Delivery Issue Summarizer
1. Overview
This process takes a single delivery‑related ticket, extracts the core problem, writes a short summary, and assigns one of three predefined categories — Lost, Late, or Damaged. The result is a concise report that can be used for quick triage and reporting.
2. Business Value
- Rapid triage – Gives the Logistics Coordinator an instant, clear view of the issue type, speeding up resolution.
- Consistent reporting – Uses the same three categories for every ticket, enabling reliable metrics and performance tracking.
- Reduced manual effort – The coordinator follows a straightforward checklist; no extra tools or data sources are required.
3. Operational Context
- When to run: Whenever a delivery‑related ticket is received and needs to be categorized.
- Who uses it: Logistics Coordinators and any team member responsible for handling delivery problems.
- How often: As often as tickets arrive (often dozens to hundreds per day, especially during peak periods).
4. Inputs
Ticket Details
| Field Name | Type | Details / Example |
|---|
| Ticket ID | Text (string) | “T‑10234” – the unique identifier of the ticket. |
| Customer Name | Text (string) | “Alice Johnson”. |
| Order Number | Text (string) | “O‑56789”. |
| Delivery Date | Date (optional) | “2025‑08‑09”. |
| Issue Description | Text (string) | Full text describing the problem, e.g., “The package arrived two days late and the box was cracked.” |
5. Outputs
Summarized Issue Report
| Field Name | Description |
|---|
| Ticket ID | The same identifier from the input; used to match the report to its ticket. |
| Issue Summary | A brief, past‑tense sentence (≤ 20 words) summarising the problem. |
| Category | Lost, Late, or Damaged (exact spelling, capitalized). |
| Review Flag (optional) | Set to “Needs Manual Review” when a category cannot be determined; otherwise leave blank. |
6. Detailed Plan & Execution Steps
-
Read the ticket – locate the Issue Description text.
-
Identify keywords – scan the text for keywords that belong to each category:
Lost: “lost”, “missing”, “not found”, “cannot locate”, “no delivery”, “not delivered”, “misplaced”.
Late: “late”, “delayed”, “delay”, “tardy”, “not on time”, “arrive later”, “took longer”.
Damaged: “damaged”, “broken”, “cracked”, “defective”, “hurt”, “crush”, “shattered”.
-
Determine Category
- If keywords from one category appear, set Category to that match.
- If keywords from multiple categories appear, select the highest‑priority category: Lost > Damaged > Late.
- If no keywords match, set Review Flag to “Needs Manual Review” and leave Category blank.
-
Create the Issue Summary – write a single sentence (≤ 20 words) that describes the problem in past tense, following the style guide in Appendix C.
-
Populate the Output Table – fill a row of the Summarized Issue Report table with:
- Ticket ID (from input)
- Issue Summary (step 4)
- Category (step 3) or blank if flagged
- Review Flag (if applicable)
-
Validate – confirm that:
- The Issue Description is present.
- The Category (when present) is one of the three allowed values.
- The Issue Summary is not empty and ≤ 20 words.
- The Ticket ID matches the input.
If any check fails, set Review Flag to “Manual Review” and leave the other fields blank.
-
Provide the Report – hand the completed table to the Logistics Coordinator for further action or reporting.
7. Validation & Quality Checks
- Missing Description: If empty, set Review Flag to “Missing Description”.
- Category Validity: Must be exactly “Lost”, “Late”, or “Damaged”. Any other value triggers a manual review flag.
- Summary Length: Count words; if > 20, trim while preserving meaning.
- Ticket ID Match: Must be identical to the input value.
- Review Flag: If set, no other fields should be populated except the Ticket ID.
8. Special Rules / Edge Cases
| Situation | Handling |
|---|
| Multiple categories (e.g., “The box arrived two days late and was cracked”) | Choose the higher‑priority category (Lost > Damaged > Late). Record the other categories in the Review Flag as “Multiple – see notes”. |
| Ambiguous wording (“The order didn’t turn up as expected”) | No clear keyword; set Review Flag to “No Keyword Match”. |
| Typos or misspellings (e.g., “dmagaged”) | Not recognized; flag for manual review. Add new spelling to the keyword list in Appendix C when discovered. |
| Multiple orders in one ticket | Process one ticket at a time; split into separate tickets before re‑running the process. |
| Empty description | Review Flag = “Missing Description”. |
| Contradictory statements (e.g., “The package never arrived, but I received it yesterday”) | Review Flag = “Contradictory Info”. |
| No keyword present (e.g., “The package was not what we expected”) | Review Flag = “No Keyword Match”. |
| High‑priority Lost – If any “Lost” keyword appears, even alongside “Late” or “Damaged”, the final Category is Lost. | |
| Keyword variations (e.g., “tardy” for Late) | Add new synonym to the appropriate category list in Appendix C. |
9. Example
Input (Ticket Details)
- Ticket ID: T‑20015
- Customer Name: Maria Gomez
- Order Number: O‑99876
- Delivery Date: 2025‑08‑10
- Issue Description:
“I received the package two days later than expected, and when I opened it the side panel was cracked.”
Output (Summarized Issue Report)
| Ticket ID | Issue Summary | Category | Review Flag |
|---|
| T-20015 | Package arrived cracked after a late delivery. | Damaged | |
Explanation: Keywords for Late (“two days later”) and Damaged (“cracked”) were found. The priority order selects Damaged as the main category. The summary follows the style guide (past tense, ≤ 20 words). No Review Flag needed because a valid category was assigned.
Appendix A – FAQ
Q1. What if a ticket contains a typo (e.g., “dmagaged”) that isn’t in the keyword list?
A1. The process does not perform spelling correction. The ticket will be flagged for manual review. Add common misspellings to the keyword list in Appendix C after reviewing.
Q2. How should I write the Summary?
A1. Use past tense, keep it under 20 words, and focus only on the problem (see style guide in Appendix C). Do not include customer names, order numbers, or any extraneous detail.
Q3. What if the ticket describes two separate issues for different orders?
A1. This SOP handles one ticket at a time. Split the ticket into separate tickets before applying the process.
Q4. What does the “Review Flag” mean?
A1. “Review Flag” indicates the process could not determine a valid category or found a problem that requires human review. The ticket should be examined by a Logistics Coordinator.
Q5. Can I add more categories (e.g., “Returned”)?
A1. Yes. Update the Category definition and add new keyword groups in Appendix C. Adjust the priority order if needed.
Q6. When is a ticket considered “Missing” vs. “Lost”?
A1. The terms are treated the same; any “missing”, “not found”, or “no delivery” keyword maps to Lost.
Q7. What should I do if a ticket contains contradictory information?
A1. Set Review Flag = “Contradictory Info”. No summary or category is generated.
Q8. Does the Summary include numbers (e.g., “2 days”)?
A1. Include numbers only if they help clarify the problem and keep the sentence under 20 words. Example: “Arrived 2 days late.”
Q9. Who should handle tickets flagged for manual review?
A1. The Logistics Coordinator or a designated supervisor should examine the ticket, determine the proper category, and fill in the missing fields manually.
Q10. How often should I review the keyword lists?
A1. Quarterly, or whenever a new term or typo appears in incoming tickets.
Appendix B – Glossary
- Ticket: A record of a customer’s or internal user’s report about a delivery problem.
- Lost: The product was not delivered or cannot be located; includes “missing”, “not found”, “no delivery”, “misplaced”.
- Late: Delivery occurred later than the expected time; includes “late”, “delayed”, “tardy”, “took longer”.
- Damaged: The product arrived with physical damage; includes “broken”, “cracked”, “defective”, “shattered”.
- Issue Summary: A concise, past‑tense sentence (≤ 20 words) describing the core problem.
- Review Flag: A marker indicating the process could not assign a category (e.g., “Manual Review”, “No Match”).
- Keyword: A word or phrase that signals one of the three categories.
- Priority Order: When multiple categories are detected, the order of importance is Lost > Damaged > Late.
Appendix C – Reference Material
C.1 Keyword Lists (case‑insensitive)
| Category | Keywords |
|---|
| Lost | lost, missing, not found, cannot locate, no delivery, not delivered, misplaced, vanished, unlocated, gone |
| Late | late, delayed, delay, tardy, not on time, arrived late, arrived later, took longer, overdue, behind schedule |
| Damaged | damaged, broken, cracked, defective, harmed, smashed, shattered, dented, busted, shattered |
Tip: When a new synonym appears in tickets, add it to the relevant list and update the SOP version.
C.2 Summary Style Guide
- Tense – Use past tense (e.g., “arrived”, “was”, “did not”).
- Word Count – ≤ 20 words.
- Focus – Only describe the problem, not the customer or order number.
- Clarity – Use simple, direct language.
- No abbreviations unless they are standard internal codes.
- No ending period unless the sentence is a question.
- Avoid “we”, “I”, “the ticket”, “the customer”.
C.3 Priority Order for Multiple Keywords
| Priority | Category |
|---|
| 1 | Lost |
| 2 | Damaged |
| 3 | Late |
If a ticket contains multiple category keywords, the highest‑priority category is used for Category. The lower‑priority categories, if any, are noted in the Review Flag as “Multiple – see notes”.
C.4 Example Summaries (Reference)
| Issue Description | Example Summary |
|---|
| “Package never arrived.” | “Package not delivered.” |
| “Package arrived three days late.” | “Delivery arrived late.” |
| “Box was cracked.” | “Package arrived cracked.” |
| “Package arrived late and the box was broken.” | “Arrival was late; package arrived cracked.” |
| “Order never arrived, but the system says it was delivered.” | (Flag for Manual Review) |
C.5 Exception List for Review Flags
| Condition | Flag |
|---|
| Missing description | Missing Description |
| No keyword match | No Keyword Match |
| Contradictory info (e.g., “not delivered” but also “received”) | Contradictory Info |
| Multiple orders in one ticket | Multiple Orders |
| Unrecognised synonym | Add to list and reprocess |
| Any other unexpected scenario | General Review Required |
C.6 Document Revision History
| Version | Date | Author | Change Summary |
|---|
| 1.0 | 2025‑08‑11 | Alex Martinez | Initial SOP for Delivery Issue Summarizer |
| 1.1 | – | – | Placeholder for future updates (e.g., new keywords) |
Additional Notes
- Keep the keyword lists current; many users use informal language or slang. Review tickets weekly for new terms.
- This SOP works on a single ticket at a time. For batch processing, repeat the steps for each ticket.
- No external data or tools are required; all needed information is contained in the ticket.
