NDR management: a failed-delivery desk routine

NDR management is the routine for handling a courier's Non-Delivery Report after a failed delivery attempt. Check the reported reason, confirm what the buyer wants, send the courier information that changes the next attempt, and track the parcel to a final outcome.

Work the oldest actionable cases first. Keep the seller request, courier attempt and final delivery as separate events so the next shift can see exactly what the parcel needs.

What is NDR in ecommerce?

Shiprocket's NDR definition describes it as a notification that a courier could not deliver an order. The panel shows a reported reason. It offers a decision point while the shipment is still unresolved.

Return to origin, or RTO, is a different outcome: the undelivered parcel is being returned to the seller. A customer return after a successful delivery is another process again. Do not combine all of these under a single returns number when deciding what is going wrong.

An order may appear in the NDR queue more than once. Count the shipment once when measuring affected orders. Keep every event in its history when assessing whether follow-up happened. Otherwise repeated events can make your problem look larger while a bulk-action count makes the solution look better than it is.

Build a reason-based queue

Build the desk queue around the action needed. Retain the courier's original reason alongside the verified buyer response.

Do not treat a reason code as proof of buyer fault. It is a starting point for verification. Repeated address issues might expose a checkout field problem; repeated refusals might point to an unclear offer. The desk log should preserve the distinction between the courier's report and the buyer's response.

Set a response window and an owner

Shiprocket's NDR process-time page asks sellers to respond as early as possible or within 24 hours. The page was last modified in January 2023 and checked for this guide on 06 Nov 2026. Treat it as published guidance, then check the actual deadline in your account.

Assign an owner to each unresolved shipment. The queue needs an age, a next action and a due time. Check the oldest unresolved events at the start of a shift and hand over any item whose deadline arrives before the next owner is working.

A saved internal note is not the same as a submitted courier instruction. Record both timestamps. That separation exposes whether a delay sits with customer contact, the desk handoff or the courier after submission.

Use a closing-shift check to find requests with no new scan. Do not mark them resolved simply to clear the dashboard. If the panel has an escalation path, the next owner should receive the request reference and supporting evidence with the handover.

Contact the buyer with a concrete question

The purpose of contact is to obtain an instruction the courier can act on. Keep the first message short. Identify the store, refer to the order safely and state the reported problem. Ask for the missing detail without making an accusation.

For example, a message template for an incomplete address can say:

Our courier could not locate the address for your order. If you still want delivery, please confirm the missing building or landmark detail through our support channel. We will check whether the courier can reattempt.

Use your approved support channel for the reply. Never ask for an OTP, card PIN or a payment to a personal account. Avoid adding promotional offers to a delivery-service message.

If the customer says the promised amount was different, check the original order total before requesting a reattempt. Use the COD charges guide to separate the checkout fee from courier deductions. The courier needs one correct collection amount.

How to process an NDR in Shiprocket

Shiprocket's processing guide documents reattempt, fake-attempt, contact-buyer and RTO options. For a reattempt it describes supplying corrected contact or address information and a requested delivery date. For a disputed attempt it describes supporting buyer confirmation.

Use the panel's current fields and preserve the submission history. Our recommended checking routine is:

1. Match the NDR event to the airway bill and the customer order. Confirm you are acting on the current attempt.
2. Record the buyer's response in a restricted order note. Do not paste an entire customer conversation into a team-wide spreadsheet.
3. Check that the proposed correction is allowed by the selected service. A new destination may require a different process.
4. Submit the appropriate action with the required evidence. Save its timestamp and request reference.
5. Set a follow-up against the next courier update. Keep the shipment open until its actual outcome is known.

If the buyer definitively refuses the order, repeated automatic reattempts may add work without a plausible route to delivery. Follow your authorised cancellation and return process. A low RTO count achieved by leaving unwanted parcels unresolved is a misleading result.

Escalate the request with evidence

Shiprocket documents an escalation option under the requested-action queue in its NDR escalation guide. Its documentation explains that the courier receives the escalation information. Track the next courier scan against the escalation timestamp.

Write the escalation around the event history: the failed-attempt report, the verified buyer instruction, your submission time and the missing courier response. Attach only the evidence needed for that request. A generic instruction to deliver urgently gives the next handler little to work with.

Do not promise a fixed number of attempts to a customer. Shiprocket's separate delivery-attempt help page says the number depends on the courier and reason, and that some parcels can be marked RTO after the first attempt. Check the current shipment status before telling the buyer a reattempt is available.

Compare automated NDR handling across providers

Delhivery's SmartNDR documentation, updated 08 Jul 2026 and checked 06 Nov 2026, describes follow-up through WhatsApp and calls, using courier call insights and shipment data. It distinguishes a recommended return from a return authorised by the seller; an OTP-verified customer cancellation is the stated automatic-return exception.

Use that distinction when assessing any managed NDR service. Ask who can authorise a return, what evidence accompanies a reattempt and how the desk retrieves the action history. Require a clear handoff for customer disputes. Automation should shorten the queue while preserving a traceable buyer decision.

Measure NDR outcomes on a closed cohort

Choose a dispatch cohort and let its shipments reach final outcomes. Split prepaid and COD if both have enough volume to interpret. Keep unresolved parcels visible instead of silently dropping them from the denominator.

Use these definitions consistently:

• NDR incidence: unique shipments with an NDR divided by dispatched shipments in the same cohort.
• Post-NDR delivery rate: NDR-affected shipments eventually delivered divided by NDR-affected shipments. Report unresolved shipments alongside it.
• Response time: elapsed time from the NDR event to the first submitted seller action. It does not measure courier response.
• RTO rate: shipments with a final RTO outcome divided by dispatched shipments. State whether the return is initiated or physically received.

Worked example with assumed counts: a cohort contains 100 dispatched parcels. Suppose 20 receive an NDR, then 12 are delivered and 8 end in RTO. NDR incidence is 20%, post-NDR delivery is 60%, and final RTO is 8% of dispatches. Keep the dispatch count as the denominator for the overall RTO measure.

Put a rupee value on the follow-up

Use delivered contribution after product, payment and delivery costs. In the same planning worksheet, assume an NDR service costs ₹600 for a cohort. Suppose two genuinely additional delivered orders each retain ₹250 after all variable costs. The additional ₹500 does not cover the ₹600 service bill.

The word additional matters. Some parcels would have been delivered on a later attempt without the service. Compare against a reasonable unchanged process with similar order mix before crediting every post-NDR delivery to a tool or calling team. Keep any courier savings separate to avoid counting the same benefit twice.

If this is outsourced, ask for shipment-level action history and final outcomes rather than a message-sent total. Agree what happens when a buyer refuses, who is allowed to change a collection amount, and how unresolved cases are handed back.

Feed delivery reasons into the next growth decision

Use verified reasons to decide the next operational check. Address corrections belong in the checkout review. Collection disputes belong in offer and fee disclosure. Courier-specific delays belong in route and service selection. A product expectation issue belongs in the landing page or creative brief.

Use the RTO reduction worksheet to rank those changes by contribution. Assign the selected change an owner and a measurement window. Then compare complete cohorts with similar products and destinations. Review shipping costs alongside outcomes: a different service can change the cost of every dispatch, including the parcels that still return.