: Starting a sentence with well. Does my sentence need to be changed? I had a colleague today point out that the use of well in the following sentence is a typo. I think it makes sense but

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Gut feel for me says that "Well, ..." is usually a spoken rather than a written usage. Feeling is that it is written where the writer is quoting someone who is speaking. The "Well, ..." is usually a clarification of some previous point, statement, etc. where one could make an assumption, conclusion, etc. and clarification is being given to clarify that.
Your rewrites are 'better' than the original.
Might consider breaking it into independent sentences.
"These rules have been in place for a while. Shipping companies and businesses are experiencing delays as a result of incorrectly processed shipments." Two different thoughts: 1) Previously existing rules (i.e. not the reason for the delays); 2) Explanation of why the delays are occurring.
Re-Reading the original posting, I am wondering if you need the first thought. Were there rules in place related to the shipping prior to the "For several months now special restrictions ..."? Did the "special restrictions" lead to the "incorrectly processed shipments" or was that occurring all along? Did the "special restrictions" cause 'more incorrectly processed shipments'?
Interesting question, discussion.
Lo

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Try using a conjunction instead. For example, you could say:

Although these rules have been in place for a while, shipping companies and businesses are experiencing delays as a result of incorrectly processed shipments.

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I think you mean "while". "While" can be used as a conjunction to mean "even though" or "despite". As in, "While Bob is very tall, he still couldn't reach the top shelf."

Using "while" here creates an awkward sentence because later in the same sentence you use "while" in the idiom "a while", meaning "a long time". I'd recast it using other words, such as "a long time". So, "While these rules have been in practice for a long time, shipping companies are ..." etc.

"Well" can be an interjection indicating surprise, or simply as a kind of vague placeholder to introduce a new thought. "I saw Sally enter the room. Well, Bob was in the room too." As such, it should be followed by a comma. But this use is rarely found in formal speech. Sometimes it is used to indicate that the following thought contradicts what was previously said, somewhat like "but". "Everyone thinks Fred is a nice guy. Well, Mary has said some harsh things about him." But that doesn't seem to fit here.

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The sentence is a little off. Here's how you could fix it:

Well, these rules...

Or you could do this instead:

These rules...

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