When the courier marks a shipment "customer not available" or "address incomplete", an AI call within a few hours can usually find out why and fix it before the next attempt. The agent calls the customer in Hindi or their language, asks what happened, confirms or corrects the address and a good delivery time, and checks that cash is ready for COD. You pass the corrected details to the courier as a re-attempt instruction, and fewer failed deliveries turn into return-to-origin (RTO). It complements COD verification, which works before dispatch.
Try an NDR call on your own number: Start free on Edesy — Rs 50 free credit, no demo needed.
Why NDR is where RTO is decided
A failed delivery attempt is not yet a lost order. The customer may have been at work, the address may be missing a landmark, or the delivery person may not have called. But couriers attempt only a limited number of times, and if nothing changes between attempts, the shipment comes back. You pay both legs; see what that costs at your rates with the COD and RTO calculator and Delhivery courier charges calculator.
Most small sellers see NDRs in their panel and never get to call them all. An AI agent can call every one the same day.
The NDR call
Namaste {{name}} ji, main {{store}} se ek automated call kar rahi hoon. Aapka {{product}} ka order kal deliver nahi ho paaya, courier ne "{{ndr_reason}}" bataya hai. Kya aap abhi bhi yeh order lena chahte hain?
- Haan: "Kya aapka address {{address}} sahi hai? Koi landmark bataiye. Kal kis time aap ghar par honge?"
- COD order: "Delivery par {{amount}} rupaye cash ya UPI se dena hoga, theek hai?"
- Nahi chahiye: "Koi baat nahi, main order cancel kar deti hoon."
Capture: still wants the order, corrected address, landmark, preferred time, payment ready, cancel reason.
The flow
- NDR status arrives from your shipping aggregator or courier panel, by webhook or a regular export.
- An automation tool (Zapier, Make, n8n or a small script) sends the customer's details and the NDR reason to the voice agent's API. See the trigger-call API.
- The AI calls within a few hours, inside a daytime calling window.
- The outcome comes back by webhook: re-attempt with new details, or cancel.
- You update the courier: raise the re-attempt with the corrected address and time slot, or cancel the shipment so it comes back quickly.
- Unanswered? Retry once, then send a WhatsApp message with a link to confirm.
NDR reasons and what the agent does
| NDR reason | What the AI asks |
|---|---|
| Customer not available | Best time and day for the next attempt |
| Address incomplete or wrong | Full address with landmark and pincode |
| Customer refused | Whether they still want it, and why they refused |
| Cash not ready (COD) | Whether they can pay by cash or UPI at the next attempt |
| Customer asked to reschedule | Preferred date |
| Phone unreachable | (Retry at a different time, then WhatsApp) |
NDR calls vs COD confirmation calls
| COD confirmation | NDR recovery | |
|---|---|---|
| When | Before dispatch | After a failed attempt |
| Goal | Filter out bad orders | Rescue good orders |
| Main question | "Do you want this order?" | "What went wrong, and when can we deliver?" |
Use both. For the pre-dispatch step, read COD confirmation: AI call vs WhatsApp vs IVR.
Coming next: Edesy's COD order confirmation calls already handle the pre-dispatch confirmation, with the answer written back to your store. NDR calls on the same automation are on the roadmap but not available yet; until then, use an AI voice agent campaign as described here.
Cost
On Edesy, calls are billed per started minute at Rs 4-6 per minute depending on your prepaid top-up, with unanswered calls free. An NDR call usually takes about a minute: about Rs 4-6 per answered call, compared with forward plus return shipping on every RTO.
Start with yesterday's NDRs
Export yesterday's NDR list from your courier panel, upload it as a small campaign, and see how many the AI call rescues. Create a free account, or talk to us for help connecting your shipping aggregator.