10 common ecommerce logistics mistakes and how to avoid them

If you run an online store, your profitability is decided as much in the online storefront as in the warehouse: ecommerce logistics mistakes turn into delays, higher costs, returns and bad reviews. In this guide you’ll see the most frequent errors and very concrete steps to fix them before they start eating into your margins.

Why ecommerce logistics really makes the difference

When we talk about ecommerce logistics we’re not only talking about “sending parcels”. It includes storage, stock management, order picking and packing, transport, tracking, returns and customer service. If one of these pieces fails, the customer will notice immediately.

When this chain works, the customer hardly pays attention to it; when it fails, it shows up as abandoned carts, complaints and loss of trust. That’s why it’s smart to review your operation before scaling sales or launching new campaigns.

1. No clear logistics strategy from day one

One of the most common mistakes is improvising: you start selling and “figure out later” how orders will be prepared and shipped. Without a clear strategy it’s easy to end up with manual processes, dependence on specific people and bottlenecks whenever demand spikes.

This is especially obvious during sales, Black Friday or seasonal campaigns, when order volume multiplies and the lack of planning turns into delays and shipping errors.

• Define your goals: delivery times, shipping zones, service levels and maximum logistics cost per order.
• Document the full flow: from the moment the order is placed until it is delivered or returned.
• Decide what will be handled in-house and what you will outsource to a logistics operator specialised in ecommerce.

Once your logistics strategy is written down, it becomes a roadmap to align the whole team and make consistent decisions as you grow.

2. Poor stock management and frequent stockouts

Overselling products you don’t have or running out of inventory just before a campaign is a classic. The root cause is usually the lack of real-time inventory control and demand forecasting based on gut feeling.

Stockouts lead to partial shipments, last-minute substitutions and, in the worst case, cancellations that seriously damage your brand perception.

• Implement a warehouse management system (WMS) or at least a centralised, up-to-date stock control.
• Use sales history to predict peaks and adjust purchasing to seasonality.
• Mark critical products and review their levels more frequently.

With solid stock control you reduce daily firefighting and can promise realistic lead times without worrying about running out of product.

3. Unstructured order picking and packing

When each person prepares orders “their own way”, you get picking errors, wrong sizes or colours and poorly labelled parcels. On top of that, it becomes almost impossible to measure productivity or identify where time is being wasted.

Standardisation doesn’t mean bureaucracy; it means designing a simple flow that anyone can follow, even if they join the team right in the middle of peak season.

• Design a logical route in the warehouse to reduce unnecessary walking.
• Define standard steps for picking, packing and final quality check.
• Use picking lists, barcodes or RF systems if your volume justifies it.

The clearer the process, the less you’ll depend on specific people and the easier it will be to scale your logistics for ecommerce.

4. Underestimating logistics costs

Another typical mistake is setting shipping fees “by eye” without really knowing the cost of each shipment. The result is an unprofitable ecommerce logistics model in which you lose money on each order or you make shipping so expensive that you scare customers away.

To make smart decisions, you need to know the total cost of picking, packing, transportation, returns and incident management per order type and delivery zone.With these numbers on the table you can design a clear, competitive and sustainable shipping policy and avoid nasty surprises at the end of the month.

5. Promising delivery times you can’t meet

“Next-day delivery” sounds great… until it becomes a promise you can’t keep. Overpromising on lead times is one of the quickest paths to negative reviews and unnecessary returns.

Delivery time depends on several factors: warehouse location, cut-off times, your internal preparation capacity and the real-world service of the carriers you work with.

• Set conservative lead times and clearly communicate the estimated delivery date.
• Define cut-off times (for example, orders placed before 2 p.m. ship the same day).
• Offer express services only when your operation and your logistics provider can reliably handle them.

It’s better to promise 48 hours and deliver in 24 than the opposite: customers value reliability over occasional speed.

6. Inadequate or unprofessional packaging

Poor packaging leads to damaged products, breakages and avoidable returns. It also sends the message that your ecommerce brand doesn’t pay attention to details, even if the product itself is high quality.

The challenge is to balance protection, appearance and cost, adapting packaging to the product type and the brand experience you want to deliver.

• Choose materials suitable for the weight and fragility of the product.
• Use fillers that protect without waste and adjust box sizes to the contents.
• Add branded elements (cards, messages, design) without driving up cost too much.

Good packaging reduces incidents, improves how customers perceive the order and supports an unboxing experience that fits your positioning.

7. Not giving customers clear information and tracking

Many customers get nervous when they don’t know where their order is. If your ecommerce doesn’t offer transparent tracking and proactive updates, your support inbox will fill with messages asking about delivery status.

Visibility is essential: not just for customers, but also for your team, who will then be able to manage incidents with the logistics operator more efficiently.

• Automate emails or SMS messages at key milestones: order received, prepared, shipped and delivered.
• Integrate carrier tracking on your site or in the customer area.
• Provide clear contact channels in case there are problems with delivery.

The more information customers have, the less they will need to contact support and the more they will see your logistics service as professional and reliable.

8. Handling returns without a clear process

Returns are part of the game in ecommerce, especially in sectors like fashion or electronics. The problem is not that returns exist, but not having a defined workflow to manage them quickly and in an organised way.

Without a proper process, returned parcels pile up, stock is not updated, refunds get delayed and the customer experience suffers.

• Set a clear, visible returns policy on your website.
• Define standard steps from the moment the customer requests a return until the product is back in stock.
• Decide which products will be checked, which can be refurbished and which must be written off.

A well-structured reverse logistics process turns a potential source of conflict into an opportunity to build long-term loyalty.

9. Choosing a logistics provider without checking the fit

Not all logistics services for ecommerce are the same. Choosing the first provider you find on Google or the cheapest option, without evaluating processes and capabilities, can become very expensive in terms of incidents and poor customer experience.

It’s important to assess not just price but also service quality, technology, flexibility and experience in your industry and in online sales.

• Review which services they offer: storage, order preparation, transport, tracking, customer service, returns.
• Check their information systems and integration with your ecommerce platform.
• Ask for references and real cases in businesses similar to yours.

Working with an integrated logistics operator for ecommerce allows you to centralise processes, gain visibility and rely on a specialist partner who has already solved the challenges you are starting to face.

10. Not using data to measure and improve logistics

Without clear indicators, logistics is managed “by feel”. It’s hard to know whether you are getting better or worse, and almost impossible to spot problems early before they impact the buying experience.

Measuring doesn’t mean building huge dashboards, but choosing a few KPIs that help you make decisions: real delivery times, logistics cost per order, incident rate, return rate and so on.

• Define 4 or 5 key metrics aligned with your business goals.
• Review this data regularly and share conclusions with the team.
• Plan small, continuous improvements and track their impact.

Over time, this data-driven culture turns your logistics into a more efficient and predictable process, instead of a constant source of surprises.

How to start improving your ecommerce logistics today

You don’t need to change your whole system overnight. The most effective approach is usually to pick one or two of the mistakes above, the ones that hurt you most right now, and set a concrete improvement plan for the coming weeks.

Review your strategy, talk to your team, consider support from a specialist operator and, above all, document what works. Step by step, logistics will stop being a recurring problem and will become a competitive advantage for your ecommerce business.