Ace Ventura is an old movie now but it still has the power to teach us just how bad the courier delivery service can be. Obviously most delivery people wouldn’t play football with a parcel; especially one that is marked fragile.
But what about the small drops that are caught or don’t leave a mark on the box? It’s these that can cause a business a lot of stress and cost them money; and the reason why safety solutions such as impact indicators are essential.
What Is An Impact Indicator
In short it I an electronic device that will tell you if any object has been impacted. Although this technology is now being applied to the courier service this is not the only area where it can be used.
There are also several different types of impact indicators:
Basic Impact
The simplest form of impact is that which happens to a box when it is slammed against the side of a van or even dropped when being put into the van. Of course the risk is not just in the van. A parcel can also be damaged in the transition warehouse; between vans.
Sometimes this type of impact will leave a visible mark on the box but often it doesn’t. However, this doesn’t mean that the goods inside haven’t been damaged.
The basic impact indicator will show that the box has received this type of impacts.
Tilting
If you’re shipping particularly sensitive goods you may need them to stay level. A tilt indicator will show if the parcel has been tilted past a specified angle. You simply set this to the acceptable range for your product.
Temperature
As the name suggests this type of impact indicator will tell you if the temperature the parcel has been subjected to have gone above or below set thresholds. This is particularly useful when sending sensitive electronic devices.
Why Impact Indicators Are So Important
Imagine you’re a customer eagerly waiting for a new product. When it arrives you sign for it and then open the box. Inside your item is damaged or not working properly.
Immediately you’ll get onto the supplier. However, this is when the issues start.
A good supplier will dispatch a replacement to ensure their customer is happy. If they don’t then irreparable damage can be done to the company reputation in just minutes on social media.
But, the suppler is sure they packaged up a working and pristine example of their product. They can claim the value of their product from their insurance company but their premium will go up.
To avoid this they need to contact the courier and register a claim that they have damaged it in transit. The courier will also refer it to their insurance company as they will claim it wasn’t their fault.
The two insurance companies will then need to settle the dispute; in the meantime the supplier is out of pocket.
In the long term the supplier and courier will face higher insurance costs. Ultimately these will need to be reflected in the prices the consumer pays. The only real winner is the insurance company!
An impact indicator can change this instantly. It will be easy for the customer to reject the product and the blame to be apportioned.
