Most calls to a courier or logistics company ask one of a handful of questions: where is my shipment, why is it late, can you change the address, when will the pickup happen. When volumes spike after a sale or before a festival, these calls jam the lines and the angry ones get lost. A well run logistics call centre answers the routine questions fast, gets the hard cases to a person who can fix them, and keeps customers informed before they need to call. This guide explains how to set one up.
Who calls a logistics company
A logistics call centre serves several groups, and each needs a different path.
| Caller | Typical question | Best handled by |
|---|---|---|
| Receivers | Where is my parcel, delivery time, reschedule | Self-service updates, then support queue |
| Senders and sellers | Pickup booking, COD remittance, lost or damaged shipment | Dedicated business support queue |
| Delivery staff | Address not found, customer unreachable | Internal line to a hub or dispatch desk |
| Hubs and branches | Coordination between locations | Extension-to-extension calls |
| Corporate clients | Escalations, account issues | Named account team |
Mixing all of these in one queue is the most common mistake. A seller with a pickup problem and a receiver asking for a delivery date should not wait in the same line.
The call flow
Separate numbers or an IVR menu
Give business customers and the public separate numbers, or one number with a short IVR menu. In Voxdial Contact Center, each incoming DID number maps to its own call group, and an IVR sends each key press to a queue, ring group or another menu. A simple public menu:
- Press 1 to track a shipment or change delivery.
- Press 2 for pickup booking.
- Press 3 for lost or damaged shipments.
- Press 4 to speak to an agent.
Keep the menu short. Our guide to IVR call flow design explains why four options is usually the limit.
Queues and priorities
Each menu option lands in an inbound group with its own hold music, announcements, timeout and maximum queue length. Agent priorities from 1 to 9 let you offer calls first to your most experienced agents for claims and escalations, and spill over to others when they are busy. See skill based routing for how to build this from groups and priorities.
Missed calls and callbacks
In a rush, some callers will hang up. Voxdial keeps an undialed missed call list and can turn on auto callback, so an idle agent’s console calls these customers back during the hours you set. Make clearing that list a daily rule. Our post on missed call management covers the routine.
Shipment tracking: reduce calls before they happen
The cheapest call is the one the customer never has to make. Most “where is my parcel” calls disappear when customers get timely updates.
WhatsApp updates from your system
The BitVoice Social Media Platform runs on the official WhatsApp Business API. Your transport or order management system can send messages through its HTTP API, including approved template messages, at each step:
- Shipment booked, with the tracking number.
- Out for delivery today.
- Delivery attempted, with a button to reschedule or contact support.
- Delivered.
Replies from customers land in a shared inbox where support agents answer them, with a chatbot handling routine questions and handing over to a person when needed. Read WhatsApp template messages for the rules on utility templates.
AI voice agent as backup
Human first: your agents answer first. When every agent is busy during a peak, a BitVoice AI voice agent can pick up instead of leaving the caller in a long queue. It can speak in 22 Indian languages, and through LiteBot tools it can call your tracking system to read out a shipment’s status. If the caller needs a person, it passes the call back to the next free agent with a summary. When the queue is still busy, the caller can be sent a WhatsApp or SMS chat link to continue in chat.
Supporting delivery staff and hubs
Riders and hub staff call the office too. Put them on a separate internal number or extension group, so their calls do not compete with customers.
- Hubs and branches on one IP PBX call each other by extension at no call cost.
- Dispatch desks use ring groups so one of several people answers.
- Field supervisors can use follow-me to ring their mobile when away from the desk.
What to measure
Read these reports every week, using the reports in Voxdial Contact Center:
- Abandoned calls by queue and by IVR option, to find where callers give up.
- Missed call callbacks, how many were returned and how fast.
- Dispositions, to see why customers call. If “Where is my shipment” is the top reason, your proactive updates need work. See call disposition codes.
- Agent performance, including wrap-up time per call.
Combine this with a short post-call survey to learn whether customers felt their problem was solved.
Good practice for logistics support
- Ask for the tracking number early, in the IVR or the first sentence of the call.
- Give agents read access to the tracking system in the agent console, so they do not ask colleagues.
- Set a clear rule for lost and damaged claims: who owns them and how soon the customer hears back.
- Keep a separate queue for corporate clients and sellers.
- Record calls for disputes, and control who can listen to recordings.
Planning a support desk for a courier or logistics business? Talk to BitVoice.
FAQs
What is a logistics call centre?
It is the support team, phone system and processes a courier or logistics company uses to answer customers, sellers and delivery staff, track shipments and resolve problems.
How can we reduce “where is my parcel” calls?
Send WhatsApp updates at each step of the delivery from your own system, with a way to reply. Customers who already know the status call far less.
Can an AI voice agent tell callers their shipment status?
Yes, as a backup when agents are busy. Through LiteBot tools it can look up the shipment in your system and read the status, then pass the caller to an agent if needed.
Should delivery staff use the same number as customers?
No. Give riders and hubs a separate internal number or extension group so their calls do not wait behind customer calls.
