in your supply chain.
Tags: Shipping carrier updates
