> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.vortexiq.ai/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Exception Rate, NetDispatch > Exception Rate for NetDispatch stores. Tracked live in Vortex IQ Nerve Centre. How to read it, why it matters, and how to act on it. **Metrics type:** [Key Metrics](/nerve-centre/overview#metrics-types-explained) • **Category:** [Shipping & Courier](/nerve-centre/connectors#connectors-by-type) ## At a glance > Share of Net Dispatch-routed parcels that received a UK carrier exception scan in transit. Net Dispatch normalises Royal Mail, DPD, Evri, Yodel exception event codes into a unified taxonomy. Leading indicator for late deliveries. | | | | --------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **What it counts** | `COUNT(Net Dispatch shipments WHERE tracking events INCLUDE any exception code) / COUNT(shipments)` over the trailing 30 days. | | **Exception types (Net Dispatch normalised)** | `delivery_attempted_recipient_absent`, `address_issue` (postcode-typo, missing flat number, unrecognised street), `held_at_depot`, `customs_hold` (international), `weather_disruption`, `damaged`, `lost`, `redirected_safe_place`, `failed_collection` (parcel never picked up from merchant). | | **UK-specific exception types** | "Held at depot for collection" is uniquely common in UK due to recipient-not-home in flats and dense urban areas with no safe drop-off; carriers leave a "We Missed You" card. **Failed collection** is also UK-specific: when carrier drivers fail to pick up from merchant warehouse on schedule (typical for Evri/Yodel rural pickup). | | **Lead-indicator semantics** | 50 to 70% of exceptions resolve on next-day attempt; some escalate to 1-7 day delays. | | **Service level scope** | All Net Dispatch carriers pooled. | | **Returns / RTO** | Excluded. | | **Holiday surge** | UK Q4 (mid-November to 24 Dec) typically sees 1.5x to 3x normal exception rate. | | **Time window** | `30D vsP` | | **Alert trigger** | `>3%` (warn). UK steady-state typically 1.5 to 3.5% (slightly higher than US baseline due to flat-block address complexity). | | **Sentiment key** | gauge with thresholds good=1, warn=3 (lower is better) | | **Roles** | owner, operations | ## Calculation Calculated automatically from your NetDispatch data. See the At a glance summary above for what the metric tracks and the worked example below for a typical reading. ## Worked example A UK DTC fashion merchant via Net Dispatch. Reading taken at 09:00 GMT on 12 Mar 26 for the trailing 30 days vs the prior 30 days. | Exception type | Shipments affected | % of total | Vs prior 30D | | ------------------------------------- | ------------------ | ---------- | -------------------- | | Delivery attempted (recipient absent) | 412 | 2.5% | +0.3 ppt | | Address issue | 280 | 1.7% | +0.5 ppt | | Held at depot | 168 | 1.0% | flat | | Weather disruption | 32 | 0.2% | +0.1 ppt | | Failed collection | 28 | 0.2% | flat | | Customs hold (international) | 18 | 0.1% | -0.1 ppt | | Damaged | 14 | 0.1% | flat | | **All exceptions (this card)** | **952** | **5.8%** | **+0.8 ppt vs 5.0%** | The card reads **5.8%** with sentiment red (above warn=3); alert tripped. Five things to notice: 1. **Address-issue rate climbing 0.5 ppt is the headline.** Investigation: the merchant launched a new mobile-checkout flow in late February that doesn't validate UK postcodes against Royal Mail's PAF (Postcode Address File). Fix: integrate Loqate or AddressFinder for UK address validation at checkout. Expected drop: 0.4 to 0.7 ppt within 2 weeks. 2. **Recipient-absent at 2.5% is normal for UK urban DTC.** UK households (especially flats) are typically empty during business hours; "delivery attempted" is irreducible to \~2% for non-safe-place merchants. Mitigation: enable safe-place options at checkout (porch, neighbour, parcel locker) which Net Dispatch can pass through to most carriers. 3. **Held at depot at 1.0% is part of the UK pattern.** "Held at depot for collection" is common when delivery attempt fails and recipient hasn't arranged redelivery. The recipient must collect within 7-18 days (carrier-dependent) or the parcel returns to sender. 4. **Failed collection at 0.2% indicates merchant-side issue.** 28 shipments where Evri/Yodel drivers failed to pick up from the merchant's warehouse on schedule. Investigate with Net Dispatch CSM; usually traces to specific driver routes or unreliable pickup windows. 5. **The 952 exceptions in 30 days will produce roughly 480-670 late deliveries downstream.** This card is the early-warning signal for the on-time number. ## Sibling cards merchants should reference together | Card | Why pair it with Exception Rate | What the combination tells you | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | [On-Time Delivery Rate](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/net-dispatch/on-time-delivery-rate) | Lagging confirmation. | Exception rising 24-72 hours before on-time drops is the early warning. | | [Late Shipments](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/net-dispatch/late-shipments) | Lagging count. | 50-70% of exceptions become late. | | [Returned to Sender](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/net-dispatch/returned-to-sender) | Worst-case outcome. | Held-at-depot exceptions that fail collection become RTS within 7-18 days. | | [Dispatch-to-Collection Lag](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/net-dispatch/dispatch-to-collection-lag) | UK-specific upstream. | Failed-collection exceptions feed this. | | Cross-connector: [`royal_mail.rm_exception_rate`](/nerve-centre/royal_mail/rm_exception_rate) | Direct-RM subset. | Same. | | Cross-connector: UK address-validation tools (Loqate, AddressFinder) | Upstream cause. | High address-issue rate suggests checkout-side validation isn't firing. | ## Reconciling against the vendor's own dashboard **Where to look in Net Dispatch's own dashboard:** [Net Dispatch Dashboard](https://www.netdispatch.com/) → **Tracking → Filter by status: Exception**. Lists shipments with active or recent exception events, per type. The card aggregates; the dashboard supports row-level triage. **Why our number may legitimately differ from Net Dispatch's portal:** | Reason | Direction | Why | | ------------------------------ | ---------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Carrier event-code mapping** | Either | Net Dispatch maps carrier-specific codes to a unified taxonomy; some Evri/Yodel custom codes have edge-case mappings. | | **Polling lag** | Ours lower for "today" | Net Dispatch polls every 30-60 minutes. | | **Exception duration** | Either | The card counts any exception event in the period regardless of resolution; portal sometimes filters to active-only. | **Cross-connector reconciliation:** | Card | Expected relationship | What causes legitimate divergence | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------- | ---------------------------------------------- | | [`royal_mail.rm_exception_rate`](/nerve-centre/royal_mail/rm_exception_rate) | Net Dispatch-RM subset. | Direct-RM may include non-Net-Dispatch volume. | | [`dpd.dpd_exception_rate`](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/dpd/exception-rate) | Same for DPD. | Same. | ## Known limitations / merchant FAQs **How do I cut UK address-issue exceptions?** Integrate Royal Mail PAF-backed address-validation at checkout (Loqate, AddressFinder, Crafty Clicks, GetAddress). UK addresses are postcode-driven; the validator rejects undeliverable postcodes and standardises flat numbers. Reduces address-issue rate by 50-70% within a billing period. **Why is "Held at depot" so prevalent in UK?** UK households (especially flats and apartments in London, Manchester, Birmingham) often have no safe drop-off, no porch, no neighbour relationship. Carriers attempt delivery, fail, hold at depot. Recipient must collect or arrange redelivery within 7-18 days. Mitigation: enable safe-place options at checkout; offer parcel-locker or collection-point delivery (especially Royal Mail Click & Collect, DPD Pickup). **What's "Failed collection"?** Net Dispatch-specific exception: the carrier driver was scheduled to collect from the merchant's warehouse but didn't arrive on the scheduled day. Common with rural Evri/Yodel pickups. Mitigation: switch to a more reliable pickup carrier or use a daily collection window with Royal Mail. **Should I switch from Evri to Royal Mail to reduce exceptions?** For high-AOV or fragile-goods merchants, often yes. Evri's exception rate runs 1.5-2x Royal Mail's for similar parcel mix. The cost saving from Evri (typically £1-2/parcel) needs to be weighed against CS workload and customer-experience impact. **My exception rate jumped 1 ppt overnight. What happened?** Three usual causes. (1) **UK winter weather**, named storms (UK Met Office names them since 2015) cause widespread weather-disruption exceptions for 2-5 days. (2) **Carrier-specific issue**, check Net Dispatch dashboard for carrier health alerts. (3) **Checkout-flow change**, address-issue spike often traces to a recent integration update. **During Royal Mail strikes, do all the affected shipments count as exceptions?** Carrier-dependent. Royal Mail typically does NOT post explicit "service suspended due to industrial action" exception scans for most shipments; they just hold them. The card may not catch the strike directly via exceptions; you'll see it in [On-Time Delivery Rate](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/net-dispatch/on-time-delivery-rate) instead. Net Dispatch CSM can configure a strike-day exclusion if needed. **A parcel showed an exception but ultimately delivered on time. Why does it count?** Exceptions are events; delivery is the outcome. Many exceptions resolve on next-day attempt and deliver within service-standard window. The card counts events because they're predictive of customer-experience risk. **Q4 effect?** UK Q4 (mid-November to 24 Dec) typically sees 1.5-3x normal exception rate. Drivers: increased volume strain, holiday-travel recipients, weather (named storms common in November-January), gift-shipping address-quality issues from hand-keyed data. *** ### Tracked live in Vortex IQ Nerve Centre *Exception Rate* is one of hundreds of KPI pulses Vortex IQ tracks across NetDispatch and 70+ other ecommerce connectors. Nerve Centre runs the detection layer; Vortex Mind investigates the cause when something moves; Ask Viq lets you interrogate any number in plain English. [Start for free](https://app.vortexiq.ai/login) or [book a demo](https://www.vortexiq.ai/contact-us) to see this metric running on your own data.