Whether you are an individual sending packages to your family in another country or a company looking to ship bulk packages all over Australia, understanding the shipping process and the terminology associated with it is quite important.
If you track your shipments regularly, you might have seen the status of your shipment change from “Lodged by Sender” to “In Transit”, and then finally to “Delivered”.
While the meaning of these terms is fairly self-explanatory, the implications of these statuses are often ambiguous.
In this article, we will understand “Lodged by Sender” meaning, and then the specifics of what the process entails for senders, shipping companies, and the recipients.
What is Lodged by Sender?: Meaning and Importance
The process of a parcel getting “lodged by sender” or its lodgement simply means that it has been handed over to your carrier or courier partner of choice.
Not all carriers use the exact phrase ‘Lodged by Sender’ — some use similar statuses such as ‘Accepted’, ‘Received’, ‘Picked up’, or ‘Shipping information received’.
Basically, a shipment or package is marked as “lodged by sender” in a courier company’s system when it enters their network after being deposited by the customer (shipper).
For a package to be considered “lodged by sender”, it is typically handed over to the carrier or an authorised agent (and scanned/recorded in their system) at an approved location such as a post office, courier branch, parcel locker, or designated drop-off point.
When a package’s status is updated to “lodged by sender”, the responsibilities associated with the package are generally considered handed over from the sender to the courier company.
How Does a Package Become “Lodged by Sender”? A 5-Step The Process
Depending on the contents of your parcel, the distance between the origin and destination locations, and the type of business you work in, the lodgement process can vary.
1. Packing and Preparation
To ensure your package or courier successfully enters the carrier network, you must first properly wrap and pack your item.
You should also affix a relevant shipping label with the complete sender and recipient details on the packaged item for door-to-door delivery. You must also add customs documentation to the package if applicable, and prepare it for the drop-off or pickup.
2. Deposit at an Approved Location
In most instances, you will drop off your package or courier at the post office or courier office.
However, in some cases, you may be required to drop it off at a retail partner location or automated parcel kiosks. You must ensure that the courier office and you mutually agree upon the drop-off location.
3. System Entry
Once your package is received at the shipping carrier’s office, it will be scanned and entered into the system, with the time, location, tracking information, and sender/receiver details recorded.
If you are sending bulk shipments, remember that system entry is done by scanning the manifest, delaying the activation of individual package tracking.
4. Electronic Acknowledgement
Once your package or shipment is entered into the system, you will receive a digital or physical receipt acknowledging its success.
At this point, the carrier will update the status of your package as “lodged by sender” in the system, and notifications will be sent out to the sender and recipient.
5. Pre-Transit Storage
Before your parcel moves onward, it may be held at a regional or national sorting centre while it awaits processing or dispatch.
During this time, it remains in the carrier’s custody and will usually move once processing resumes.
What Does “Lodged by Sender” Mean for Both Parties?
By now, we have delved deep into the meaning of the “lodged by sender” status of a package in the carrier network and the process of ensuring your package enters the courier network.
Let us now look into what marking a package as means for both parties.
Importance for the Sender
For a sender, the package entering the carrier network sends out more than one positive signal.
When a package is marked as “lodged by sender”, the status change is evidence of dispatch from the sender’s premises, and is recorded and tracked by the carrier.
This can be crucial in addressing any “item not sent” claims at later stages.
Sending tracking numbers and information about your package, and updating its status as “lodged,” is a great reassurance for the sender.
Doing so improves transparency and can help you reduce anxiety, especially if you are an e-commerce business. Business users can track the duration between the “lodged” status update and subsequent updates to measure dispatch efficiency and spot issues.
Importance for the Receiver
For recipients, updating the status of a package to “lodged” verifies that it has left the sender’s possession, thus minimizing the scope of any fraud or delays.
In case your package is lost or goes missing during transit, you can start tracking the process from the point it is marked as “lodged,” as that is the first point of carrier liability.
Remember to manage your expectations from this point onwards in the shipping process. When a package marked as “lodged” does not indicate that it has been shipped.
The status update simply means that your package has entered the courier network.
5 Best Practices Sender Should Follow For The Package To Become “Lodged”
Now that we have understood the meaning and importance of marking a package as “lodged by sender” and the lodgement process to follow. With that in mind, let us now look at the best practices to follow when you want your package to be “lodged” with the courier network:
1. Proper Packaging and Labeling
Over 40% consumers around the world expect faster delivery (within 2-3 days), making it important for companies to invest in the shipping process.
Consider using high-quality, robust, and weather-resistant packaging materials to safeguard your shipment, and align your packing with carrier recommendations.
Along with the packaging, you should also consider adding clear, legible, accurate labels containing the complete address and contact information of the sender and receiver, for better delivery management.
For your international shipments, you should not only choose the right packaging materials and labels, but also pay attention to the specific customs requirements applicable to your package. You must fill out all the customs forms, prepare all the necessary documentation, and attach it securely.
2. Using Approved Drop-Off Points
While the best way to ensure your package is marked “lodged” is to submit it at the courier office or post office, you can prioritize an approved drop-off point if they are too far.
Aside from the registered, official locations, many courier companies have designated drop-off points that you can choose to prevent shipping or scanning delays.
When you want to get your parcel “lodged” in the system, ensure that you collect the receipt and retain it safely.
Additionally, you must also avoid any off-market or unauthorized points, such as unlisted kiosks and unsupervised bins, when dropping off your package to avoid losing it in the process.
3. Understanding Cut-Off Times
If you want your package processed on the same day, you must be wary of the cut-off times in the relevant locations. Each location may have a specific and different cut-off time, causing operational disruptions.
What’s more, to ensure your lodgement is successful, ensure they fit the timelines associated with each location, especially when you are looking for guaranteed or expedited deliveries.
While there is nothing wrong with submitting a package after the cut-off time, know that it will be processed and moved forward in the process the next day.
4. Communicating with Recipients
As a sender, especially if you are a business, you have to be proactive about sharing the tracking details for the package with the recipients.
As soon as you record your package as “lodged by sender”, you will receive the tracking details, which you can deliver to recipients using automated notifications and proactive communication/messages. If you expect any delays in updating the “lodged” stage, alert the recipient in advance to actively avoid any confusion going forward.
5. Considering Potential Delays
Start by considering and accounting for any planned delays that may impact the shipping process. During holidays, peak shopping seasons, and sales events such as Black Friday or Cyber Monday, regular senders and receivers must expect the wait for the “Lodged” status to become “Processing” or “In Transit” to be much longer.
In such cases, you should also inform the recipient or customer about the exact reason for delays in advance and provide realistic timelines.
To provide accurate tracking and updates, consider implementing digital tracking and automation, and boost efficiency.
Concluding Remarks
As an eCommerce company or a regular package sender, understanding the implications and the significance of “Lodged by Sender” is crucial.
To ensure stress-free shipping, eCommerce companies must balance logistics and planning and adhere to best practices to ensure timely shipping and higher customer satisfaction levels. Consider leveraging and implementing digital tracking systems that can track all your packages and adapt their processes to be smarter and more reliable.
To understand the cost of shipping your parcel and ensure a smooth process, get a quote and proceed with registering your shipment with us.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What Does “Lodged by Sender” Mean?
The status of your parcel or package being updated as “Lodged by Sender” suggests that your shipment has been registered and entered the courier network.
2. What Does Customer Enquiry Lodged Mean?
When you have registered a complaint with your shipping company, and the status of that query or complaint is updated to “customer enquiry lodged”, you can consider your complaint getting added to your system or customer support pipeline.
3. What is a Lodgement Reference Number?
Whether you are lodging a shipment or a complaint on your shipping carrier’s network, you will get a reference number once it is successfully registered. This reference number is known as the lodgement reference number.