Calculate delivery economics after returns, not just dispatch. Design the customer promise around a verified fulfilment route and exception process.
Practical frameworks are editorial recommendations. All worked examples are hypothetical, not client results. Confirm transaction-specific legal, tax and safety requirements with a qualified professional.
Design a realistic delivery promise
Base delivery windows on actual picking, transport and border-processing times. Explain delays promptly rather than offering a promise operations cannot support.
- Combine picking, handover, transport, border processing and final delivery into the promised window. Confirm who handles import formalities and charges before checkout. Do not assume a universal duty-free parcel threshold; eligibility depends on the destination and current rules.
Plan returns from the start
Define return eligibility, collection routes and item inspection. Include reverse-logistics costs when comparing fulfilment models and pricing cross-border orders.
- Define return authorisation, collection, inspection and resale or disposal routes before launch. Identify applicable consumer and customs requirements with qualified advisers. Include expected return cost and unrecoverable goods cost when comparing fulfilment models.
Worked example
Hypothetical cost model: if a return costs 20 and the assumed return rate is 10%, the expected return-handling allowance is 2 per order. Add it to outbound fulfilment costs; refund, damage and unrecoverable product costs are separate. Validate assumptions against actual orders.
Track every handover
Connect warehouse dispatch, carrier scans and final delivery records. Investigate missing events so customer service can provide clear information instead of repeated guesses.
- Connect the order to carrier events and customer-service ownership. Separate failed delivery, missing scans, damage and returns so each has a resolution path. Compare actual delivery performance and total cost per completed order, not the cheapest outbound shipping label.