Leader's Digest
What do Failed Deliveries Cost Your Business?
Published: Jan 31, 2024
3 Min Read
It doesn’t matter what industry you are in, B2C, B2B, parcel or big box, there will always be circumstances that lead to a delivery failing.
What is the cost?
There is the obvious cost – the cost of re-delivery, but what are the additional costs associated with that failed delivery?
Reverse logistics fees
Employee time spent on:
“Where’s my order?” calls
Contacting the customer to rebook
Warehouse/Dispatch team rearranging schedules to accommodate the re-delivery.
Refunding a delivery charge/ apology discounts
Impact on brand reputation
Customer dissatisfaction
Negative reviews
Research across the USA, UK and Germany by Loqate reports 24% of businesses claim more than 1 in 10 deliveries fail on the first attempt and with average cost being $17.20USD per failure, that quickly adds up.
Like everything in life, failures aren’t always bad, they provide an opportunity to learn and improve, but as delivery failures come at a cost, how can you quickly learn to improve your business, delivery experience and reduce your costs?
Poor delivery damages consumers’ perceptions
23% of consumers have not ordered from the retailer again, 21% lost trust in the retailer and 16% told friend and families to avoid the retalier due to a poor delivery experience.
Source – Descartes Research Report: Ecommerce: Is Retailer Fulfillment and Delivery Performance Keeping Up With Sales Growth?
The key to minimising failed deliveries and therefore minimising the financial impact to your business, along with the potential damage to your brand, is understanding why deliveries fail.
What causes deliveries to fail?
The most common reasons leading to delivery failures are:
Address error
Not home
Incorrect stock
Damaged goods
No access or Safety issue
How can you monitor and report failed deliveries?
If you’re interested in enhancing your delivery operations, reducing your failed deliveries and improving the customer experience, contact the Radaro team or email support@radaro.com If you’re interested in enhancing your delivery operations, reducing your failed deliveries and improving the customer experience, contact the Radaro team or email support@radaro.com .
It doesn’t matter what industry you are in, B2C, B2B, parcel or big box, there will always be circumstances that lead to a delivery failing.
What is the cost?
There is the obvious cost – the cost of re-delivery, but what are the additional costs associated with that failed delivery?
Reverse logistics fees
Employee time spent on:
“Where’s my order?” calls
Contacting the customer to rebook
Warehouse/Dispatch team rearranging schedules to accommodate the re-delivery.
Refunding a delivery charge/ apology discounts
Impact on brand reputation
Customer dissatisfaction
Negative reviews
Research across the USA, UK and Germany by Loqate reports 24% of businesses claim more than 1 in 10 deliveries fail on the first attempt and with average cost being $17.20USD per failure, that quickly adds up.
Like everything in life, failures aren’t always bad, they provide an opportunity to learn and improve, but as delivery failures come at a cost, how can you quickly learn to improve your business, delivery experience and reduce your costs?
Poor delivery damages consumers’ perceptions
23% of consumers have not ordered from the retailer again, 21% lost trust in the retailer and 16% told friend and families to avoid the retalier due to a poor delivery experience.
Source – Descartes Research Report: Ecommerce: Is Retailer Fulfillment and Delivery Performance Keeping Up With Sales Growth?
The key to minimising failed deliveries and therefore minimising the financial impact to your business, along with the potential damage to your brand, is understanding why deliveries fail.
What causes deliveries to fail?
The most common reasons leading to delivery failures are:
Address error
Not home
Incorrect stock
Damaged goods
No access or Safety issue
How can you monitor and report failed deliveries?
If you’re interested in enhancing your delivery operations, reducing your failed deliveries and improving the customer experience, contact the Radaro team or email support@radaro.com If you’re interested in enhancing your delivery operations, reducing your failed deliveries and improving the customer experience, contact the Radaro team or email support@radaro.com .
Subscribe to our Newsletter
Get Started with Radaro
Last mile delivery software designed for complex, real-world logistics.
It doesn’t matter what industry you are in, B2C, B2B, parcel or big box, there will always be circumstances that lead to a delivery failing.
What is the cost?
There is the obvious cost – the cost of re-delivery, but what are the additional costs associated with that failed delivery?
Reverse logistics fees
Employee time spent on:
“Where’s my order?” calls
Contacting the customer to rebook
Warehouse/Dispatch team rearranging schedules to accommodate the re-delivery.
Refunding a delivery charge/ apology discounts
Impact on brand reputation
Customer dissatisfaction
Negative reviews
Research across the USA, UK and Germany by Loqate reports 24% of businesses claim more than 1 in 10 deliveries fail on the first attempt and with average cost being $17.20USD per failure, that quickly adds up.
Like everything in life, failures aren’t always bad, they provide an opportunity to learn and improve, but as delivery failures come at a cost, how can you quickly learn to improve your business, delivery experience and reduce your costs?
Poor delivery damages consumers’ perceptions
23% of consumers have not ordered from the retailer again, 21% lost trust in the retailer and 16% told friend and families to avoid the retalier due to a poor delivery experience.
Source – Descartes Research Report: Ecommerce: Is Retailer Fulfillment and Delivery Performance Keeping Up With Sales Growth?
The key to minimising failed deliveries and therefore minimising the financial impact to your business, along with the potential damage to your brand, is understanding why deliveries fail.
What causes deliveries to fail?
The most common reasons leading to delivery failures are:
Address error
Not home
Incorrect stock
Damaged goods
No access or Safety issue
How can you monitor and report failed deliveries?
If you’re interested in enhancing your delivery operations, reducing your failed deliveries and improving the customer experience, contact the Radaro team or email support@radaro.com If you’re interested in enhancing your delivery operations, reducing your failed deliveries and improving the customer experience, contact the Radaro team or email support@radaro.com .
Subscribe to our Newsletter
Get Started with Radaro
Last mile delivery software designed for complex, real-world logistics.
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Radaro is the intelligent delivery management platform built for complex, real-world supply chains.
Deliver Better At Every Mile.
Company
Radaro © 2026. All rights reserved.
Take Control of Your Last Mile
Discover what Radaro can do for you
Radaro is the intelligent delivery management platform built for complex, real-world supply chains.
Deliver Better At Every Mile.
Company
Radaro © 2026. All rights reserved.
Take Control of Your Last Mile
Discover what Radaro can do for you
Radaro is the intelligent delivery management platform built for complex, real-world supply chains.
Deliver Better At Every Mile.
Radaro © 2026. All rights reserved.
Take Control of Your Last Mile
Discover what Radaro can do for you
Radaro is the intelligent delivery management platform built for complex, real-world supply chains.
Deliver Better At Every Mile.
Company
Radaro © 2026. All rights reserved.
