Shipping Fragile Items: Best Practices to Reduce Breakage During Fulfilment

The modern e-commerce supply chain involves so many different steps, locations and modes of transport that the possibilities for damage are almost endless. For example, goods can be broken if dropped or if they’re shaken up inside a package. They can suffer a leak, or be water-damaged if left out in the rain. Or they can be mishandled or badly treated by couriers or logistics staff.

These risks are amplified for fragile items that are especially prone to damage when being transported. And while it’s entirely possible to safely ship just about anything, the best way to ship fragile items is to take the utmost care, prepare shipments accordingly, and minimise risks all the way through the fulfilment process. This blog explores how you can do that for your e-commerce operation.

Jump to:

• What Happens When Fragile Items Arrive Damaged?
• Which Fragile Items Are Most at Risk of Breakage During Shipping?
• How to Pack Fragile Items for Shipping
• FAQs

What Happens When Fragile Items Arrive Damaged?

It’s easy to think that fragile items damaged in transit can simply and easily be replaced by sending another one out to the customer. But the consequences on your e-commerce business can be much deeper and wide-ranging than you might think, especially if substantial numbers of fragile items are suffering damage:

Unhappy customers and negative reviews

As we’ve already mentioned, a customer receiving damaged or broken items that they’ve paid good money for will naturally be unhappy. But in a highly competitive global e-commerce landscape, they won’t just decide not to shop with your brand again, they’ll tell everyone they know to avoid you, too. Even a small amount of negative reviews online and on social media can do huge amounts of damage to brand positivity that can take years to establish and maintain.

Lost revenue through broken stock

If an item has been damaged, then the undamaged replacement that you’ll need to send out is an item that you won’t be able to sell to someone else. If this happens on a regular basis, then that can start to have a real impact on your profitability, which underlines the need to make sure that every item reaches the seller in perfect condition.

Extra admin and customer service demands

How much admin you’ll need to deal with in a case of damaged goods depends on your policy. For example, if you allow customers to make returns free of charge, then you’ll need to arrange for that return at your expense. You may also feel the need to make a gesture of goodwill to make up for the customer’s disappointment (such as a gift card or complimentary item), which also requires administration to source, budget for and ship to the customer.

Higher insurance premiums

If large numbers of items are being damaged, then you may have to claim on your insurance in order to be compensated. Not only could this mean having to pay an excess (depending on the nature of your policy), but it could mean being charged higher premiums when you come to renew that insurance in the future – even if the causes of the damage were no fault of your own.

Which Fragile Items Are Most at Risk of Breakage During Shipping?

Theoretically, any item is at risk of damage during order fulfilment and shipping – it’s just that some are at higher risk than others. But generally speaking, you should take particular care if you sell:

Jewellery

Many of the protective measures around jewellery tend to focus on the value of the goods (i.e. using discreet packaging to help minimise the risk of loss or theft), but protecting against damage is just as important. They can be damaged by being shaken around inside packages, and any impact with a hard or unforgiving interior surface could cause costly scratches and blemishes.

Glassware and ceramics

Anything made of glass or ceramics is liable to smashing or cracking if it takes any sudden impact. This could be caused by people dropping the package or it falling from height, but it can also be caused inside the package by being moved or shaken around too violently if not secured in place. If a package contains multiple items, then these are at risk of colliding with each other inside the package and causing further damage.

Beauty and wellbeing products

Many beauty and wellbeing products are either very small and delicately made, or are made of glass (such as bottles of fragrance, candles and reed diffusers) and are therefore at risk of the glassware damage mentioned above, including from movement inside the packaging. They’re also especially vulnerable to extreme conditions such as moisture or fluctuations in temperature: for example, a lipstick in a package that’s left in direct sunlight is at risk of melting.

Electronics

If you’ve ever broken the screen on your smartphone by the most innocuous drop or impact, you’ll know how easily electronic devices can suffer damage in transit. But there are other risks to consider, too: any moisture that gets inside smartphones, tablets, computers or TVs can cause the circuitry and hardware inside to fail – issues that may not become apparent until the customer takes delivery and tries to use them.

Musical instruments

As carefully made, fine-tuned pieces of equipment, musical instruments can be rendered unusable by even the slightest amount of damage. They also tend to be very valuable, especially when hand-made, meaning that the utmost care must be taken when shipping them, even when the distance and logistics involved are relatively simple.

How to Pack Fragile Items for Shipping

Firstly, it’s important to understand that all fragile items are different, and so there’s no copy-and-paste approach that will work for everything. Instead, we recommend a flexible process that judges each shipment on its merits and puts protective measures in place that are aligned with the specific characteristics of that item. This should ideally include:

Find the right-size package for the item

If your package is much bigger than the item you’re shipping, then there’s enough spare space inside that it can move around in transit and become damaged. But on the other hand, if the item only just fits inside the package, then there might not be enough room to give it enough protection from shocks and impacts.

You should always use an appropriately-sized package for each and every item, and never compromise for cheaper options, or those that just happen to be to hand at any given time.

Add cushioning to keep the item in place

Every fragile item should have some soft cushioning all around it to give it the smoothest ride through its long fulfilment journey. Some of this may be built into the envelopes and parcel boxes you use, but you should still look at filling in any empty gaps (as highlighted above) with soft materials. This can include paper filler, compostable packing void fill, , air pillows or foam inserts, for example: which is most suitable will vary according to the weight, dimensions and fragility of the item in question.

Affix a ‘fragile’ label

Many people along the logistics supply chain won’t have any idea that an item is fragile unless it’s made crystal-clear to them. The supporting documentation with the package should mention fragility, but that’s no guarantee that handlers or couriers will notice. Putting ‘fragile’ stickers and labels in prominent positions around the package helps ensure that everyone knows to handle the package with care.

Work with reputable carriers

Many cheaper courier firms are cheaper for a reason: they make their business on quantity rather than quality, fitting as many deliveries as they can onto a vehicle and in a day. As a result, their drivers are rushed and don’t treat packages – fragile or otherwise – with the care that they could or should.

For this reason, you should only use a carrier for shipping fragile items that you trust, and that has a reputation for careful deliveries. Although this might cost more, it could actually save you money in the long run if fewer items get damaged.

Partner with an expert in shipping fragile items

If you’re worried about any of the above, then you may want to consider partnering with a third-party logistics provider (3PL) with experience and expertise in fragile items. They can ensure that all of your items are stored securely in fulfilment centres, properly packaged and cushioned when ordered, and sent out to your customers with good-quality shipping couriers.

That way, you can grow your business with confidence that your goods are arriving safe and sound every time, so that you have satisfied customers, a stronger brand and a healthier bottom line. To find out more on how it all works at ILG, take a closer look at our order fulfilment services today, or get in touch with our team to discuss your specific fragile shipping needs.

FAQs

What are the most common causes of damage when shipping fragile items?

Typical causes of fragile items being damaged include too much empty space in the packaging, allowing the goods to move around inside; a lack of adequate cushioning inside the package; insufficient protection against moisture or extreme temperatures; and the mishandling of the package by couriers. The last of these can be minimised in part by the extensive use of ‘Fragile’ and ‘Handle With Care’ labels.

What should I do if a courier shipping fragile items has caused damage?

Firstly, you should already be aware of the courier’s policy and arrangements before starting to ship with them. While many will cover any costs or financial loss incurred, there may be cases where you are still required to cover some of those costs yourself. In these circumstances, you may want to claim on your insurance. If working with a logistics partner, they will be able to help you with all of this.

Does it cost extra to courier fragile items?

It depends on the courier used: some firms include shipping fragile items as part of their standard offering, while others offer fragile-specific services for an extra charge to reflect the additional care and attention required. If you work with a third-party logistics (3PL) partner, they will be able to use their long-standing relationships with couriers and shipping firms to arrange something that is both cost-effective, and suitable for your specific product range.

Is it worth using a tilt/impact detector when shipping fragile items?

Tilt and impact detectors are devices that warn everyone involved in a package’s fulfilment journey that the contents need to be handled extremely carefully and/or kept the right way up at all times. They can also provide evidence when damage does occur, so that it can be determined who was at fault. However, these devices can be expensive and so are only used for particularly large or high-value orders, rather than on an everyday basis.