Carry-backs on the depot floor
At six in the evening the vans come back, and the drivers unload the parcels they could not deliver. Nobody in. Business closed early. Gate locked. Customer asked for a different day on the phone, and the message did not reach the driver. The depot team books them all back onto tomorrow's routes, which were already full.
Then the phone rings with recipients asking why they missed it. Some ask for a different day, some for a neighbour. Each call is typed into the system by whoever answers, and some of them do not make it onto the driver's list.
Why first attempts fail
Most failed deliveries are predictable. The recipient did not know the parcel was coming today, or had no way to say where to leave it. Business addresses have opening hours nobody recorded. Flats have entry codes held in a driver's memory. The sender's data gave a landline that nobody answers.
| Reason for failure | What would have prevented it |
|---|---|
| Recipient not in | A message on the morning with a way to choose a safe place or another day |
| Business closed | Opening hours stored against the address |
| No access to building | Access notes kept and shown to the driver |
| Recipient changed plans by phone | The change reaching the driver's device, not a notepad |
| Wrong phone number | A check on contact data at booking |
What each failure costs
A second trip for the same parcel, with no extra revenue unless your contract charges for it. A slot on tomorrow's van that could have been new work. Depot time handling carry-backs. And the sender's perception of your service, because recipients complain to the shop, not to you.
Failed deliveries also push up the phone volume in the depot office, which is often staffed by the same people who should be planning routes.
For courier firms working for a handful of large shippers, first-time delivery rate is often a figure those shippers watch. A poor figure makes the next rate negotiation harder.
What we build
- A pre-delivery message by SMS or email on the morning of delivery, using Twilio or your existing messaging provider, with a link to a simple page.
- Choices on that page: safe place with a description, a named neighbour, a different day, or collection from the depot if you offer it.
- Address notes that build up over time: opening hours for businesses, access codes, gate instructions, stored against the address and shown to future drivers.
- The driver's app or handheld showing today's instructions for each stop, updated live when the recipient responds.
- A redelivery booking flow for failed attempts, so the recipient chooses a new day and it lands on the right route automatically.
- Reporting on failure reasons by customer, area and driver, so you can see which failures are preventable.
If you already use a courier software package with its own driver app, we connect to it rather than replace it.
What the depot sees
Fewer parcels coming back in the evening, and those that do have a redelivery date already chosen. Office staff spend less time on the phone. Drivers stop relying on memory for entry codes. And you have a record to show shippers of how you handle failed deliveries.
Signs failed attempts are costing you
- Carry-backs are a daily fixture at the depot.
- Recipients phone to rebook, and messages reach drivers late.
- Access notes live in drivers' heads.
- Business deliveries fail because opening hours are unknown.
- You cannot say why most failed deliveries fail.