How to Handle Shipment Exceptions

Understanding Shipment Exceptions

Shipment exceptions have gotten complicated with all the different carrier systems and tracking info flying around. As someone who’s dealt with more delayed drone deliveries than I’d care to admit — including a $2,000 LiDAR sensor that sat in a Memphis warehouse for a week — I learned everything there is to know about what shipment exceptions actually mean and what you can do about them. Today, I will share it all with you.

Whether you’re waiting on a new drone, replacement parts, or gear for your next UAS project, understanding shipment exceptions saves you a lot of frustration and wasted phone calls. Let’s get into it.

Common Causes of Shipment Exceptions

Weather is the one everybody thinks of first, and honestly, it’s the most common culprit. Severe storms, hurricanes, blizzards, heavy rain — any of these can ground delivery trucks or mess up air freight schedules. Carriers won’t risk their drivers or planes in dangerous conditions, which makes sense. But it means your package might sit in a distribution center until conditions improve, and you usually don’t get a heads-up before it happens.

Mechanical breakdowns are another big one. Delivery vehicles break down. Sorting equipment at hubs jams up. Planes get grounded for maintenance. When these things happen, packages get delayed until the carrier works out an alternative. It’s not glamorous, but it’s reality in the logistics world.

Then there are documentation errors, and these drive me crazy because they’re usually preventable. Wrong label, missing paperwork, typos in the address, incorrect zip code — any of these can trigger an exception. I once had a package bounce around between two facilities for three days because somebody transposed two digits in my zip code. Double-check your shipping info. Seriously.

Customs delays hit anyone ordering internationally. If you’re importing drone components from overseas or buying a UAS kit from a manufacturer in another country, your shipment has to clear customs. Any discrepancy in the documentation — wrong declared value, missing harmonized tariff codes, incomplete descriptions — can hold things up. Sometimes customs wants additional info from the sender or recipient before they’ll release the package. This type of exception is particularly common with lithium batteries (which, you know, every drone has) because of additional shipping regulations.

How Shipment Exceptions Are Communicated

Most carriers flag exceptions through their tracking platforms. You’ll see a status update that says something like “exception” or “delivery delayed” along with a brief description. FedEx, UPS, and USPS all handle it a little differently, but the basic idea is the same — your tracking page tells you something went off-script.

If you’ve signed up for text or email notifications (and you should), you’ll usually get a ping when the exception gets logged. I’ve got notifications turned on for everything I order. It’s way better to find out proactively than to sit around wondering why your package didn’t show up on the expected date. Some carriers even let you reroute or reschedule delivery through their app once an exception pops up, which can save time if the issue is something like “nobody home to sign.”

Impacts of Shipment Exceptions on Businesses

If you’re running any kind of drone services operation, delayed shipments can throw a real wrench in your schedule. Say you’ve got a mapping job booked for next Tuesday, and the replacement propellers you ordered are stuck in a weather delay. Now you’re scrambling for a local source or rescheduling the client. Neither option feels great.

For larger drone businesses, the ripple effects get worse. Inventory levels drop. Customer orders get pushed back. If exceptions are frequent enough with a particular carrier or route, you start eating into profit margins with expedited backup shipments or extra stock as a buffer. I’ve talked to drone shop owners who keep a month’s worth of common parts on hand specifically because they’ve been burned by shipping delays one too many times.

Strategies to Mitigate Shipment Exceptions

• Work with carriers that have a solid track record for reliability. Cheapest shipping isn’t always the smartest shipping, especially for time-sensitive orders.
• Use tracking tools that give you real-time visibility. There are apps that consolidate tracking across multiple carriers so you can monitor everything in one place.
• Make sure all your documentation is accurate and complete before anything ships. This goes double for international orders — get the customs paperwork right the first time.
• Build flexibility into your supply chain. Don’t wait until you’re completely out of something before reordering. Keep some buffer stock for the items you use most.

Probably should have led with this section, honestly. Prevention beats reaction every single time.

What to Do When You Face a Shipment Exception

First things first — don’t panic. Check the tracking details and read whatever description the carrier provides. A lot of exceptions resolve themselves within 24 to 48 hours without you needing to do anything. Weather clears, equipment gets fixed, the next sort catches the package.

If the info isn’t clear or the delay stretches on, call the carrier directly. I know nobody loves phone trees, but a real person can usually tell you more than the tracking page shows. Get a case number or reference ID so you have something to point to if you call back.

Let everyone who needs to know about the delay… actually know. If it’s a business shipment, tell your team or your client. Transparent communication helps manage expectations. Nobody likes surprises, but people can usually work with honest timelines.

Consider your backup options. Depending on how urgent the shipment is, you might explore expedited shipping from a different carrier or source the item locally. Compare the costs against how much the delay is costing you in lost time or business. Sometimes paying for overnight from another vendor is worth it.

If the exception stems from a documentation error, get on it immediately. Provide whatever info the carrier or customs office needs as fast as possible. Every hour you wait adds to the delay.

Learning from Shipment Exceptions

That’s what makes tracking your shipping history endearing to us logistics nerds — patterns emerge that tell you exactly where your weak points are. Keep a simple log of exceptions. Note the carrier, the cause, the route, and how long resolution took. After a few months, you’ll start seeing trends.

Maybe a specific carrier struggles with deliveries to your region during winter months. Maybe international shipments through a particular customs port always take longer. Maybe your supplier has a labeling problem. You can’t fix what you don’t track.

Train your team on proper documentation practices. If you’re shipping things out, make sure everyone who touches the process knows how to label correctly, fill out customs forms, and verify addresses. One training session can prevent dozens of exceptions down the road.

And for high-value shipments — that expensive thermal camera or RTK module you just ordered — consider shipping insurance. It won’t prevent a delay, but it protects you financially if a package gets lost or damaged during an exception. For anything over a couple hundred bucks, the insurance premium is a no-brainer.

At the end of the day, shipment exceptions are part of life when you’re ordering gear and parts. You can’t eliminate them entirely, but you can absolutely minimize their impact by staying informed, planning ahead, and reacting quickly when they do pop up. Your future self will thank you for building those habits now.