Regardless of the product you’re selling, the time before the holidays is crucial when preparing for retail’s busiest season. While traditional brick-and-mortar stores prepare by hiring seasonal staff and by putting up displays, the preparation needed for eCommerce brands lies heavily in their warehousing and logistics strategy.
Studies show that during the holidays, brands experience their peak sales volumes and an increase in first-time customers. Having the right fulfillment strategy can help turn these holiday shoppers into repeat customers. Below are four eCommerce fulfillment tips for a successful holiday season:
- Actively monitor inventory
Nothing is more disappointing to customers looking for the perfect gift than thinking they’ve found it only to realize the item is out of stock. It is crucial that brands stay on top of their warehouse inventory. Having constant insight into their product availability will ensure that orders can be accurately fulfilled. Also, when an item is no longer available, the website can be updated in real-time to reflect that status. - Maintain strong order fulfillment
When shopping online, customers rely on their orders arriving not only as described but most importantly on time. eCommerce brands should strive for 100% customer satisfaction in accuracy and fulfillment. While this may seem daunting for logistics providers, brands that maintain high fulfillment numbers will earn their customers’ trust and increase the likelihood for repeat shoppers. - Implement scalable distribution processes
Average, day-to-day ordering processes simply won’t cut it during peak order times like holiday promotional periods. During this time, brands must scale their distribution processes to meet the high order demand. Implementing processes that can been scaled up and down to meet demand are key in any logistics center. - Monitor fulfillment center and warehouse key performance indicators
Staying on top of your fulfillment center and warehouse KPIs will help you to gauge how well the software and your processes are performing. The granular numbers these KPIs provide help to immediately identify areas for improvement so strategies can be modified in the moment.
It can be challenging to handle a tremendous increase in volume while striving to deliver the right products on time and at a reasonable cost to ensure customer satisfaction. A third-party fulfillment partner can be a valuable asset for peak holiday season fulfillment by increasing efficiency, improving customer service, and reducing costs.