​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.