Understanding carrier service levels

Get across the different carrier service levels, and what they actually mean for your customers, and your delivery promises

Updated 12 days ago

Carriers provide an often bewildering array of different services. While different carriers might use different terms for these levels, Shippit organises them into several easy-to-understand categories, based on the delivery speed and service level.

This article discusses the different carrier service levels offered in your Shippit account.

For more information about how carriers are allocated based on the service level you require, see the carrier allocation article.

For a list of which carriers offer which service level, see the carrier matrix on the Shippit website.

Carrier service levels

All carriers that you book through your Shippit account are categorised into one of these service levels:

Service level	Description	Example
Standard	Regular shipments with an estimated delivery time of 3-5 business days	Leaves Sydney on Monday, arrives in Melbourne on Thursday
Express	Faster shipments, typically delivered the next day after the order is placed	Leaves Melbourne on Monday, arrives in Brisbane on Tuesday
Priority	Same-day deliveries, often used for urgent or time-sensitive shipments	Leaves the CBD at 10am, arrives at an outer suburb at 3pm
On demand	Similar to priority orders, but with a focus on immediate fulfilment, usually within a few hours	Leaves one suburb at 2pm, and arrives at 4pm
International	Shipments that travel from one country to another, and that may require additional customs and duties	Leaves Australia on Monday, and arrives in the United Kingdom the following week.

Standard service level

Deliveries with a standard service level can have a varied transit time, but most standard deliveries are within one to four business days. Standard services normally travel by road or rail and aren't recommended for time-crucial deliveries, as it is considered the slowest option. However, standard service is usually the most cost effective option, and most deliveries ship with a standard service level.

Standard services are normally facilitated by road or rail and not recommended for time-crucial deliveries.

When you ship orders at the standard service level, carriers usually perform a regularly bulk collection of parcels. The parcels are then sorted and distributed to their destinations for local delivery.

Express service level

Deliveries with an express service level are expected to be delivered the next business day after the order is placed. For example, if an order is placed on a Wednesday, it is scheduled for delivery on Thursday, but an order placed on a Friday is scheduled for delivery on Monday. Express deliveries are sometimes also called next day delivery.

Freight for express services usually transit by air, so you might find there are stricter regulations to meet. Dangerous goods require strict approval for air travel.

💡 NOTE: Shippit can automatically downgrade an order to a cheaper service level if it can still meet the same delivery speed. You can set this up, along with related upgrade and downgrade options, in your carrier allocation settings.

Priority service level

Deliveries with a priority service level have a specific day and time that delivery is expected within. In most cases, priority orders are delivered the next day, however priority orders can fall into any one of these categories:

Priority same day guarantees delivery before close of business on the day of booking, and must be booked before 2 PM.
Priority now is similar to the on demand service level, with delivery expected within two to four hours after booking.
Priority time slot is for items that can be delivered within a three hour window, on a specified date. This is useful for when the recipient wants to nominate a time when they are available for delivery.

For more information about the priority service level, see the Understanding priority delivery article.

On demand service level

Deliveries with an on demand service level are for urgent deliveries. On demand orders are automatically booked by Shippit for an ASAP pick-up, respecting store opening and service hours, for delivery within three hours of booking.

This service level uses a crowd-sourced model and has drivers dispatched for immediate pickup from the sender, and delivered directly to the recipient, without visiting a sorting station.

⚠️ IMPORTANT: While Australia Post offers an on demand service, it is categorised as Priority, rather than on demand. This is because Australia Post OnDemand orders are not typically delivered within 3 hours, meaning they use a different workflow to most on demand carriers. For more information about the Australia Post On Demand service, see the Get to know your carrier article.

For more information about the on demand service level, see the Understanding on demand delivery article.

International service level

The International service level is for shipments that the origin of the shipment is a different country to the destination country. Because shipments are crossing international borders there are extra complexities involved with shipments/products in this service level. Most international carriers offer both a standard, and express service level.

For more information about shipping internationally, including working with duties and taxes, see the international shipping collection.