​UPS has once again reinstated its money-back guarantee after suspending the program at the beginning of the pandemic due to unexpected market changes. As a greater number of Americans began working remotely and staying home to reduce the spread of COVID-19, e-commerce has seen a major surge. Compared to the 13 billion parcels shipped in the U.S. in 2018, there were up to 14.7 billion parcels shipped in 2020. Amazon packages alone made up 1.9 billion of those parcels.

How will this impact businesses?

Because the pandemic is still continuing to impact transportation and delivery speeds, there's greater potential for businesses to file claims against carriers for late parcel shipping services. Even small percentages of late package deliveries could lead to hefty costs for UPS. It's for this reason that, as the pandemic continues, FedEx is still suspending its own money-back guarantee to prevent large charges for missing or late package claims.

However, UPS isn't reinstating the policy without a safety net of its own. UPS's reinstated policy only impacts its air delivery products, and the shipping carrier is extending the time frame in which its air delivery products are considered on time. Compared to the shipping carrier's previous deadline of 3 PM for its next-afternoon deliveries, the new deadline has been extended to 11:59 PM. In this case, businesses will still be able to file claims against UPS for late packages but the carrier has elbow room to make up for transportation and delivery delays due to the pandemic.

For businesses that rely on UPS's air delivery products, it's important to know how the new deadlines will impact the delivery of these products. Because next-afternoon air delivery products are commonly used by business-to-business customers, it's a good idea to plan ahead for an extra day to send documents and other B2B parcels. The new deadline also applies to UPS's next-day air products, which guarantees parcel shipping deliveries by 10:30 AM. The deadline will additionally apply to UPS's early morning air delivery products, which promise parcel shipping deliveries by 8 AM the next morning.

Keep an eye on your parcel shipping contract

With UPS reinstating its money-back guarantee program with a new deadline extension, it's important to make sure that your business isn't being taken advantage of. Approximately $2 billion in parcel shipping refunds and credits go unclaimed by U.S. businesses every year, and late parcel shipping not only affects your company's bottom line but also your brand reputation.

AFMS' parcel contract auditing and parcel contract optimization can help guarantee your business is getting the most out of its shipping contract. To learn more about how parcel shipping optimization and parcel shipping negotiation can benefit your business, contact AFMS today.

It's no secret that your company needs to be strategic when it comes to parcel shipping. After all, the U.S. is the biggest market in terms of parcel spending. Choosing the right carriers is essential to making sure you're not overpaying for parcel shipping costs.

However, your bottom line isn't the only thing you need to worry about when it comes to carriers. You also need to be concerned with brand reputation. Customers who receive late packages or don't receive their packages at all won't be shopping with your business again. That angry customers will be sure to leave a trail of bad reviews so other customers know not to shop with your business, either.

Regional Carriers Can Make Shipping Easier

Adding regional carriers to your shipping strategy is a great way to help make sure your shipments arrive when they should and your customers are happy. If you're not sold just yet, here are some advantages of adding regional carriers to your shipping mix:

1. You can save with lower transportation costs: National carriers are great when you need to ship your parcels to a general area, but you can save on transportation costs by using regional carriers once those parcels arrive. This is because regional carriers typically have greater flexibility in their delivery services and can deliver your parcels faster and more affordably.


2. You can better compete with Amazon: Competing with Amazon is challenging for a lot of businesses, especially when it comes to Amazon's two-day shipping. Using regional carriers as a part of your shipping strategy can help to cut down on shipping times so you can get your parcels to your customers within a competitive time frame. For instance, many national carriers like FedEx and UPS will offer two-day transit windows for parcel shipping by ground. However, regional carriers will offer overnight services.


3. You can save on accessorial fees: Accessorial fees can be extensive when you're using only national carriers for your parcel shipping. For regional carriers, DAS and residential surcharges aren't as high and may actually be nonexistent in some areas. The result is massive cost savings.

Whether you're using national or regional carriers or a mix of both, it's important to make sure you're keeping an eye on your parcel shipping contract. AFMS offers parcel contract auditing, parcel contract optimization, and parcel contract negotiation to ensure you're getting the best bang for your buck. For more information about our services, contact AFMS today.