Handling a delivery exception
The difference between a logistics problem and a customer problem is who finds out first.
Detect
No scan within the expected interval · a scan outside the planned route · a failed delivery attempt · a customs hold · a temperature excursion on a controlled load · an ETA that has moved past the promised date.
Act on the customer before the carrier answers
Tell them what happened, the new expectation, and what you are doing. A customer told at hour two is informed; the same customer discovering it at day three has a complaint.
Per exception type
Failed attempt → confirm the address and arrange redelivery, do not simply retry. Customs hold → find out what is being asked for and who must provide it, and say the deadline. Temperature excursion → quarantine on arrival, do not accept into stock. Lost → start the claim and dispatch a replacement in parallel, never in sequence.
Never
Wait for the carrier's investigation before telling the customer, or promise a new date the carrier has not given.