What signals say it’s time to switch 3PLs?

If your fulfillment partner is repeatedly missing SLAs, delivering orders late, or failing to resolve technical and communication issues, it’s time to reevaluate. These red flags often point to deeper operational misalignments that can stall your growth. When these issues are persistent despite feedback, they won’t simply fix themselves. Switching providers may be the only way to protect customer trust and your bottom line.

How long does it take to switch 3PLs?

While most transitions fall in the 4–8 week range, the exact timeline depends on your SKU count, the number of sales channels, tech integration complexity, and your team’s readiness. Many 3PLs require a 30+ day offboard notice, while onboarding at a new fulfillment partner can take an average of 2–4 weeks. Oftentimes, these two processes can run simultaneously.

What month is the best time to transfer 3PLs?

While there is no one-size-fits-all “best” month for every brand, January–February or May–July are popular times to transfer across industries since they are in between busy promotional seasons. Ultimately, the right month for your brand will depend on when your sales are at their lowest and your operations have breathing room. Look closely at your own sales and operational cycles to identify that low-volume window, so you can minimize disruption, align staff resources, and make the transition when your team has the bandwidth to handle it.

How do I avoid inventory loss during a 3PL transfer?

Start with a detailed SKU audit with your outgoing 3PL to correct inconsistencies and confirm counts. Then follow your incoming 3PL’s receiving standards, ensuring all boxes, pallets, and products are clearly labeled to their standards. Lastly, coordinate closely with both the outgoing and incoming 3PLs on transfer schedules. It’s a smart idea to maintain safety stock at one location until the new operation proves stable.

What does it cost to transfer 3PLs?

Expect setup and integration fees, the cost of physically transporting your inventory, and possible duplicate storage charges during the overlap period. Depending on your outgoing 3PL, there may also be additional fees to break your contract or perform offboarding services like audits and preparing your inventory for shipment. Most outgoing 3PLs will not release your inventory until you have paid all invoices and fees.

How far ahead should I plan to transfer fulfillment partners?

Plan at least 2 months in advance, and longer if your catalog is complex or your sales cycle has few slow periods. This extra time allows for vendor vetting, contract negotiations, inventory prep, and thorough testing, all of which reduce the risk of costly mistakes.

6 Ways to Stop Delivery Issues Before They Start

Tired of late or missing packages? Here’s how to fix delivery headaches before they cost you.

A delivery driver sits inside a van with fragile packages on the seat, highlighting the importance of safe packaging and reliable delivery handling.

Great products get customers in the door, but reliable delivery keeps them coming back. Every shipment shapes trust.

Everyone loves to say “the product sells itself.” But the truth? Delivery sells it twice, once at checkout, and again when it lands in the customer’s hands.

That's why even one missed package or late delivery can shake trust fast. A bad delivery doesn't just frustrate customers, it costs brands time, money, and reputation.

The good news? Most delivery problems can be prevented. With the right systems and partners, you can cut down on “Where’s my order?!” tickets, reduce costly reships, and even flip the occasional slip-up into a loyalty building moment.

In this guide, we're breaking down:

Why delivery is such a high-stakes part of the post-purchase experience,
The most common pitfalls to avoid, and
Six proactive strategies that protect your brand when things go sideways.

The Cost of Getting Delivery Wrong

According to Chain Store Age (2025), consumers aged 18-35 increased their online spending by 43% year-over-year.

But here’s the catch: this same group is also the fastest to air their frustrations about a late, missing, or damaged order often publicly.

In other words, the customers fueling growth are also the quickest to leave when shipping disappoints.

“The bottom-line impact of negative delivery experiences remains a pressing concern for retailers and their delivery partners, especially with the pace of eCommerce growth steadying post-pandemic,” shares Mavi Silveira, SVP of Global Marketing at Descartes,

“While small improvements in home delivery performance have been made over the past few years, they’re not currently reflecting the quality experience consumers are demanding, especially the valuable under-35 cohort, as poor delivery experiences risk the potential lifetime customer value of this demographic.”

So what’s driving these negative experiences and what can brands do to stop them?

A person lying on the floor surrounded by stacked cardboard boxes, illustrating the risks of late, damaged, or mishandled deliveries.

Poor delivery expereinces risk the potential lifetime customer value of the under-35 cohort

The 5 Most Common Delivery Issues (and What They Really Cost You)

Most delivery problems fall into a few predictable buckets. If left unchecked, they quietly chip away at loyalty and lifetime value.

1. Missed or Delayed Shipments
When delivery timing is all over the place, it leaves customers guessing, and they’ll remember that frustration more than the product they ordered. A shopper might forgive one delay, but repeated misses often trigger chargebacks, lost repeat orders, and negative reviews that linger.

2. Wrong or Damaged Orders
Sloppy labels, incorrect SKUs, or packaging that doesn't hold up send a message that your brand isn’t paying attention. Once trust starts to slip, it’s not long before they start eyeing brands that feel a little more buttoned up.

3. Poor Tracking and Lack of Updates
Silence during shipping makes customers feel overlooked and in the dark. Without real-time visibility, small delays can quickly spiral into WISMO (where is my order) tickets, negative social mentions, and a surge in customer support costs.

4. Seasonal Volume Spikes
Holidays, promos, or sudden viral moments can double order volume overnight. If your systems and staff can’t keep pace and you’re not communicating realistic shipping expectations during the surge, your customers may think twice about taking you at your word. And that doubt can stick around long after the holidays are over.

5. Gaps in Communication

Mistakes happen, but failing to own them FULLY and quickly makes them 10x worse. Customers put a lot of stock in honesty and speed. Slow or canned responses only heighten frustration and make your brand look tone deaf.

You can’t control every carrier setback, but you can manage how prepared you are and respond when things go wrong. Preparation and response make all the difference.

Six Ways to Prevent Delivery Delays Before They Start

We know, “Be proactive, not reactive” is the oldest leadership mantra in the book. But when it comes to delivery, it’s a cliché for a reason.

While at first it may seem there are a lot of things outside of your control once a shipment is out the door, the reality is most delivery issues start upstream with the systems, processes, and partners you put in place.

Below are six proactive moves worth building into your ops playbook:

Review your carrier data:
Not all carriers perform the same, and the cheapest option isn’t always the best value. Dig into your delivery data to spot which shipping methods lead to the most delays, reships, or returns. Compare that against the ones that run smoothest and weigh which is really costing you “more”.
Set honest delivery time expectations:
Look, we all know customers love seeing “2-day” shipping at checkout, but don’t boast it if you can’t meet it. That’s the quickest way tank trust. Take a hard look at your actual average delivery times, not JUST your targets and make sure those timelines are reflected accurately in your shipping FAQs and throughout your checkout flow.
Send updates before they ask:
Customers don’t want to wonder if or when their holiday gift will arrive. Branded notifications and proactive tracking updates stop tickets before they start and reassure shoppers you’re staying on top of their delivery experience sometimes even more than they are.
Keep your stock honest:
Nothing feels worse for a shopper than getting hyped for an order that gets canceled because of bad inventory data. Real-time syncing keeps your stock honest and your customers happy.
Don’t skimp on packaging:
A cracked bottle or crushed product is NOT the unboxing experience customers are expecting to have. Test out different filler materials and shipping box sizes that provide your products the most protection to withstand the journey, and double-check labels and contents before anything leaves the dock.
Set clear SLAs from the start:
Picture this: an order comes in at 2:05 PM, just past your same-day cutoff. That package shouldn’t just sit there, it should be first in line to head out the door the next morning. SLAs help you and your team take the guesswork out of fulfillment. They create clear expectations, and help you meet them every time.

Even putting just one of these moves into play helps you stop reacting and start steering. Proactive delivery systems not only protect your orders, they give you control before things go off track.

What to Do When Things Still Go Wrong

Even with airtight systems, things will slip. You can’t 100% control what happens to a package once it’s in the carrier’s hands, but you can control what happens when a delivery fails to meet your and your customers' expectations.

Handled right, delivery problems can strengthen loyalty instead of destroying it. For instance, a late order, paired with a quick reshipment and a thank-you coupon, often leaves customers more impressed than if everything had gone smoothly.

Discounts, free shipping on the next order, or even small gifts send the message: we value this relationship more than the transaction.

Brands that treat recovery as an opportunity, not just a cost, often find those once-frustrated customers become their strongest advocates.

A warehouse worker writes on a clipboard while inspecting stacked cardboard boxes on a wooden pallet, preparing them for shipping.

Shipping isn’t the last step of the sale, it’s the moment customers decide if they’ll buy again.

Delivery Issues Happen, but the Right 3PL Can Help You Recover

Even with strong systems, delivery problems are inevitable. And while your CX team might handle replacements and refunds today, scaling that process as order volume grows is a different story. That’s where a strong 3PL makes the difference.

At Nice Commerce, we act as your first line of defense when deliveries don’t go as planned. Our team monitors tracking anomalies, escalates issues with carriers, evaluates shipping methods, and pressure-tests packaging, so you don’t have to. We don’t just put out fires, we strengthen the systems that prevent them in the first place.

If you’re ready to offload the logistics headaches, reach out. We’d love to be a sounding board for your ops challenges and help find the right solutions for your brand.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the most common negative delivery experiences for eCommerce brands?

The most common issues include late or missed deliveries, lost or stolen packages, and damaged products. Customers also frequently report receiving the wrong item or lacking tracking updates during shipping. Other pain points include inventory inaccuracies that lead to canceled orders, and slow or unhelpful customer support when problems arise. These issues can quickly erode trust and impact long-term loyalty if not addressed proactively.

How can I prevent packages from arriving late or damaged?

Start by partnering with reliable carriers and fulfillment teams known for strong on-time performance. Use your shipping data to identify which carrier methods consistently deliver on time, and weigh their cost against the cost of lost trust or repeat reshipments.

To reduce damage, test different box sizes and filler materials using drop or impact tests. If it takes a lot of filler to keep items safe, consider upgrading your outer packaging to something more protective and product-specific. Small adjustments can go a long way in improving delivery outcomes.

How does communication impact the delivery experience?

Clear, proactive communication is one of the easiest ways to prevent customer complaints. Sending timely tracking updates and owning delays before the customer has to ask builds trust. Even a simple “We’re on it” update goes further than silence or a scripted response. Customers don’t expect perfection, but they do expect to be kept in the loop.

What should I do if a customer reports a lost package?

Acknowledge the issue right away—don’t wait for them to follow up. Let the customer know you’re looking into it, and offer a reshipment or store credit upfront. You can investigate with the carrier in the background, but the priority should be making it right quickly. Fast, proactive support can turn a frustrating situation into a trust-building moment (and often earns you a repeat customer).

What’s the best way to provide tracking for my customers?

Give customers multiple ways to track their order—like email updates, SMS notifications, and a branded tracking page they can check anytime. Don’t rely solely on carrier links. Keeping tracking tied to your brand gives you more control, fewer support tickets, and a better customer experience.

Tools like AfterShip, Route, or Narvar make it easy to automate tracking updates and create a polished, on-brand tracking experience. If you’re on Shopify, apps like Tracktor or Shopify’s native tracking tools can help you get started quickly. The easier you make it for customers to get updates, the less likely they are to email you in frustration.

Need a fulfillment partner for your E-commerce business? Reach out to Nice Commerce!