Delivery delays are a serious problem for Amazon sellers, especially during peak seasons or unforeseen circumstances.
These delays can negatively impact customer satisfaction and lead to bad reviews, lower seller ratings, and even lost sales if your business runs out of inventory.
With increasing competition and high buyer expectations, especially among Amazon Prime members, Amazon sellers must be prepared to work efficiently, communicate, and minimize delivery delays.
In this guide, we’ll look at the causes of delivery delays, the consequences of those delays, and strategies that Amazon sellers – whether FBA (Fulfilled by Amazon) or FBM (Fulfilled by Merchant) – can implement to address the problem and avoid disruptions.
Why do delivery delays happen?
Understanding the causes of Amazon delivery delays in your business is the first step to finding solutions so your business doesn’t suffer. Here are some of the common reasons for these delays:
- Supply chain disruption: Unpredictable global events, geopolitical conflicts, or port congestion can severely disrupt your supply chain, delaying the arrival of goods in your or Amazon’s warehouses.
- High demand during peak seasons: Sales such as Prime Day, Black Friday, and the holiday shoppingseason can lead to high demand, overloading Amazon’s fulfillment centers and carriers.
- Carrier delays: External factors such as weather (blizzards) or labor shortages can cause carriers to fall behind schedule, affecting delivery dates and times.
- InventoryShortages: Sellers who don’t replenish their inventory properly may experience inventory shortages, resulting in lost sales as your listings become inactive on Amazon.
- Operational inefficiencies: Warehouse bottlenecks, delays in order processing, and lack of resources can all lead to delays in order fulfillment.
The shipping process is very complex, so it’s important to recognize these potential problems associated with various shipping delays on Amazon and allow sellers to address and anticipate them, minimizing their impact on business operations. One of the biggest challenges that many e-commerce sellers face is insufficient inventory.
Tools like Inventory Manager from Jungle Scout help Amazon sellers predict how much inventory they’ll need and when it should be reordered.
Why shipping delays are a big problem for all Amazon sellers
Shipping delays can seriously affect Amazon sellers by affecting the performance of their products, which can negatively impact your top seller rankings, reputation, and more importantly, your product’s profitability. Here are the main ways that delays negatively impact Amazon sellers:
- Negative reviews and low ratings: Shipping delays often result in negative buyer reviews. With late delivery, buyers are more likely to leave bad reviews, which can affect a seller’s reputation and ranking in search results.
- Order Cancellation: Frustrated buyers may cancel delayed orders, resulting in direct lost sales and potentially higher return costs.
- Lower seller rankings: Shipping delays and fulfillment issues can lead to lower Amazon seller ranking scores. Persistent delays can lead to penalties, reduced visibility, and weakened positions in search results.
- Customer Expectations: In today’s fast-paced world, customers expect fast and reliable delivery options. Delayed orders can erode trust and make it difficult for merchants to retain loyal customers.
- Decreased sales: It’s obvious, but if your products are out of stock, you’re missing out on sales and forcing customers to buy from your competitors.
Recent statistics show that 60% of customers are less likely to make a repeat purchase from a seller after experiencing a delayed delivery. Therefore, Amazon sellers need to eliminate and prevent delays to protect their performance and keep customers happy.
Delivery delays for FBA sellers and FBM sellers: What to consider
FBA and FBM sellers experience delivery delays differently due to the unique nature of each fulfillment model. Here’s how delivery delays affect each:
| Aspect | FBA sellers | FBM sellers |
| Dependence on Amazon’s fulfillment centers | FBA sellers are dependent on Amazon’s fulfillment centers, which makes them susceptible to delays on Amazon’s network. | FBM sellers control the fulfillment and delivery process themselves, which gives them more flexibility but also more responsibility. |
| Control over delivery | FBA sellers have limited control over delivery speed and logistics once the items are transferred to Amazon. | FBM sellers can choose carriers and slow or fast delivery methods, allowing for more customized solutions. |
| Best practices for managing delays | Use tools like Jungle Scout inventory manager to monitor and replenish inventory. Plan for peak seasons by ensuring adequate inventory levels. | Establish reliable relationships with carriers. Use Jungle Scout tools to track inventory, automate reorders, and monitor demand trends. |
For FBA and FBM sellers, the Jungle Scout Inventory Manager program is essential for tracking inventory levels and replenishing inventory before it runs out, especially during peak periods.
The importance of effective communication during delivery delays
During delivery delays, maintaining clear and proactive communication with customers can prevent dissatisfaction and reassure them that their concerns are being addressed. Here are top tips for effective communication during Amazon customer parcel delays:
- Clearly explain the reasons for delays: Explaining the reason for a delay – such as weather conditions – adds transparency and can improve customer understanding. If you fulfill orders through FBA, Amazon will let the customer know for you.
- Offer alternative solutions: If possible, offer solutions such as expedited delivery of a new item, discounts, or partial refunds for inconvenience. Sellers can process partial refunds at Seller Central.
- Sincerely apologize: Acknowledge the buyer’s disappointment and apologize for the inconvenience. Always remain calm and professional when dealing with upset customers.
Clear and timely communication is key to maintaining buyer confidence and reducing negative feedback during delays. However, if you use FBA to fulfill orders on Amazon, your orders are handled by Amazon customer service, so it’s rare for a customer to contact you directly as a seller about shipping delays.
How to prevent and minimize shipping and delivery delays
Proactively preventing shipping delays or delayed delivery times on Amazon can save sellers headaches, keep customers happy, and continue to grow their sales on Amazon. Here are strategies to help Amazon sellers minimize potential delays:
Use inventory management tools
Jungle Scout’s inventory manager can forecast demand, monitor inventory levels, and alert sellers when they need to restock. During peak seasons, it’s especially useful for sellers, helping them avoid product shortages by accurately predicting demand.
Inventory Manager displays the status of your Amazon FBA inventory in real time, allowing you to quickly assess when and how much inventory to reorder. In this tool, you can also analyze other important inventory-level metrics, including revenue, costs, profit, average daily sales, and average profit per unit.
Partner with reliable fulfillment service providers
If you are an FBM seller, choosing reliable third-party logistics (3PL) providers can help sellers meet demand efficiently. Partnering with reliable 3PLs can reduce the likelihood of delays due to fulfillment issues. Jungle Scout recommends choosing 3PL providers with a proven history of on-time delivery and accurate tracking information, especially during periods of high demand.
Of course, in our opinion, the best way to ship items on Amazon is to use the Amazon FBA program. Amazon takes care of the storage, picking, packing, and shipping of your items. In addition, your item will have a Prime membership badge on it (unless you use the Seller-Fulfilled Prime program)
Plan for seasonal demand
Analyzing historical data and forecasting seasons of high demand, such as holidays or Prime Day, allows sellers to adjust inventory levels in advance. This proactive approach prevents delays caused by inventory shortages or operational bottlenecks.
Sellers can view historical data on their products using the Jungle Scout Product Tracker tool
Allocating inventory to warehouses
Whenever possible, FBM sellers should strategically place inventory in multiple fulfillment centers in different regions. This will reduce delivery times and mitigate regional disruptions. Many 3PLs have multiple fulfillment centers to distribute inventory.
Vendors that distribute inventory may not have to place all of their inventory in one location, which can be beneficial during unforeseen events or regional issues.
If you use FBA, Amazon will automatically move your inventory to different fulfillment centers across the country to ensure your items are delivered within a certain time frame, no matter where your customers are located.
Automate your reorder processes
Automating your restocking process helps prevent out-of-stocks and ensures that items are available for shipment. Utilizing the Jungle Scout Inventory Manager tool allows salespeople to easily monitor demand, ensuring that the right amount of inventory is in stock at the right time.
Maintain strong relationships with vendors so they can deliver products in a timely manner when you need to restock.
How to optimize order fulfillment during shipping delays
Once a shipping delay has occurred, you need to take swift action to minimize further impact on your customers. Here’s how to do it:
Develop a contingency plan for delays
Having a contingency plan that includes alternative carriers and backup service providers can help sellers effectively deal with delays. For example, sellers can make arrangements with alternate carriers in advance to quickly reschedule transactions if necessary.
Automate shipping updates to speed up communication
Automating customer notifications of order updates can reduce manual work and ensure customers receive real-time updates.
How Jungle Scout can help Amazon sellers facing shipping delays
The Jungle Scout toolkit is designed to help Amazon sellers manage and prevent shipping delays. Key features include:
- InventoryManager: This tool provides real-time information on inventory levels, forecasts demand, and tells you when to reorder, helping sellers avoid product shortages and meet demand. The inventory manager also helps minimize FBA and shipping costs.
- Product Tracker: Monitors inventory movement and provides information on product performance, helping sellers identify potential bottlenecks or delays early on. By viewing sales trends in Product Tracker, you can get a better idea of how much inventory you expect to sell.
By offering solutions that streamline order fulfillment processes and improve inventory management, Jungle Scout helps salespeople solve shipping problems early.
Get ahead of shipping delays
Shipping delays are a challenging problem for Amazon sellers, but they can be effectively dealt with by taking proactive measures.
By using data-driven tools and adopting clear communication strategies, Amazon sellers can minimize the impact of delays and maintain strong customer relationships.
Jungle Scout tools give sellers the information and automation capabilities they need to stay on top of inventory, demand forecasting, and customer communication, making it easier to prevent and manage delays.
