Alert on time since the last carrier scan rather than time since dispatch, with a threshold of roughly 48 hours on domestic services and 96 on international ones, adjusted for weekends. Dispatch age tells you nothing useful: a parcel that moved yesterday is fine even if it shipped a week ago.
Why this one is worth an interruption
Most stores watch two moments: the order arriving and the customer complaining. The several days between them are where a parcel quietly stops, and where the cheapest intervention is available.
A stuck parcel chased on day three usually arrives. One chased on day ten usually does not, and by then you are reshipping rather than nudging.
The threshold
Time since last scan, per service, adjusted for the networks you actually use.
| Condition | Set it to | Why that number |
|---|---|---|
| Domestic | 48 hours with no scan | Longer than a normal overnight gap |
| International | 96 hours with no scan | Customs gaps are routine and not yet a problem |
| Clock | exclude weekends | Most networks scan far less at weekends |
| Carrier exception | immediately, regardless of age | Address and customs problems need the customer to act |
| Peak season | widen deliberately, in writing | Networks slow down and the old threshold becomes noise |
Who should receive it
One person, ten minutes a day, with authority to spend a little money.
- Whoever runs the daily exception check, who does not need to be senior.
- They need permission to contact the carrier, message the customer and reship below a value floor.
- Not a shared inbox. Carrier exception emails landing in an unowned inbox are read as noise.
What to do when it fires
- Sort into slow-but-moving, genuinely stopped, and carrier exception. Only the last two need action today.
- Raise a query with the carrier on anything genuinely stopped.
- Message the customer before they message you, saying what you know, what you have done, and when you will next update them either way.
- Reship at your written thresholds rather than waiting for the carrier investigation to conclude.
When not to set this alert
Do not set this if you use a single carrier with reliable scanning and already receive their exception feed into a place somebody watches. The alert would duplicate a signal you have.
Do not keep the same thresholds through peak. Widen them in writing and tell the team a longer list is expected, or the check gets abandoned in the weeks it matters most.
Common questions
How do I know a shipment is stuck?
Measure hours since the last carrier scan, not hours since dispatch. Around 48 hours of silence on a domestic service and 96 on an international one, excluding weekends, is a workable starting threshold.
Should I contact the customer before they contact me?
Yes. Say what you know, what you have already done, and when you will update them next, whether or not there is news. Committing to a next contact date is what stops them chasing.
When should I just reship?
Set two rules in advance: below a value floor reship without asking, and after a fixed number of days without movement reship regardless of value. Pursue the carrier claim separately on its own timescale.