Don’t knock couriers for e-tailers’ failures

Robert Dwek, in his article “Courier crisis means that online retailers are still failing to deliver” (MW May 26), cites the couriers as the villains of the piece when it comes to the fail- ure of e-tailers to deliver on their grandiose promises. But I question whether the blame is being laid at the right door.

Mediocre back-end logistics on the part of suppliers should not be apportioned to the carrier. “Problems at the carrier”, “the carrier has lost/broken/eaten it” generally translate as “we addressed it wrong” or “our warehouse couldn’t get it out of the door in time.”

Stop allowing companies to make their carriers scapegoats. If the carrier is that bad it should be ousted in favour of a better one. The reality is that the courier has become the whipping boy for a generation of companies that promise the Earth without the logistical capability to deliver it.

Luke Mansfield

Brand manager

eeZee tv

Bristol