When a parcel fails its third delivery attempt, the automation opens a return record with the full attempt history and keeps the online store updated by email at each stage, from the depot to the handback, until the store signs for it.
Typical results
≈4.5 hrs/wk
Support time on return questions saved
3 emails
Status updates the store gets on every return
100%
Returns closed with the store's signature
Figures reflect typical results for this kind of automation.
The challenge
A parcel that fails three delivery attempts often sits at the depot for days, and nobody tells the online store what happened or when it is coming back. Store owners call and email support about each one, staff dig through the delivery app for driver notes, and about a dozen returns a month end up with no clear status.
Before and after
Return status inquiries from stores per week
−70%Support hours per week on return questions
−75%Returned parcels with no clear status per month
−92%The automation
After the third failed attempt, the delivery app marks the parcel as return to sender and a Make scenario opens a return record in Google Sheets with the attempt times and driver notes. Depot and loading scans move the record through its stages: back at the depot, on the return route, handed back. Each stage emails the store the parcel number, the reason and the expected return day. The store's signature on the driver's phone closes the record.
How it works
- 01
Third attempt fails
The driver records the failed attempt in the delivery app as usual. On the third one, the parcel is marked return to sender.
- 02
Return record opened
A row is added in Google Sheets with the parcel number, the store, the time of each attempt and the driver's notes.
- 03
Back at the depot
When the parcel is scanned in at the depot, the store gets an email with the parcel number and the reason it came back.
- 04
On the return route
Once the parcel is loaded for return, a second email tells the store it is on the way back and on which day.
- 05
Signed handback
The store signs on the driver's phone at handback, a final email confirms it, and the record is closed with the time.
Starts from
- Third failed attempt in app
- Depot and loading scans
Delivers
- Return record in Sheets
- Stage emails to the store
- Signed handback closes it
The impact
Online stores know where every returned parcel is without asking. Return status inquiries drop by about 70%, from around 50 a week to 15, and support spends roughly 4.5 fewer hours a week on them. Returns with no clear status fall from about 12 a month to 1.
Questions about this automation
How does the automation know a parcel is being returned?
It reads the parcel status from the delivery app. When a driver records a third failed attempt, or a dispatcher marks the parcel as return to sender, the return record opens. The later stages follow the normal depot and loading scans, so drivers don't do anything beyond what they already do.
What does the online store see in each email?
Each email shows the parcel number, the store's own order reference, the reason the parcel could not be delivered, such as nobody home or a wrong address, and the next step with an expected day. If the store replies, the reply is added to the return record so support sees it.
What does the delivery company need to provide?
Access to parcel statuses in the delivery app or a regular export, a contact email for each online store and the list of return reasons drivers choose from. After a test with a handful of returns, every new return is tracked automatically. Simple automations like this are usually live within days.