Chase a supplier: an annotated email example

Get a reliable delivery date and the tracking number.

The winning structure

A good email for this situation includes these elements, in this order:

1. A greeting with the recipient's first name.
2. The order number
3. A request for a delivery date
4. The tracking number
5. The urgency (Friday)
6. A clear ask at the end: a question or an action with a deadline.
7. A short sign-off, then your name.

Common mistakes

• Leaving out the order number : « Which order? We handle hundreds. »
• Leaving out a request for a delivery date : « What do they want: a date, a refund? »
• Leaving out the tracking number : « Could've just asked me for tracking. »
• Leaving out the urgency (Friday) : « Is this urgent or not? No idea how to prioritise. »
• A refusal or follow-up so polite it becomes vague: the reader doesn't know how to answer.
• Over-explaining instead of proposing a next step.

Practise this situation →

Write your own version: the recipient reacts and you get a score out of 100.

The annotated example

Other situations at the same level

• Chase an unpaid invoice
• Say no to a colleague
• Follow up with a prospect
• Decline a recurring meeting

Go further

• How to write a clear professional email (without AI)
• Email greetings, sign-offs and subject lines
• Stop relying on AI to write your emails