‘Amazon delivery delayed.’ Everyone dreads this message just a few days after receiving a notification that their order is on its way. Various supply chain and logistics aspects can go wrong or be delayed.
The retail giant is focusing on getting deliveries out as fast as possible. Amazon says 60% of orders placed by Prime members in the top 60 US metro areas arrive the same or the next day.
Amazon’s Prime membership allows customers to get their parcels faster. But when this doesn’t happen, this article can help you understand what steps to take.
Understanding Amazon Delivery Delays
Understanding the problem can help ease the frustration a bit. Various factors can impact a delayed delivery.
- High order volumes
- Logistical issues
- Weather disruptions
- Lost packages
For sellers, it’s important to communicate the delay with customers as soon as possible, to manage customer expectations.
A proactive plan is needed to navigate through shipping delays.
Reasons for Amazon Delivery Delays
Peak periods like Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Black Friday overwhelm the logistics infrastructure, causing delays in order processing and shipment.
Amazon’s peak season typically runs from October to January each year. While it is a busy season for all couriers and retailers, there are strategic ways to plan around it.
Here are the key problems that can hold up parcels:
- Delivery problems from suppliers or carriers result in slow shipping.
- Production delays.
- Inventory shortages.
- Quality control issues.
- Technical glitches with Amazon’s order processing with confirmation, processing, and fulfillment centers.
- Unforeseen circumstances.
Let’s look at what each of these delays really mean.
Delivery Problems from Suppliers or Carriers
Delivery problems involving suppliers or carriers can result from miscommunication, logistical errors, or transportation delays. These can slow down the shipping process, causing a ripple effect throughout the entire supply chain.
When a supplier can’t deliver on time, it leads to delays in getting those items to Amazon’s warehouses. This directly impacts the processing and shipping times of customers’ orders.
How Does It Cause Delays? When shipments from suppliers or carriers are delayed, Amazon has less inventory on hand to fulfill orders. This can lead to backlogs, where orders pile up while waiting for the delayed goods.
Production Delays
When manufacturers are unable to produce goods according to schedule, there could be a delay in production. This could be a result of equipment failures, labor shortages (especially during peak season), or delays in sourcing materials.
How Does It Cause Delays? If a manufacturer cannot produce items on time, Amazon cannot restock its warehouses on time, resulting in delays in fulfilling orders. Amazon’s delivery times could be severely affected or even result in cancellations if the product cannot be sourced in time to meet the order.
Inventory Shortages
Inventory shortages happen, especially with trending products, resulting in the demand exceeding the available supply.
This is expected to increase even more, with TikTok now allowing social media users to buy trending products directly from Amazon without leaving the social app.
Inventory availability and shortages can result from inaccurate demand forecasting or unexpected spikes in orders.
How Does It Cause Delays? When Amazon runs out of stock, it cannot fulfill orders immediately, leading to delays. The waiting period for new inventory to arrive from suppliers or manufacturers can also delay order processing and shipment.
Quality Control Issues
When products don’t meet the required quality control standards during manufacturing, it can have a ripple effect and delay the entire delivery process.
This can range from defects in the product itself to problems with packaging or labeling. If a batch of products fails quality control, it cannot be shipped to customers until the issues are resolved.
How Does It Cause Delays? Products that fail quality control cannot be sent out for delivery, leading to delays.
Technical Glitches
When there is a software or system failure within Amazon’s order processing infrastructure, it causes a delay as a result of a technical glitch. That could be a problem with the website’s ordering system. Glitches can prevent orders from being processed correctly, leading to delays.
How Does It Cause Delays? Technical glitches can halt the entire order fulfillment process. Orders might not be confirmed, processed, or shipped on time. During peak season, even a minor glitch can have a significant impact.
The Delivery Process
Various steps are involved before a parcel is ready to be dispatched for delivery. These include order processing, packaging, shipping, and delivery.
Amazon’s delivery process is designed to ensure orders are on time and efficiently. However, delays happen at any stage. Here are four alternative solutions to resolve a delayed delivery.
4 Solutions for When My Estimated Delivery Date Keeps Changing
You’ve probably been staring at the ‘Shipping Soon’ for a while. Here’s what you can do to be proactive and resolve the matter faster.
- Check your address: Double-check your delivery address and ensure it’s up to date information. There might be an inaccurate capture of the address.
- Too large order: If you sent it to a PO Box or pickup location, it may be too large to deliver to the location. Check out the requirements before sending it next time.
- Payment not processed: Amazon warns customers that it only takes online shopping payment when it ships an order, not when it’s placed. If the payment hasn’t been processed, it’s worth checking the payment details.
- Out of stock: If you don’t have time to wait for products, you can check the product detail page to confirm whether your item is in stock.
Why Delivery Tracking Is Important
Growing your business as a seller on Amazon can mean you tap into the retail giant’s fast logistics infrastructure. But to keep customers happy, it’s not only about speedy delivery. It’s also about accurate and open communication.
For this, you need to know why delivery tracking is important, especially real-time tracking.
Delivery tracking enables business owners to work quicker, more effectively, and smarter.
Ensuring customers can follow the delivery process can ease their frustration when they know exactly where the holdup is.
Delivery tracking also enables better communication.
Customers want to know the delivery time and date the the delivery can be expected, to make special arrangements if needed. It all ties into convenience and trust.
Read more about 14 things you need to know about live tracking and why it’s important.
Understanding the Difference Between ETA and ETD
ETA, or Estimated Time of Arrival, indicates when a delivery vehicle is expected to arrive at a point. This is when the parcel will arrive at the provided address.
ETD or Estimated Time of Delivery is when the customer is expected to have the parcel in his/her hands.
But ETD can also stand for Estimated Time of Departure which refers to the time when the parcel leaves the warehouse or storage facility.
Resolving Delivery Issues
To resolve delivery issues, you first need to know what’s wrong.
Amazon reminds customers that if the delivery date on an Amazon package has passed and the tracking information hasn’t changed, customers must wait a day or two extra. “Usually, packages arrive on or shortly after the estimated delivery date.”
If there is another problem that needs to be resolved directly with the courier company, here’s a list of numbers to contact them.
Lost packages that show as delivered, although they have not yet been received, can be found through the contracted courier. To know which one Amazon is using, you can view it by looking up your parcel tracking information.
If your Amazon package shows as delivered but you haven’t received it yet, go to Find a Missing Package for more information.
How to Request a Refund for a Late Amazon Package
If a parcel is returned from Australia, the UK, the US, Germany, or Japan, items can take up to a month to reach Amazon before they can be processed for a refund.
Here’s how it works. The amount will be refunded in your country’s currency and at the conversion rate at the time the refund was issued.
Then, an email will be sent to notify the customer about the return process. If there is no communication, it means the customer is still waiting for the returned shipment.
Amazon says it may take another week after receiving the item to process the return. Only after this last process can the retailer release the refund amount.
Key Points to Remember
Amazon shipping delays can be caused by various factors, especially during peak periods when high demand orders are being processed.
To avoid future delays, it’s best to have a plan in action and follow the four steps to avoid potential delays that are in your control.
Understanding the reason behind the shipping delays is crucial for Amazon sellers, to avoid dissatisfied customers and negative review.
NOW READ: Thank my delivery driver: 6 Simple ways
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About the author
Mia is a multi-award-winning journalist. She has more than 14 years of experience in mainstream media. She's covered many historic moments that happened in Africa and internationally. She has a strong focus on human interest stories, to bring her readers and viewers closer to the topics at hand.
