It is true that damaged merchandise cannot be avoided in most businesses. In such cases, you need to immediately notify your shipper about the matter.

Notification letters for damaged items are perfect for such situations. In these letters, you can enumerate your concerns and issues on their items. Whether it is broken, damaged, or is not functional, you have the right to inform your provider and request for a replacement.

However, you need to courteously express your side. Remember that they could have released the items in best condition and the damage was incurred during shipping. Mishandling is possible when third-party shipping and cargo services were employed. Thus, it is not always the provider who is at fault.

In writing notification letters for damaged items, you need to indicate how many items were damaged. Try to include a photo and if possible, write a brief document regarding the damage. These attachments might help your provider in assessing the situation before taking actions.

If the delivered items are not functional, you also need to indicate the number of items and some information like serial numbers. You can also document the expected versus actual results of the product along with a step by step procedures in recreating them.

Notification letter for incomplete delivery can be the simplest. You only need to indicate the actual number of items and the number of undelivered items. You can also add some attachments but most of the time, providers will only ask for the number of missing items.

Here is a sample notification letter for damaged items. One million capacitors were ordered from an electronic company and some items were damaged.

Sample Letter

January 30, 2010

TO:
Mr. Wayne Smith
Sales Coordinator
Universal Electronics Manufacturing Ltd.
Universal Electronics Compound, No. 8 North Drive,
Electronics City, Hosur Road, Bangalore

FROM:
Kristov Gaston
Senior Hardware Design Engineer
Infotainment Department
Advanced Solutions Technology
50th Floor, Block C, Naberezhnaya Tower,
Moscow International Business Center, Moscow

Good day.

We have received the one million capacitors that we ordered last month. However, one out of ten capacitor packages were already damaged upon opening. We attached a photo of the package as well as the damaged capacitors upon delivery.

We suspect that the capacitors had leaked based on their physical conditions. An incident report has been attached and you may refer to it in case you need to document and analyze the situation.

Please inform us about the expected date that we can receive the replacement for one package of capacitors.

We hope to hear from you as soon as possible.

My best regards.

Kristov Gaston

A notification letter for a shipped order is probably the best news that you can give to your customers. Such letters are used to inform your customers that you have successfully delivered their orders in best condition.

You should list the items that you shipped. For example, your customers ordered a set of cloth to be used in making dresses and formal wear. You should include in your letter that you attached care instructions and some manuals in relation to the cloth they ordered. This will help them in their own matters and is a good way of demonstrating your professionalism and concern for the customers.

Similarly, you can have some attachments for your letter. Checklists are a good idea especially if the package needs to undergo several inspections and long shipping. You can try to attach photocopy of some documents to prove that the package had complied with the required checking and gate pass. Lastly, try to include some guidelines in checking if the package is in good condition or not. Though your customers may have their own guidelines, it would be better if you can also provide your own.

In cases when the customer requires technical details along with the letter, you can have a separate technical report as an attachment. Do not mix the contents of a technical report and a notification letter.

Here is a sample notification letter for a shipped order. A software development was requested from an overseas company. The software is already delivered to the customer and they want some technical details along with the delivery letter.

Sample Letter

May 14, 2010

TO:
Mr. Vladimir Hartenberg
Project Lead Developer
Hardware Simulation Department
Moscow Software Solutions Ltd.
17th Floor, St. Petersburg Tower, City of Capitals, Plot9,
International Business Center, Moscow, Russia

FROM:
Peter Scott
Senior Project Manager
Simulation and Embedded Systems Department
Global Software Solutions Incorporated
8th Floor, John Hancock Center,
875 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, Illinois

Dear Mr. Hartenberg,

We are pleased to inform you that your software request has already been delivered.

These are the items that were shipped:

1. Installation CD
2. User manual
3. Software design document
4. Software specifications
5. System test results
6. System test environment

Complete description of each item can be found in the attachments. You may also use the attached checklist to ensure that the installation CD is in best condition and has not been tampered prior to delivery. You may find the soft copies of each item in a separate disc while the hard copies are inside the delivery package.

Please feel free to contact us for questions and clarifications.

Thank you for choosing our company and we wish you the best in your future endeavors.

Very respectfully yours

Peter Scott

Sometimes the customer orders items that are currently unavailable. It can either be out of stock, already phased out, or out of season. Regardless of the reason for its unavailability, you need to courteously inform the customer about the matter.

Such letters are used to inform customers that the items they are looking for is unavailable. It is important to inform them ahead of time so they can make necessary adjustments on their part.

Thank them for their interest in your products but be frank in informing them that the items they are looking for is currently unavailable. It is not necessary to give them the exact reasons for its unavailability but you can give them some basic information about it. You can also give them an estimate as to when the products will be available again and ask them if they want to have a reservation.

This situation can also work on your advantage. Include in your letter some suggestions and similar items that they might be interested. Offer other items with related styles and designs to your customers. Showcase your collections of various items and be subtle in urging them to buy your other products. If you are lucky, they might be interested and purchase several merchandise and give you higher sales.

Here is a sample letter for unavailable merchandise. Ms. Brown is looking for office furniture that is already phased out by the manufacturer.

Sample Letter

April 25, 2010

TO:
Ms. Emily Brown
Logistics Department Asst. Manager
Prints and Plaids Design Ltd.
58th Floor, Willis Tower, 233 S. Wacker Drive,
Chicago, Illinois

FROM:
Allan Summers
Sales Department Senior Manager
Everything Furniture Incorporated
18th Floor, Suite 20, Chrysler Building
405 Lexington Avenue, Manhattan, NY

Good day.

We are sorry to inform you that the office furniture set you requested last week is unavailable.

Our company already stopped manufacturing such furniture sets since last year because of its high manufacturing costs and demands. However, we attached our latest office furniture catalog in case you want to consider other designs.

We recommend our Corporate Furniture Set 1 as shown in page 18 of the catalog. It offers the same corporate ambiance as the furniture set that you requested. They have some minor differences but the overall design and concept is similar with your original request.

Please feel free to browse other collections in the catalog and inform us immediately in case you are interested in our furniture sets.

Thank you for considering our company and again, we are sorry for the inconvenience it may cause you.

Very respectfully yours,

Allan Summers

You should know how to inform your customers if the shipment they are expecting will be delayed. The initiative should come from you so your customers can make necessary adjustments caused by the delay.

Informing your customers is a good sign that you are taking the responsibility for the delivery of their orders in good condition. This will not only make them satisfied in your current business but will also exude professionalism. It can also help you in acquiring future business, gaining more clients, and receiving higher customer satisfaction.

In writing a notification letter for a delayed shipment, it is important to have an accurate estimate as to ETA (estimated time of arrival) of the merchandise. It is also important to inform your customers on why the merchandise was delayed. You do not need to give them the detailed cause especially if it involves internal issues on your part. Simply give them an overview and prepare all necessary information in case they want to know the deeper cause of the problem.

It is also advisable to give them your word on the issue. This is to provide your customer an assurance that their requests are being handled properly.

Lastly, apologize for the trouble it may cause them. Remember that they also have their own business to run and they need to readjust their schedules for every delay that they encounter.

Here is a sample letter of delayed shipment. In the example, Mr. Johnson placed a request from an overseas hardware company and shipping will be delayed because of some problems in the customs office.

Sample Letter

August 1, 2010

TO:
Mr. Scott Johnson
Chief Logistics Officer
General Services and Logistics Department
Optronix Technology Incorporated
5th Floor, Rodney Square, Wilmington, Delaware

FROM:
Richard Stephens
Junior Sales Manager
Marketing and Sales Department / Imaging and Optical Division
Crystal Optics Manufacturing Ltd.
Road 20, Crystal Optics Manufacturing,
International Tech Park, Bangalore

Dear Mr. Johnson

Good day.

We are sorry to inform you that your request for one million optical scanner heads will be delayed by one week. The items were already boarded for shipping but were temporarily put on hold in compliance to the new rules and regulations by our local customs office. Expected delivery date of the scanner heads to your office is on August 25, 2010.

We are already addressing the issue and rest assured that the items will be delivered to your office in best condition.

Again, we are sorry for the trouble it may cause you.

Thank you and best regards.

Richard Stephens

Every so often, a company feels the need to create a new policy or to change an existing one in response to internal or external factors. For example, in response to increased cyber-security issues as well as the growing dependence of the company on networked computers, management might feel the need for employees to implement tighter security procedures.

In this case, it has to issue a letter informing employees of new policies or modifications to existing ones. These letters are not intended for particular employees but for the entire work force and so individual copies are usually not sent. Instead, each department may be given its own copy to be posted in a prominent area where they can be readily seen by employees. Smaller companies may opt to post such letters on the company bulletin board.

The important parts of these letters are the notice of the policy to be changed or created and the rationale behind the changes, as well as the date when they will become effective. These letters begin with a general salutation rather than one addressed to particular individuals and may have no closing salutation.

Here is an example of a letter to notify employees of a new policy or changes to an existing one.

SAMPLE LETTER

Subject: New Cyber-Security Measures for Strict Implementation

To all concerned,

As you may be aware, the issue of cyber-security has become a serious one for all companies due to the growing threat from hackers and malware. In light of these developments, management is requiring employees to undertake regular training in IT security. These training sessions will be held on a monthly basis and conducted by the company’s IT department, details of which are to be announced.

In addition, employees are required to take weekly quizzes to reinforce their knowledge of security procedures. Employees who fail three consecutive quizzes will be given a verbal reminder about their performance. Those who fail six consecutive quizzes will receive a written reminder from their immediate supervisors. If they continue to show poor knowledge of IT security procedures, their network privileges will be disabled until they have undergone retraining.

The new policies are set to be implemented on April 1, 2010 and they must be strictly followed by staff members.

For your information,

Harrison Cleveland
Vice President, TBS Inc.