Shipping Weight Discrepancy in Indian eCommerce: Why Does It Happen? Perspectives of Various Parties and Potential Solutions
Published on September 5, 2024
Last updated on October 13, 2024 • 4 min read
Imagine this scenario as a brand owner: You’re working with a third-party fulfillment company, and for the past few years, your SKUs have remained unchanged, consistently shipped in the same type of packaging. Yet, every month, you notice fluctuations in your billing. Why? A percentage of your SKUs are being incorrectly categorized into a higher weight slab (from 500g to 1-2 kg), causing your shipping costs to increase 2-3 times for these miscategorized items. These variations aren’t minor—they can affect 5-20% of your shipments, making it difficult to predict your monthly bill.
What’s even more frustrating? Since you’re using a wallet recharge system, the amount is deducted immediately, and you’re stuck waiting for the dispute to be resolved, with your money locked up in the meantime. Who is responsible for this issue? And more importantly, how can it be resolved?
In this article, we delve into the causes of shipping weight discrepancy in Indian eCommerce and explore effective solutions to address and resolve these issues.
Last-Mile Provider Perspective
- Irregularly Shaped Products: Issues arise with products that have irregular shapes, such as hoodies and jeans, when sent in polybags. These items may become bulkier during transit due to deformation, increasing the length, breadth, and height (LBH). As a result, the volumetric weight increases, leading to higher shipping costs.
- Incorrect Box Selection: Sometimes, the wrong boxes are chosen for certain SKUs, causing them to move to a higher weight slab. In a fulfillment center (FC) setting, packing staff may run out of standard materials and ship products in non-standard, often larger, boxes. This can result in different billing due to changes in volumetric weight.
- Intentional Fraud: A sizable number of sellers may incorrectly enter their weight slabs. Such intentional frauds lead to higher scrutiny and a lack of trust within the system.
Brand Owner Perspective
- Outsourced Logistics: “I outsourced my logistics to a warehousing and last-mile company. I am not even touching the products, so how do I dispute these charges without proof?”
- Products Held Hostage: “My products are essentially held hostage, and there is no clear recourse to resolve this issue.”
- Cash Flow Issues: “For no fault of my own, I have to wait for the dispute to be resolved, possibly take a financial hit, and have my cash flow tied up in the meantime.”
Fulfillment Company Perspective
- Irregular Shape Scenario: This is primarily a last-mile handling issue and cannot be entirely avoided. A percentage of products will get deformed in transit despite correct packing in the warehouse. While we can provide proof of proper packing, it is a time-consuming process that leads to productivity losses.
- Incorrect Box Selection: Although this can be mitigated, the primary reason for this issue is the short supply of packing materials from vendors, leading staff to use the next available option to process orders on time and avoid delays. While this can be reduced to a large degree, achieving near 100% accuracy is challenging.
If you consider the viewpoints of the involved parties, each seems reasonable from their perspective. However, the larger problem remains unsolved, and the impacted party in almost all cases is the brand owner.
WareIQ’s Proposed Solution
WareIQ has developed a strategic approach to minimize the impact of miscategorized SKUs, ensure accurate billing, and enhance the overall customer experience for brand owners. Key solutions include:
- Deadweight-Based Billing System: Implement a deadweight-based billing system for select SKU categories, particularly in fashion and lifestyle, where shape distortion during transit can lead to higher costs.
- Weight Freeze: For a standard set of SKUs, WareIQ can implement a weight freeze, locking in the weight and dimensions before handoff to the courier. This approach helps resolve disputes between WareIQ and courier companies, with WareIQ managing proof of the captured weight, dimensions, and other relevant details
- Enhanced Dispute Resolution Process: Establish a faster and more transparent dispute resolution process that allows brand owners to quickly challenge discrepancies. We offer detailed photographic evidence of packaging at the time of shipment. Combined with the deadweight-based billing and weight freeze, this solution effectively addresses the majority of common disputes.
Related read: Importance of Inventory Serialization for eCommerce Business
