Dear Customers,
Please see below notice from Australia Post regarding delays. As wine cartons are processed as parcels manually due to the weight, they are more affected, along with the lock downs in NSW & VIC. We apologise for any inconvenience caused and can only suggest that you place your orders earlier than usual, especially for your Christmas shipments.
Christmas deadlines:https://auspost.com.au/sending/christmas-sending-dates
Due to lockdowns in both Victoria and NSW, the Australia Post processing centres, delivery staff and network are congested and experiencing delays. AusPost recommends that merchants proactively advise their customers of a 10-15 day estimated delay on wine parcels. The delay is exacerbated by the need for manual processing due to the glass content of the parcels. Given that there is a peak in volume and increased risk of loss or damage, AusPost also advises customers to consider transit cover for loss or damaged freight. Delays will continue to be present especially for the next 3 months with peak spending. This will impact Christmas wine parcels, and we will provide further information regarding Christmas deadlines. Wineries need to ensure that they manage customers' expectations and advise of delays on their website, and during the ordering process.
See the following links for other support tools:
View updates on the AusPost network and COVID impacted delays at:
https://auspost.com.au/service-updates/current-covid-19-impacts
View AusPost's domestic delivery time frames at:
https://auspost.com.au/service-updates/domestic-delivery-times
Lodge a missing item report for items 5 days or more late:
https://helpandsupport.auspost.com.au/s/missing-or-lost-item
Update Summary:
• Online spending is up 30% on average since the start of March 2020.
• Due to lockdowns in NSW and VIC, online spending is inflated further in these states as they are dependent on online ordering.
• Parcel volume (per day) rose from 1M to 2M parcels during August.
• Network parcel volumes will not reduce this side of January 2022.
• Currently standard parcels travelling to NSW and VIC are delayed the most.
Wine parcels are bottle necked (delayed and awaiting processing) at NSW and VIC. While waiting for processing, tracking will pause until a processing scan is performed. In the meantime, AusPost is:
o setting up pop up distribution centre's (DC) in VIC and NSW to relieve parcel processing delays in these states
o recruiting 4000 more peak staff now, to join DC sites
o acquired and introduced finger scanners for DC staff
