When Fastway Couriers Ireland went into receivership last week at the end of October, retailers were faced with two pressing issues – what would happen to parcels already in transit and how to ship future orders, just as Q4 is starting.
This is a particularly tricky time of year, as Fastway were one of the biggest carriers in Ireland and there really isn’t another easily available to pick up the slack at a moments notice. Plus, many carriers will already have asked retailers for their Q4 commitments and, just weeks before Black Friday, it’s too late to book additional capacity for the busiest selling period of the year.
We spoke to the guys at courier management company Voila, and they told us “The situation underscores a truth every retailer eventually faces: you can’t afford to have your fulfilment flow tied to one courier. Here’s how to act quickly and rebuild delivery stability when things go wrong.”
Voila suggested 5 steps to recovery for retailers and, even if you don’t use Fastway, it’s worth working through these steps to assess the robustness of your delivery plans for Q4 and the year ahead.
- Assess Your Current Exposure – which sales channels rely on which carriers? How many shipments do you have in transit and which parts of your systems reply on carrier API feeds?
- Communicate with Customers – Customers only care if their parcel arrives on time, and if it is delayed that you keep them informed. Being proactive now can forestall irate customers contacting you tomorrow.
- Integrate a Replacement Courier Quickly – Speed matters when things go wrong so how quickly can you integrate and spin up operations with a replacement carrier? With Voila, retailers can connect to leading courier networks (DPD, AnPost, Royal Mail, Evri, DHL, UPS, FedEx, GLS, and more) through a single API, without reengineering their fulfilment setup.
- Reconcile In-Flight Orders – Parcels already handed to Fastway are taking time to process through receivership and, sadly, some perishable goods are already spoiled and will need to be replaced. It’s imperative that you keep copies of manifests and tracking IDs and proactively update customers.
- Future-Proof Your Courier Setup – Ever since City Link went into administration on Christmas Day 11 years ago in 2014, the need for multiple carrier back up plans has been obvious. In today’s world with solutions like Voila, shipments can be automatically rerouted through alternative carriers, keeping orders flowing and customers informed without manual intervention.
It’s time to ensure no single courier is ever a single point of failure for your business.
