What Does Shipped Mean? (Explained)
People make a lot of inquiries about the shipping process. Are you one of them? Would you really want to know what shipped means? Read on!
Shipping is the act of physically transporting goods from one location to another.
A shipping or logistics company will oversee the shipment process, which comes after the production and packaging of the goods.
However, people get confused about what “shipped” means. This article provides all the answers you need.
What Does Shipped Mean?
Shipped means that the seller has given the package to the delivery service. It comes after the first step in the broad logistics flow.
Order processing is where the logistics process starts.
The seller packages your purchased item and attaches the required shipping labels during order processing.
They send the box to a courier after it is prepared.
FedEx and USPS are two well-known couriers.
The courier transports the goods from a considerable distance to your address as part of the shipping process.
The third part of the process may be completed by the courier or sent off to another individual, depending on the courier.
The last-mile delivery phase is the third step in the logistics process.
This shows that the package has been delivered to a location or post office close to you.
The courier will now sort the shipment into tiny trucks for delivery.
They will deliver the package to the correct facility if a third party handles last-mile delivery.
What Does it Mean When Your Order is Out for Delivery?
When you order a package, two different notifications will be sent to you.
Shipping is the first notification you will receive.
When a package is shipped, a courier picks it up from the seller and sends it to your location.
Depending on the resources the courier has and the distance they need to travel, the process may take either on the ground or in the air.
Out for delivery is the second main stage.
This implies that a package has arrived at a shipping transit location close to the receiver and has been placed on a truck traveling to the place where it will be delivered.
When a shipment is labeled “out for delivery,” it arrives later that day.
Although both shipping and out for delivery are components of the broader shipping procedure, shipping takes a long time, while out for delivery takes the package closer to your house.
Is Shipped the Same as Delivered?
You might assume that they delivered your order when you notice that it has moved from processing to shipment.
However,” delivered” is not the same as shipping.
Your delivery travels a great distance from the seller to your door during shipping.
It is considered “delivered” when the courier delivers the package to your door.
You’ll know your package has arrived at your house if you see that your order status has changed from “shipping” or “out for delivery” to “delivered.”
What Does “in Transit” Mean?
Literally speaking, the phrase “in transit” refers to moving something or someone from one location to another.
According to Collins Dictionary, if someone or something is in transit, it means that they are moving from one location to another.
When a package is in transit, it is moved from one point (such as a warehouse or distribution center) to its eventual destination, which can be a customer’s home address.
However, different phrases are used by UPS, FedEx, and other package delivery services to denote comparable processes in the shipping process.
For instance, “in transit” is very similar to “shipped,”.
This means that the cargo has been loaded on a truck and is being transported from the terminal to the final destination.
The “in-transit” and “shipped” items are moving toward step “B” in the shipping process if the original location is “A” and the final destination client is “C.”
In order to notify customers of the state of the package and the stage it is in, transport firms, the postal service, and shops disclose this information.
What’s the Difference Between “in Transit” and Out for Delivery
The “in transit” and “out for delivery” tracking statuses differ significantly from one another.
“In transit” means that your package is traveling to the destination.
It’s possible that your package is simply in one of the courier company’s depots, waiting for the next scan, rather than in a moving delivery truck or ship.
However, “out for delivery” is the final stage of the delivery procedure.
Before the delivery truck arrives at the recipient’s address, it is often the last-mile delivery status update created by the final processing facility or local post office.
What Does it Mean When Your Order Has Shipped?
Processing of the order is required first. This phase of logistics might be time-consuming.
If the seller is an independent contractor, they will manage many orders and tasks by themselves.
If you purchased something handmade or custom-made, the designer must first create it before it can be sold.
If the item hasn’t been made yet, order processing includes that as well.
It covers purchase checks to guarantee that you have the money to pay your bill.
For instance, if they do not recognize your card, processing will halt until you address the issue.
The seller will package and label the item once the payment has been cleared.
They deliver it to a courier, who begins the shipment procedure.
At this stage, you’ll get a notification showing that your order has left the warehouse.
This does not imply that they brought it to your door.
Instead, it means that a courier has received the goods from the seller.
The package is now being shipped or transported to you by courier.
How Long Does Shipping Take?
The answer to this question is dependent on the nature of your business, the item being transported, the shipping service used, and the location of the customer’s address.
However, it takes a day to a week for standard shipping to arrive.
It can take longer for larger items.
It usually depends on how much you paid for shipping and how long it takes for your item to ship and arrive at your door.
How to Make Your Goods Arrive Faster
Usually, you will pay more if you want your order to arrive sooner. You can give your package more priority by paying more.
In some circumstances, it means that the package will cut in front of others in line to board the truck.
In other situations, it will mean that your goods will be flown by air, which is more expensive than using land travel.
So, you can count on receiving your order the following day or within a few days.
You can also expect your item to arrive in five days or more if you choose to pay standard shipping rates.
Many other online shops are under pressure to match Amazon’s speedy shipping, since it has set the bar so high.
They might miss out on a sale if they don’t.
Because of this, when you choose standard delivery, it just takes a week or two to get an item.
What Leads to Shipping Delays?
Shipping does not take much time if your item is prepared to be delivered right away.
However, there may be some delays. Some of them are:
1. Flight Delays Caused By Weather
When it comes to air travel, weather delays can slow down shipping.
Despite being the quickest method of sending packages over long distances, air travel is not without its own share of delays.
Landing and taking off an airplane in dense fog can be hazardous.
The wind is also a greater worry.
It can be hazardous for airplanes to fly and take off in strong winds. A strong enough wind can throw even a plane off course.
Planes have to wait until the wind dies down if there are strong winds before they can fly.
Snow or ice can also delay a plane.
A plane cannot safely land or take off if the landing strip is covered in ice.
It might crash if you hit the ice the wrong way.
This harms the goods on the plane and also endangers individuals who are onboard.
2. Vehicle Repairs
Trucks and vans travel a lot of miles each day, so it’s not surprising when they break down.
It could be on its way to you, and then the vehicle abruptly stops moving.
It’s possible that the truck had a breakdown en route.
As a result of the truck needing maintenance, there may be a delay.
In some circumstances, they might send a replacement truck out to finish the delivery or shipment.
Based on how far away the truck is from the shop or how difficult the repair is, they can decide to just wait until they fix the truck before sending it back out.
Delivery trucks might experience issues, just like any other vehicle.
When they do, shipping may be delayed.
3. Shipping Budget of the Seller
While you often pay for shipping, the seller’s budget also restricts your selections.
For instance, the seller might only afford ground transportation if they have a small logistics budget.
Air travel is far faster than ground travel. So, it will take a while for them to get to your area if they have to travel a long way.
Due to the speed of airplanes, air travel is quicker. However, it is a more expensive shipping option.
This is because both pilot salaries and jet fuel are expensive.
4. Late-Night Shipping
If a courier shows up late at a facility, shipping may be delayed.
Any of the aforementioned factors could be to blame for the tardy arrival.
The issue with getting to the facility late at night is that there will be no crew present or simply a small crew working.
To unload their truck, the courier must wait until the next day.
When someone else is in charge of the last-mile delivery, this creates an issue. They likely don’t have a night shift.
The USPS is only open until 5 PM if it is handling last-mile delivery.
This is because of the need to wait until they unload the shipments in the morning and then undergo additional sorting.
This could lead to a delay in delivery.
There is a possibility that the delivery would have been on its way to you that day if the courier had arrived sooner.
They can sometimes delay the shipment process by late arrivals.
5. Land Travel Can Be Delayed By the Weather
Bad weather may hamper travel by land.
Trucks and vans are more likely to experience bad weather when traveling because it takes them longer than airplanes to arrive at their destination.
Strong winds are potentially hazardous, especially if they develop into tornadoes.
A truck must seek shelter in this situation and wait for the storm to pass.
The fact that tornadoes don’t last long is a plus.
However, they can throw debris on the roads, making it difficult to travel until it is cleared.
Snow and ice provide the biggest challenges to ground transportation.
You can experience larger shipment delays in the winter than in the summer.
Roads with ice and snow are also hazardous.
In some instances, the situation might be so bad that using the roads would be difficult and dangerous until the ice melts.
Trucks may not travel on the road after a significant snowfall until a snowplow clears it.
6. Inspection and Documentation
There are several things that can happen at the ports that cause shipping delays.
The obvious difficulty of customs exists when moving cargo between nations.
Incorrect documentation is frequently the root cause of customs delays. Moving across borders requires a lot of paperwork, including:
- Invoices
- Codes for goods
- Fabric samples
- Description of the page
- Documentation for shipments
One of the paperwork forms that is most overlooked and also contributes significantly to shipment delays is the “Content Description.”
Quantities, values, brand names, serial numbers, and model names must all be reported.
When you consider that it takes 3,000 employees working nonstop for three days to load and unload a ship with 20,000 containers, you can see how even a minor mistake in the paperwork can cause major delays.
7. The Seller’s Distance
The distance between you and the seller is one variable that affects how long it takes to receive your item.
It will take more time if you live far from the seller, especially in another country.
The reason for this is that the package must travel a greater distance.
On the flip side, the box would only need to travel a few miles to get to your house if you lived near the seller.
This is one of the reasons Amazon has several warehouses and facilities spread out across several locations.
Since they have everything they need only a few miles from large metro centers, it helps them expedite the shipment process.
Conclusion
The process of shipping includes packaging and moving goods from the supplier to the buyer.
Due to the prevalence of online shopping, it’s important for businesses to send goods promptly after packaging them.
Depending on your preference, you can ship your items by air, land, or sea.
CNS Team.