In the world of e-commerce, shipping is the bridge between the merchant and the customer. That means any delays or issues with shipping directly affect customer satisfaction and the merchant’s reputation. But the truth is: fluctuations in delivery speed and success rates are not unique to one company—they happen worldwide across all shipping providers.
Factors That Affect Delivery Speed and Success Rates
- Customer-related factors
- Customers not answering phone calls.
- Last-minute changes to delivery address.
- Personal circumstances that lead to postponing delivery.
- Inaccurate or incomplete details entered when placing the order.
- Merchant-related factors
- Orders being shipped late from the merchant’s side.
- Wrong or incomplete customer details provided.
- No clear agreement with the customer on a suitable delivery time.
- Shipping company-related factors
- High shipping demand during peak seasons (e.g., holidays, sales events).
- Road conditions, traffic, or vehicle breakdowns.
- Delays in specific branches or regions due to local circumstances.
- Seasonal and external factors
- Holidays like Ramadan, Eid, or Black Friday create massive shipping volumes.
- Bad weather or sudden restrictions (such as curfews or public events).
How Direction Center Makes a Difference
At Direction Center, we’ve built our process to minimize these challenges as much as possible:
- Customer communication from day one: The moment we receive a shipment at our main distribution hub, we reach out to the customer and stay in touch until delivery is completed.
- Dedicated regional follow-up teams: We have specialized teams in every governorate to track shipments and separate teams for return verification to confirm if an item is truly a return.
- Seamless re-shipping of returns: Unlike traditional shipping companies that require merchants to receive their returns first before re-shipping, we re-ship directly from the distribution hub.
- Faster delivery timelines: More than 80% of shipments are successfully delivered within 24–48 hours, and a maximum of 3 days even for distant governorates.
Shipping Is Not a “Switch”
It’s important for merchants to understand that shipping isn’t like a digital product that can be switched on and off instantly.
It’s a large, complex operation with many moving parts—some of which are beyond full control. That’s why merchants should always account for a small margin of risk or potential delay.
Transparency With Merchants
Because information is power, we always keep our merchants updated about any branches or areas experiencing delays. This helps them:
- Adjust advertising campaigns to reduce new orders in that region.
- Inform customers in advance that delivery might take an extra day or two.
By doing this, merchants stay in control of their customer relationships, rather than appearing unreliable.
✍️ The Bottom Line:
Merchants need to recognize that shipping, like any large-scale operation, comes with its challenges. But the key is having a logistics partner who not only manages these challenges but also keeps you informed and empowered. That’s exactly what Direction Center provides—a partner in growth, not just a shipping company.
