Avoid the stress this peak season with top tips from SAE to plan for success
It’s no surprise that many retailers and businesses are worried about the magnitude of this year’s peak season which traditionally runs from Black Friday (this year this falls on 26th November) and continues throughout January to encompass the New Year sales.
The uncertainty of Covid-19 has made planning far more difficult, many are still undergoing the practicalities of a permanent shift to online, in addition to experiencing a huge increase in eCommerce business and sales. On top of this tumultuous backdrop you have the challenges of supply; with issues from the driver deficit, to the price of containers, to the packaging shortage. And well, dare we mention it – Brexit. This year deserves proper consideration on how it might affect your business.
But it’s not all doom and gloom! If retailers and their logistics partners work together, it’s possible to avert disruption and enjoy a profitable end to what has been a tricky time. Here’s some top tips from the team at SAE on how retailers and their logistics partners can work together to minimise stress during this busy period.
- Work together and share your forecasts with your courier/carrier – they will need to budget for the resources to support you.
- Do not have Dec 21st as your cut-off date. Leave lots of time this year as there will be deviations from the traditional 24 hours. Your logistics partner should notify you of their trading hours in good time.
- Encourage your customers to buy early. It’s worthwhile offering incentives such as free delivery or discounts to encourage early purchases.
- Get plenty of stock in. Gone are the days of six weeks to replenish stock, from China. If you don’t have storage space, check if your logistics partner has warehouse space available for short term let. Even better if they can pick and pack from there too!
- Order LOADS of packaging – or source from your logistics provider. It’s in short supply as eCommerce has seen unprecedented demand.
- Find a partner who you can trust to be proactive and manage your deliveries for you. This means any delivery problems can be resolved quickly, improving the customer experience.
- Make sure the logistics has a transparent stock control system so you can see what’s being picked, packed, despatched, delivered, same day courier or overnight carrier.
- Remove as much human error as possible by integrating systems but at the same time, make your customer service human centric, like we do. At SAE our client service team are real, and ready and waiting to help you.
For help with your peak season please contact our team on T: 01895 825258 E: info@saelogistics.com
