The delivery appointment changed. Did anyone tell the carrier?

Key Takeaways

When a consignee changes a delivery appointment, the carrier is often the last to know.
A delivery change needs 4 updates: confirm the new time with the consignee, tell the carrier, update the shipment record and tell the team.
When the carrier isn't told, the truck arrives at the old time, and the load may be refused or held.
Wilson, by Cartage, is an AI logistics agent that coordinates pickup and delivery times with carriers, records every change on the shipment and updates the people the company has set.
Every message and change is recorded in a change history.

Why doesn't the carrier hear about delivery changes?

A customer's receiving team emails the sales rep: "Please move Thursday's delivery to Friday morning." The sales rep forwards it to logistics. Logistics is busy. The carrier's driver arrives Thursday, gets turned away and charges for a redelivery.

The carrier doesn't hear about delivery changes because the request reaches someone outside logistics, and passing it on is an extra step nobody owns.

Wasted trips cost time: ATRI estimated $11.5 billion in lost productivity from truck driver detention in 2023.

What updates does a delivery appointment change need?

A delivery appointment change needs 4 updates, in this order.

#	Update	Who it's for
1	Confirm the new time	Consignee
2	Tell the carrier, and get confirmation	Carrier
3	Update the shipment record	Team and systems
4	Notify internal teams	Sales, customer service

What goes wrong when the carrier isn't told?

3 things usually go wrong.

The truck arrives at the old time and is turned away.
Redelivery or detention charges show up on the invoice.
The customer gets the freight late and calls sales.

See accessorial charges need an explanation before they need a payment.

How does Wilson, by Cartage, handle delivery appointment changes?

Wilson coordinates delivery times with the carrier, records the change and updates the people the company has set. Traditional logistics software gives teams information. Wilson executes the work required to move shipments forward.

Step	Trigger	What Wilson does	When a person steps in
1. Receive	A change request reaches Wilson	Records it on the shipment	If the request is unclear
2. Carrier	Change is recorded	Contacts the carrier by email or phone for the new time	If the carrier can't make it
3. Confirm	Carrier confirms	Records the confirmed appointment	Not required
4. Notify	Appointment is set	Tells the team and others the company has set	Not required
5. Track	Delivery day	Tracks the load to the new appointment	Exceptions

Wilson calls carriers and drivers for pickup and delivery appointments, and call transcripts are saved on the order.

How do teams make sure changes reach logistics?

Teams make sure changes reach logistics with one rule: every change goes to one place.

One address for delivery changes, monitored by logistics or Wilson.
Sales and customer service forward requests right away.
No change is final until the carrier confirms.

See the carrier replied by email. Did the shipment record change?

FAQs

What should I do when a customer changes a delivery appointment? Confirm the new time with the customer, tell the carrier and get confirmation, update the shipment record and notify internal teams.
What happens if the carrier isn't told about a delivery change? The truck may arrive at the old time and be turned away, leading to redelivery charges and a late delivery.
Does Wilson coordinate delivery appointments? Yes. Wilson coordinates pickup and delivery times with carriers and calls carriers and drivers for appointments.
Is there a record of the change? Yes. Every message, confirmation and change on each shipment is recorded in a change history.
Who gets notified about the change? Each company chooses who's notified and how, including Slack, Microsoft Teams, email and SMS.
How is Wilson priced? There's no subscription fee. Pricing is a percentage of the carrier payments that run through Wilson.

Conclusion

A delivery change only works if the carrier knows about it. Otherwise, the truck shows up at the old time and the load comes back on the invoice as a redelivery. Wilson, by Cartage, takes the change to the carrier, gets the new time confirmed, records it and tells the right people. The practical first step is to send delivery changes to one place, start Wilson on a few lanes and compare refused or redelivered loads.

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