Exception handling refers to the structured recording, documentation and resolution of deviations in the logistics process — such as non-receipt, transport damage, quantity discrepancies or misdelivery — between shipper, service provider and recipient. It is more than complaints processing: an exception case can arise without any complaint, when system stock and physical goods drift apart. It should be distinguished from returns management, which organizes the regulated return flow of goods — an exception case begins where something did not go to plan.
Exception cases tie up exactly the resources that day-to-day business lacks: someone has to research, phone and document — while the recipient waits and the inventory carries a discrepancy nobody can explain. Left unprocessed, exception cases distort inventory data and with it every replenishment decision.
Add the time pressure: carriers set short deadlines for damage reports, and whoever documents too late is left with the costs. For decision-makers, the exception-case rate is therefore one of the most honest metrics of a logistics provider — it shows how cleanly the upstream processes run.
For a non-receipt case, we check order and shipping data, carrier status and proof of delivery, then coordinate further investigation with the carrier and recipient. Replacement, collection or a stock correction follows the agreed decision.
Our GPS tracking can be agreed additionally for shipments equipped for it; it does not mean every shipment is located by GPS. Location data does not replace delivery investigation.
In Bitburger support, our AI answers more than 85 percent of email enquiries; this customer figure does not describe the automation rate of every exception case.
Four terms from prevention and processing:
Any deviation between target and actual in the logistics process: non-receipt, transport damage, quantity discrepancy, misdelivery or unexpected extra costs. An exception case does not require a complaint — an unexplained inventory discrepancy is one too.
Through suitable packaging, complete order data, stock reconciliation and agreed receiving conditions. Carrier updates support tracking. Additional GPS tracking is set up separately for suitable shipments.
Because open exception cases get more expensive by the day: the recipient waits, replacement deliveries start, inventory discrepancies remain unexplained. In addition, carriers set short deadlines for damage reports — whoever documents too late bears the costs.
We document the case, check status and evidence and coordinate investigation with the carrier and recipient. Responsibilities agreed in advance determine who approves replacement, collection or a booking correction. The case closes with a recorded decision and response.
