Delivery Appointment Scheduled: Logistics Lingo Explained

“Delivery appointment scheduled” means that a date and time have been set for your delivery. 

Each delivery service will say it a little differently, but it all means the same thing:

• Amazon notifications usually say “delivery appointment scheduled”.
• UPS and FedEx notifications use “scheduled delivery”.

What’s the difference between estimated time of arrival (ETA) and a scheduled delivery time?

A scheduled delivery appointment is a commitment by the delivery company to deliver your order at a particular time, or on a particular day. With local deliveries from smaller companies you may get a choice about when the appointment is scheduled, but usually the delivery company will just tell you when the appointment is. 

On the other hand, once your order is on the road and out for delivery, you may get an ETA or estimated time of arrival. This is the delivery company’s best guess about when your delivery will arrive. 

How delivery appointment scheduling notifications work

Let’s say you order a new Apple product from an online retailer on a Monday evening. Depending on where you are and how the retailer organizes their deliveries, you’ll get a series of email or text message notifications: 

• Confirmation that the retailer received your payment and the order has been placed.
• Notification that the order has been shipped — in other words, it’s been packed and left the warehouse on its way to you. If you placed the order on Monday night, this will probably arrive sometime on Tuesday. If the warehouse is far away, it could still be a couple of days before you get your jacket.
• Notification that the delivery appointment has been scheduled. This should include a date, and maybe a time — for example, your delivery is scheduled for Thursday. 
• You may get an extra notification when your order is out for delivery. This means it’s arrived at a local depot and been loaded onto a van headed your way, so you will get it the same day. 
• Finally, you’ll probably get a message when the order is complete and you’ve received your jacket.

Not every retailer sends exactly the same notifications, and sometimes you’ll get several notifications in one. 

For example, Amazon warehouses operate around the clock, and Amazon has its own last-mile delivery network. With all those systems connected, your order confirmation, shipping notification and delivery notice will often all arrive in the same email. 

If you’re ordered from a smaller retailer, or one that doesn't operate 24/7, they won’t be able to pack your order until the next day. Then they have to arrange for a shipping company to collect it. In this case you’ll get a “shipped” notification from the retailer, ideally with a tracking number for USPS, Fedex, UPS, or whichever shipping service they’ve chosen. 

After that it will depend on the shipping provider or courier what happens next. Some will communicate a clear delivery appointment, others will require you to check their tracking site to see what’s going on. 

Delivery scheduling: Company choice vs customer choice 

Often, the delivery company or courier will pick the date and time of delivery for you. But it’s becoming more common for retailers and delivery service providers to offer you a choice of delivery appointment time slots that suit you.

In the past, you could only get a scheduled delivery appointment if you were ordering something expensive, bulky or dangerous, like:

• Firearms
• Artwork, luxury goods, antiques, and collectibles
• Electronics
• Large items
• Alcohol
• Anything hazardous or dangerous
• Pharmaceuticals

But today, more and more e-commerce businesses and delivery services, especially local businesses that do last mile deliveries, are giving customers a choice when it comes to their delivery date and time. 

Grocery stores tend to be good at this. For example, here’s the delivery appointment time picker for a local grocery store in Vancouver, where we’re based. 

Customers can choose between a number of different time window options, down to two hours (at a premium) for those who value the convenience. 

That’s all you need to know about the basics of delivery appointment scheduling! 

If you want to read on to find out more about the benefits of delivery scheduling for retailers and customers, we’ll look at those in the next section. 

Benefits of delivery scheduling

Benefits for customers

1. Predictability

Did you know that 72% of customers value convenient delivery times just as much as fast delivery? Which makes total sense. No one wants to hang around all day waiting for a home delivery that’s scheduled to arrive anytime between 8am and 5pm. 

Scheduled deliveries give you as a customer the choice to pick a delivery window that suits you best so that you can plan your movements. If you know an order is due for delivery at 1pm on Tuesday, they won’t be popping out to get bread and milk from the shops at 12:55pm.

2. Security

With more people shopping online, more packages are being delivered, which leads to more opportunities for theft. People who steal packages from people’s doorsteps or porches, or “porch pirates”, are especially common in neighborhoods where deliveries happen more often. Scheduled deliveries reduce the risk of theft because packages that arrive at a precise time are likely to be brought safely indoors sooner.

3. Flexibility

With scheduled delivery you can choose from different delivery options based on how urgently you need your delivery. If you forgot your wife’s birthday, you’ll want to quickly swipe your credit card and fast-track delivery of a great gift. 

On the other hand, if you spotted a special on breakfast cereal and want to stock up on a few boxes for the coming months, you won’t mind waiting a few business days for your delivery to arrive. 

Benefits for retailers, courier businesses and delivery services

Scheduled delivery appointments streamline the delivery process and improve the delivery experience in several ways. 

1. Operational efficiency

Appointment-based deliveries help delivery companies organize their time, vehicles, and staff more effectively. With a clear delivery schedule, they can reduce downtime, boost productivity and optimize their routes so that packages are delivered as quickly and efficiently as possible.

2. Improved customer satisfaction

Every time you interact with a customer, you have a chance to win their loyalty. When you let them pick a delivery time that works for them, it shows you care. Customers really appreciate being able to choose when their package arrives, and knowing the exact timing helps build trust.

Bonus points if your notifications to customers include a phone number or other customer support details!

3. Fewer missed deliveries

When delivery appointments are scheduled, customers can make sure they’re at home or in the office when the delivery arrives. For delivery businesses and courier companies, this means fewer missed deliveries and less time spent rescheduling. This also saves costs.

4. Less theft and damage

When goods are moving from one place to another, there is always a chance that something could get stolen, lost or damaged. And this only increases when a customer misses a delivery. Sometimes, the package is taken back to a local facility or fulfillment center, which increases the chance that it could be lost or damaged.

Delivery appointment scheduling software automates appointment bookings and provides real-time updates. This technology helps shippers manage appointments more efficiently and reduces the likelihood of missed deliveries. 

💡 Routific's delivery scheduling and route optimization software makes it easy to create profitable routes, with accurate ETAs and real-time tracking to ensure you deliver the best customer experience.