Goods Lost in Transit (GLIT) is a big problem for ecommerce companies. Before any investigation, the average operational cost is already over £40. As a result many companies are accepting losses to save time and money but people are taking advantage of this. Goods Lost in Transit is becoming the new retail fraud.
There will always be people looking to exploit weaknesses and loopholes to make money quickly, easily and, more often than not, illegally. All businesses need to take measures to protect themselves against this; security guards, lawyers and rigorous administration systems are all effective. But are ecommerce companies doing enough? Through servicing customer calls, investigating claims, handling replacement goods and redelivery the cost of GLIT starts to stack up, and it is understandable why many companies won’t investigate further. Yet, there are quick and simple measures that ecommerce managers can implement into their business:
- Introduce ‘sign for’ delivery – solid proof it reached its destination
- Photographs – have handlers and drivers document each stage of the process with a digital image to show real time data. If goods really are missing, you should know where and when they disappeared.
- Accept the evidence – if you have their signature and a photo of them receiving the item then why are you accepting a GLIT claim?
- Know the postcode black spots – drivers regularly report addresses which appear to be empty houses so keep an eye out for any suspicious delivery locations.
- Don’t let desperation get the better of you – you might be anxious to gain new customers, but you’re likely to lose more money than you earn if you don’t investigate GLIT claims from first time buyers.
These measures won’t eradicate GLIT fraud, but it will vastly reduce your vulnerability. Any losses that are a result of poor system processes lie with the responsibility of the business manager. Should all ecommerce companies be doing more individually to prevent Goods Lost in Transit fraud? Or does the world of ecommerce need to raise more awareness of the issue as a community?