Citing its own research, Global Freight Solutions (GFS) says that it discovered that many companies only become aware of potential problems with security by checking the codes of packages that haven't arrived, by which time fraudsters could have struck.
Last year, the firm says, card fraud in the UK was worth more than £440 million, more than a quarter of which was accounted for by cards lost in delivery and card payment machines which had been tampered with.
Neil Cotty, GFS' managing director, said that card payment system manufacturers and their customers had a right to expect more pro-active handling of such equipment.
"The card payment industry is right to say that Chip and PIN has reduced the potential for fraud", he said, adding that the security these machines or cards can provide is only as good as the security surrounding their delivery.
"2.0% of late or lost deliveries may not sound [like] a lot, but the fact that the materials involved may each handle many thousands of pounds worth of purchases should be a real cause for concern", he explained.
Cotty went on to say that companies despatching payment cards, ATMs or point-of-sale machines will generally have to check individual parcel codes to find out where they might be.
"That paper chase creates a window of opportunity for criminals that can easily be shut", he said.
The GFS survey included analysis of data from major carriers and the financial services and retail industries.
The company says it already works with some of Britain's biggest distributors of card payment equipment, including Hypercom and Commidea.
To counter the problem, GFS says it has developed a system that pro-actively tracks individual parcels throughout the various stages of the delivery process.
It can then alert clients to delays or suspicious patterns of behaviour on single items, allowing them to cancel security codes and re-issue new machines or cards so reducing the possibility of their being compromised.
"By removing the need to chase up every single parcel code from clients, we make our system more efficient and better for them. By being more pro-active, we enable manufacturers to keep clients better informed and, therefore, safer", he said.