Peak season puts pressure on every part of your operation. Orders move faster, customers check tracking more often, and even a small visibility gap can turn into a flood of support tickets.
The key to a smooth holiday shipping season? Finding (and filling) those gaps early on.
A recent webinar from EasyPost and Supply Chain Now brought together Lori Boyer, Scott Luton, and Scott DeGroot for a discussion about the four visibility issues that cost ecommerce brands time, money, and customer trust.
Their message was clear: simple operational changes can prevent the majority of “Where is my order?” (WISMO) frustrations long before customers start reaching out.
Why visibility gaps happen in the first place
Lori opened the discussion with a familiar scenario.
On a long drive to visit her daughter, a muted GPS caused missed turns, unexpected detours, and hours of uncertainty. “Suddenly all I could think was, I’m like a package [delivery] that’s going [into] chaos,” she said. Her daughter kept texting for updates because she didn’t know what was happening or when to expect her arrival.
That feeling is exactly what your customers experience when shipments go dark. According to Lori, “Up to 50% of support tickets during peak season are questions about where their order is.”
Those tickets pull time away from your team, delay other priorities, and create a cycle of stress. But fortunately, that cycle is avoidable.
To help shippers understand where the process breaks down, Lori and the two Scotts outlined four common visibility fails: lack of automated tracking, phantom shipments, unmanaged exceptions, and tracking silos.
Visibility fail #1: Missing or delayed tracking updates
Customers expect clear tracking from the moment they place an order. But many brands still haven’t built automatic updates into their process.
Lori noted that 48% of brands “still don’t send proactive communication once the order has shipped,” leaving customers guessing and increasing support ticket volume.
You can reduce the uncertainty with automated notifications that send whenever a package moves. You don’t need a complex setup—even a simple trigger that sends updates at each scan can make a noticeable difference.
Visibility fail #2: Shipments that were never actually shipped
Phantom shipments happen when a label exists in your system, but the package never makes it into the carrier network.
Common causes include batch-printing labels too early, missing carrier scans, or losing labels inside the warehouse. To minimize these issues, Lori recommended three simple safeguards:
- Delaying label creation until orders are fully picked and packed
- Adding a pre-handoff scan step to confirm movement
- Setting alerts for packages stuck in pre-transit.
Scott D. emphasized the responsibility brands have to stay ahead of these problems. “It’s your accountability to make sure all of those steps are taken,” he said.
Otherwise, customers face unnecessary confusion, and you absorb the cost.
Visibility fail #3: Delivery exceptions that slip through unnoticed
Delivery exceptions happen more often than many teams realize. “About 11% of shipments hit an exception,” Lori said. The most frequent causes are incomplete addresses, missed deliveries, and damage.
When these events aren’t flagged quickly, customers are left wondering where their package went. Then your team has to spend time investigating issues that could have been prevented or resolved earlier.
The following low-effort fixes can help you keep things on track:
- Validate addresses before shipping.
- Monitor past data to identify patterns.
- Upgrade packaging for products prone to damage.
- Use tools that highlight high-risk locations or routes.
- Trigger alerts for exceptions so your team can notify customers promptly.
These steps reduce support volume and help customers feel informed, even when something goes wrong.
Visibility fail #4: Tracking information scattered across disconnected systems
Your team moves faster when they have one source of truth. But many operations rely on multiple systems that don’t talk to each other, which forces staff to manually piece together tracking details.
The fix is straightforward: connect your tools so tracking data updates in one place.
Even if you can’t overhaul your whole tech stack, you can map out the systems your team relies on and identify the biggest gaps. Consolidating even a few steps can recover hours of time each week.
Scott D. summed up the impact of better visibility: “Visibility equals trust.” The more your team and your customers understand what’s happening with a shipment, the more confidence they have in your brand.
Quick wins to reduce WISMO tickets right away
You don’t need a major operational overhaul to improve visibility.
Lori offered one especially simple starting point: “Set an alert if a package hasn’t moved in 24 hours.”
And if you already have alerts in place, reviewing your entire post-purchase flow can help you find your next improvement area.
A few other quick wins include:
- Notifying customers about delays before they ask
- Monitoring pre-transit status more closely
- Reviewing recurring hotspots where packages frequently stall
- Identifying any products that require sturdier packaging
These steps create a more predictable and reassuring delivery experience.
Seeing shipping as a growth opportunity
Many teams view shipping as a cost center, but Lori encouraged a shift in mindset.
“There is a lot you can do in the shipping process that actually grows revenue for your company,” she said. When customers receive clear updates and feel confident in your process, they buy again. That reliability becomes part of your brand identity.
Scott D. echoed the value of proactive communication by sharing his own recent delivery experience. Every update made him feel like the brand “was watching out for me. I didn’t have to worry about one more thing.”
Your customers feel the same relief when you keep them informed.
Bringing it all together for peak season
The takeaway is clear—reliable visibility reduces support tickets, lowers stress on your fulfillment team, and builds trust with customers who need reassurance during busy periods.
To explore these ideas in more detail, make sure to watch the full webinar recording here.
Improve your shipping visibility with EasyPost
With EasyPost, businesses of all sizes can automate tracking, spot issues earlier, and ship more confidently. If you want a simpler way to improve visibility and save money, sign up today.
