Melbourne-based dog food company Scratch is $150,000 out of pocket, due toshipping delays by Australia Post.

The company started noticing problems in July and began alerting existingcustomers to order sooner if their food was running low.

Mike Halligan, Scratch Co-Founder, said it has been the hardest few months oftheir business since launching in 2018.

“All in all, it’s cost us over $150,000, from upgrading all of our shipping toexpress on their encouragement (which was no faster), to replacing orderslong-lost in a system (there were plenty), to moving to a courier onceAustralia Post said they wouldn’t pick up at all (they were no better), to nowhaving to do our own deliveries (because we were left with no other choice).”

Halligan said that’s not including the customer service overtime they put in,or the future customers they’ve lost because they couldn’t deliver to theirusual standards.

With orders taking three to five weeks to arrive, Halligan and the teamdecided to set-up their own delivery service.

“Within 48 hours of making the decision, we hired our own vans and drivers,set up our own depots around the state, coded up delivery software and havebeen delivering all of our Melbourne orders ourselves.”

This decision is currently costing Scratch double what their typicalfulfilment costs are, but they see it as a worthwhile investment.

“It’s important that we get dogs their food and meet our promise to customersof doing everything we can for them. We’re subscription only so we view thatas an unspoken contract for us to look after their dog no matter what.”

Tagged: Australia Post, Scratch

Previous Pet Fair South-East Asia postponed to October 2022

Next Top pet Halloween costumes revealed!