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As an e-commerce brand, you know that delivery performance is a critical factor for your online business success. Today’s customers don’t just expect fast delivery, they demand precise delivery times and full transparency throughout the shipping process. However, reality often falls short: shipping issues lead to increased support costs, rising return rates, and declining customer satisfaction. A lack of transparency around carrier performance also makes it harder to manage your supply chain effectively.
In Part 1 of this article, we explore why delivery accuracy is essential to your e-commerce logistics - and how to address the most common delivery challenges. In Part 2, Parcel Perform outlines best practices to sustainably optimize delivery performance.
Why Delivery Accuracy Is Essential for E-Commerce Logistics
Unreliable carrier performance can significantly impact customer satisfaction. Delays or incorrect status updates frustrate shoppers and increase the workload for your support team. Without the right data, you’re often left in the dark as to whether your carriers are meeting their Service Level Agreements (SLAs). The result? Delivery issues drive up return rates, lead to a surge in “Where Is My Order” (WISMO) inquiries, and increase overall costs.
What Does High Delivery Accuracy Mean?
High delivery accuracy means reliable delivery forecasts and consistent on-time delivery rates. These two factors greatly enhance the customer experience and reduce the volume of WISMO inquiries. Optimized carrier management enables you to identify underperforming shipping partners and reduce costs. As is often the case, data-driven decisions allow you to proactively address shipping issues before they escalate.
The Most Common Issues in Delivery Performance
Problem 1: Inaccurate Delivery Times Increase Dissatisfaction & Support Costs
What happens?
Your customers expect their orders on a specific date, but the package arrives days late.
Why is this a problem?
- More customer inquiries like: “Where’s my order?”
- Added inconvenience for customers, e.g. having to pick up parcels at post stations.
- Negative reviews and lower repurchase rates.
Our data shows that over 60% of failed deliveries occur because recipients aren’t home when the delivery attempt is made.
Problem 2: Lack of Transparency in Carrier Performance & SLAs
What happens?
You have no real visibility into whether your carriers are meeting promised delivery times.
Why is this a problem?
- Underperforming carriers remain undetected and continue to generate hidden costs.
- No data-backed foundation for carrier negotiations.
- Your operations team works with outdated or inaccurate shipping reports.
Our data reveals significant performance differences between carriers—a major area of untapped potential for many merchants.
Problem 3: Shipping Issues Lead to Rising Return Rates & Support Costs
What happens?
Your parcels aren’t delivered, or end up at the wrong distribution center.
Why is this a problem?
- Online shoppers lose trust in your brand.
- High additional costs for returns management and redelivery.
- Overloaded customer support teams.
Our data shows that delivery issues occur in more than 8% of shipments. Delays account for 9% of those issues, and incorrect delivery addresses (at 5%) are a major driver of both returns and dissatisfaction. With byrd’s address validation tool, up to 40% of incorrect address entries can be prevented.
The Solution: byrd & Parcel Perform as Strong Logistics Partners
To overcome these challenges, successful e-commerce brands rely on a combination of reliable, data-driven fulfillment and a powerful, transparent delivery experience.
Parcel Perform provides tools to create shipping transparency, improve logistics processes, and enhance shopper communication. This includes:
- Insights into delivery success rates, shipping times, and delays to optimize carrier management.
- Early detection of issues for proactive resolution.
- Automated customer status updates to reduce WISMO inquiries.
- AI-driven carrier selection and real-time performance analytics for identifying reliable partners and enforcing SLAs.
- Streamlined fulfillment operations for more accurate delivery times and fewer delivery errors (such as through address validation).
- Flexible multi-carrier fulfillment to dynamically select the best shipping partners across markets—and replace underperformers.
- Relief for internal teams so you can focus on your core business.
Summary & Outlook
In Part 1 of this article, we highlighted the importance of delivery accuracy in e-commerce logistics and examined the most common delivery performance issues. With the right tools and strategies, you can optimize delivery performance and boost customer satisfaction.
In Part 2, available on the Parcel Perform blog, we’ll explore best practices for optimizing your shipping performance and show you how to sustainably enhance your delivery operations. Stay tuned to learn how to elevate your logistics to the next level.