One of the most incredible and often taken-for-granted abilities that the internet has given the world is online shopping.
The online ordering process may seem easy on the consumer’s end, but behind the scenes, there’s a complex and involved process occurring.
The most important part of the process, at least to consumers, is the shipping part.
Here’s what you need to know about logistics and what it means when an item has shipped.
What Does Shipped Mean?
Shipped means that the seller has handed off the package to the courier.
It’s the second step of the general logistics pathway.
The logistics pathway begins with order processing.
During order processing, the seller packages the item that you bought and attaches the necessary labeling to it for shipping.
Once the package is ready, they ship it to a courier.
Some popular couriers are UPS, FedEx, and the USPS.
During the shipping process, the courier takes the package over a long distance to your address.
Depending on the courier, they might perform the third step of the process themselves or hand it off to someone else.
The third part of the logistics process is last-mile delivery.
This means that the package has reached a local facility or postal office near you.
At this point, if the carrier performs last-mile delivery themselves, then they’ll sort the package onto small trucks for delivery.
If the carrier has someone else perform last-mile deliveries, then they’ll take the package to the appropriate facility.
Once there, a new courier will take the package and bring it to your address.
At this stage, you can consider the shipping process over.
More accurately, this is the out-for-delivery stage.
An example of a last-mile delivery exchange is when UPS hands off a package to your local USPS office.
The USPS will then sort the package onto their route and your usual mail carrier will deliver the package instead.
Shipping is only part of the overall logistics process, but it’s a very important one.
What Is The Difference Between Shipping And Out For Delivery?
There are two different notifications that you’ll receive when you order a package.
The first is shipping.
Shipping refers to the process in which a courier picks up a package from the seller and carries it long-distance to your location.
The process may occur on the ground or in the air depending on the resources that the courier has and the distance they need to travel.
The second main stage is out for delivery.
Some might lump this into the shipping process, but it’s more specific.
When a package is out for delivery, it means that the package has reached a local facility.
The facility sorted the package and it’s now en route to your location.
Unless the courier doesn’t give you specific tracking information, you can usually not expect to receive your package while it’s shipping.
This simply covers the long distance that the package needs to take to reach you.
When you receive an update that your order is now out for delivery, however, that’s when you can expect it to arrive at your home.
That arrival might be the same day or the next day.
Both shipping and out for delivery are part of the overall shipping process, but shipping refers to the long-term travel, and out for delivery refers to the shorter distance to your home.
Is Shipped Same As Delivered?
When you see that your order has gone from processing to shipping, then you may think that it means that it got delivered.
That isn’t the case.
Shipping is not the same as delivered.
Shipping is the long journey that your package takes from the seller to your door.
Once the courier brings the package to your door, then it’s considered delivered.
If you see that your order has changed from shipping or out for delivery to delivered, then you know that your package has arrived at your home.
What Does It Mean When Your Order Has Shipped?
There’s a false belief that as soon as you buy an item online, it automatically becomes shipped.
That isn’t the case.
The order first has to undergo processing.
This can be a lengthy part of the logistics process.
If the seller works on their own, then they’re handling a lot of orders and steps by themselves.
If you bought something handcrafted or made-to-order, then the seller has to make it first.
Order processing usually covers the production of the item if it isn’t already produced.
It also covers purchase checks to ensure you have the funds to cover your charge.
If your card isn’t accepted, for example, then the processing stops until you fix the problem.
Once payment checks out and the product is ready, the seller packages it and labels it.
They hand it off to a courier who then starts the shipping process.
You’ll receive an update at this point telling you that your order has shipped.
This doesn’t mean that it’s delivered to your door.
Rather, it means that the seller has handed off the package to a courier.
The courier is now shipping or transporting it to your location.
It’s on the way to you.
How Long Does Shipping Take?
When you order an item, you usually want it at your door as soon as possible.
However, that isn’t always possible.
In most cases, standard shipping times take anywhere from a day to a week to arrive.
For larger items, it can sometimes take longer.
The length of time it takes for your item to ship and arrive at your door usually depends on how much you paid for shipping.
For example, if you want the order to arrive earlier, then you usually have to pay more.
By paying more, you can make your package a priority.
In some cases, it means the package will skip the line to get on the truck first.
In other cases, it might mean that instead of traveling on the ground, it’s traveling by air, which is more expensive.
By paying more for shipping, you’re basically making your order a priority.
As a result, you can usually expect your order the next day or in a few days.
If you choose to pay standard prices for shipping, then you can usually expect your item to arrive in five days or more.
Most tend to try and deliver in a week or week and a half.
Thanks to Amazon setting the standard for fast delivery, many other online retailers feel the pressure to match this pace.
If they don’t, then they might lose out on a sale.
Because of that, usually, it only takes a week or two to receive an item when you pay for standard shipping.
What Causes Delays In Shipping?
While shipping usually doesn’t take a very long time if your item is ready to go from the start, some delays can occur.
Here are some delays that can slow down the shipping process and make your delivery take longer.
1. Distance From Seller
One thing that factors into the time it takes to receive your item is the distance from the seller.
If you live far away from the seller, especially in a different country, then it’s going to take a longer time than if you lived close to the seller.
That’s because the package has more distance to travel.
If you lived close to the seller, then the package would only need to travel a few miles before arriving at your home.
This is one of the reasons Amazon has several warehouses and facilities around the country.
It helps them speed up the shipping process since they usually have everything they need only a few miles from major metro areas.
2. Seller’s Shipping Budget
While you pay for shipping in most cases, your options are usually limited by the seller’s budget, too.
For example, if the seller doesn’t have a large logistics budget, then they might only be able to afford ground transport.
Ground transport is a lot slower than air transport.
If they have to cross a long distance, then it’s going to take a long time for them to reach your area.
Air transport is faster since planes are faster.
It’s also a more expensive method of shipping.
Pilot wages and jet fuel are both pricey.
Not every seller can afford air travel.
As such, if the seller has a limited budget on the types of shipping available, then it might also impact how fast your package arrives at your home.
3. Weather Delays For Air Travel
Weather delays can affect shipping speed when it comes to air travel.
While air travel is the fastest way to send packages over a long distance, they are subject to delays, too.
Too much fog can make it dangerous for planes to land or take off.
The good news is that fog doesn’t tend to last all day.
A much bigger concern is wind.
Strong winds can make it dangerous for planes to fly and take off.
If the wind is strong enough, then it can even knock a plane off its course.
If there are strong winds, then planes usually have to wait until it dies down.
Finally, ice or snow can also delay a plane.
If there’s ice on the landing strip, then it’s not safe for a plane to land or take off.
Hitting the ice the wrong way can cause it to crash.
Not only does this endanger those onboard and around the plane, but it also damages the items stored in the plane.
The weather can influence how fast a plane can make its deliveries.
If the conditions aren’t right, then a plane could remain grounded for a day or even several days.
As a result, your item may not arrive until later.
4. Weather Delays For Ground Travel
Poor weather can also affect ground travel.
Because it takes longer for trucks and vans to travel than planes, they’re more likely to encounter foul weather on the way.
Strong winds can be dangerous, especially if they form into a tornado.
In this case, a truck needs to take shelter and wait for the tornado to pass.
The good thing about tornados is that they don’t last too long.
However, they can throw debris on the roads that can be impossible to pass until it’s cleared.
The weather that most impedes ground travel is ice and snow.
During the winter, you may face more delays in your shipping than in the summer.
Ice and snow on the road are dangerous.
Even if the carrier isn’t involved in an accident or slide-off, they might get stuck in traffic because someone else was.
In some cases, the conditions may be so bad that traveling on the road is impossible until the ice melts.
After a big snowstorm, trucks might not be able to drive on the road until a snowplow clears it.
Weather conditions can also affect ground transport and cause delays.
5. Truck Repairs
Considering the number of miles that trucks and vans drive each day, it’s no surprise that they break down.
Your item may be on its way to you but then suddenly stops making progress.
There’s a chance that the truck broke down along the way.
This can cause a delay because the truck has to go in for repairs.
In some cases, they might be able to get a new truck out to complete the delivery or shipment.
However, depending on how far out the truck is or how bad the repair is, they may just wait until the truck’s repaired before sending it back out.
Like all vehicles, delivery trucks can have problems, too.
When they do, it can delay shipping.
6. Late-Night Shipping
Finally, there might be a delay in shipping if the courier arrives late at a facility.
Any of the delays above might have caused the late arrival.
The problem with arriving late in the night at the facility is that there’s usually only a skeleton crew working or no crew at all.
The courier will have to wait until the morning to unload their truck.
This becomes a problem when someone else is responsible for the last-mile delivery.
They’re likely not working a night shift.
If the USPS is handling the last-mile delivery, then they’re only open until 5 PM.
This creates a delay because everyone has to wait until the morning for the shipments to unload and then go through another sorting process.
If the courier had arrived earlier, then there’s a chance that the package could have been on the way to you that day.
Sometimes late arrivals can cause a delay in shipping.
Conclusion
Shipping covers the process of transporting a package from a seller to the buyer.
The popular ways to ship an item are by ground, air, or even ship.
However, delays can occur with any method which can sometimes make receiving your package take even longer.
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