Getting your orders collected smoothly is key. Getting the best results out of your carrier pickups means understanding your requirements and organising them in a way that works for your business.
This article covers the different types of pickups, including requirements, and booking. For a complete list of pickup hints and tips, see the pickup best practices article.
Pickup requirements
What we need for your pickup can vary. It often depends on what you're shipping and how your business is set up. For most ordinary shipments, pickups can be ad hoc, and arranged as needed.
If you're shipping dangerous goods, fragile items, or liquids, you might need to have special arrangements, and scheduled collections. This can also apply if you are shipping palletised or consolidated freight. In most special cases like this, your Shippit account manager sorts out the arrangements with your preferred carriers when they set up your account.
If you are shipping large amounts of goods, you might want to arrange regular pickups with your preferred carriers. Get in contact with your Shippit account manager to sort these out, or with the carrier directly.
Book a pickup
When you book orders in your Shippit account, we send an electronic manifest for the order straight to your chosen carrier. The carrier then uploads any relevant booking information, and pick up according to their usual practices.
Some carriers automatically assign a driver as soon as you book and manifest the order. This means your order needs to be packaged and ready for collection as soon as you book.
Some carriers might also require a printed manifest. These are created in your Shippit account, and you can print them out for the driver ready for collection. For more information about manifests, see the packing slips and manifests article.
Cancel a pickup
If you need to cancel a pickup, you can. How you do this depends on the type of order:
For priority and on demand orders: Get in touch with Shippit support as soon as possible to get these cancelled, as the driver might already be on their way to pick up.
For standard and express orders: Cancel these in your Shippit account. Naviagte to the track page, locate the order you want to cancel, and select Cancel delivery from the Actions menu. For more information, see the track page article.
⚠️ IMPORTANT: If the driver has already tried to collect your order before you cancel it, you might get charged a futile pickup fee. Repeated failed pickups can also result in additional futile pickup fees. Always make sure the parcel is ready for collection to avoid such charges. For more information about these surcharges, see the futile charges article.
Rebook a pickup
If you have regular pickups organised, and a package is missed, there is no need to rebook the pickup. The driver can pickup the missed package next time.
If you have regular pickups organised, and a package is missed, there is no need to rebook the pickup. The driver can pick up the missed package next time. If your pickup is delayed or showing with a Pickup Failed status in your Shippit account, you should:
Make sure the goods are packed, labeled, and clearly visible in your pickup area.
Contact Shippit support to rebook the pickup for you.
For time-sensitive shipments, you might be able to request an urgent collection, depending on your carrier.
If you still have issues, consider collecting evidence for the carrier such as photos showing the parcels in the designated pickup area.
Pickup cut-off times
This section covers the different cut-off times for pickups, depending on the service level you have chosen for your order. Carriers usually aim to collect parcels within 24-72 hours of each request, but delays can occur based on factors like peak periods or courier workloads.
Standard services:
The specific times vary from carrier to carrier, but they are usually late in the day, often up to 5 or 6 pm. Make sure you have set your opening hours in your Shippit account, to make sure that alternatives can be arranged if this doesn't work for your business.
Ad-hoc collections can sometimes take 2-3 business days, especially during busy periods.
You can't book a specific time for a pickup, as it depends on the driver's run for the day. However, they often collect around the same time every day.
nd the same time.
If you have time-critical deliveries or unusual pickup requirements, you might prefer to book express or priority services instead of standard.
Express services:
Express and overnight carriers collect much faster than standard carriers so you can normally expect a pickup within a few hours of booking the order in your Shippit account.
If the driver shows up and the goods are not ready, you are charged a futile fee and need to rebook the pickup.
On demand services:
On demand orders need to be ready for the driver within 30 minutes from booking, so that the driver can meet their delivery SLAs.
If the driver shows up and the goods are not ready, you are charged a futile fee and need to rebook the pickup. For more information about these surcharges, see the futile charges article.
For more information and best practices for using on demand services, see the understanding on demand article.
Priority services:
Depending on your hours of operation, priority orders can request deliveries up until 10pm. For priority timeslot deliveries, expect collection within 2 hours of booking. Note, though, that drivers could collect any time throughout the day
Priority orders need to be ready for the driver within 30 minutes from booking, so that the driver can meet their delivery SLAs.
If the driver shows up and the goods are not ready, you are charged a futile fee and need to rebook the pickup. For more information about these surcharges, see the futile charges article.
BYO carriers:
For carriers that you have negotiated your own rates with, you’ll need to agree on a pickup or drop-off schedule with the carrier directly.
Troubleshooting pickups
If things aren't going as planned with your pickups, we're here to help. For a complete list of pickup hints and tips, see the pickup best practices article. If you're having trouble, get in contact with your Shippit account manager, or contact Shippit support.