The year-end period is just around the corner. This period can make or break the year for many e-commerce businesses. Prior to this period, the marketing department is working hard to develop some successful campaigns. You obviously hope that these campaigns will work and that the sales orders will increase. However, many entrepreneurs panic when they notice a sudden surge in sales orders. An increase in sales orders means more revenue. Why might an entrepreneur panic then? An increase in orders brings more work… All packages need to be processed on time.
Why is it important to process packages on time?
During the year-end period, everyone is looking for gifts for friends and family. This is a golden opportunity to increase your sales. It is therefore crucial to process all packages on time. Imagine ordering a Christmas gift and receiving the package only on December 29th. You will completely miss your target and likely receive negative reviews. Negative reviews are conversion killers, as more and more consumers read reviews before placing an order.
How can I handle the increase in sales orders?
To manage a peak moment, you need to take some precautions. Think carefully about your marketing campaign and what it might cause. Based on the expectations, you will need to take appropriate measures but always keep a little extra in reserve. You never know what unexpected success your campaigns might bring. Here are some tips:
- Provide extra manpower
- Use an inventory management system like Webship Online
- Check your stock
- Provide extra packing tables
- Ensure you have enough packaging materials
- Make arrangements with shipping partners for package pickups
What if your team has managed to process all orders? Great, but don’t celebrate too early! If you ship via partners like DHL, Bpost, DPD, or PostNL, you need to make prior agreements on the shipping volume. If you suddenly send double the number of packages, there’s a risk that your shipping partner will only take the number of packages agreed upon. This is understandable because couriers have to stick to a strict schedule. The courier also needs to leave space for pickups from other companies, according to the agreements made.
What if I can’t ship the extra orders? Of course you can! You just need to make clear arrangements. If you expect a sudden increase in sales orders, you can schedule additional pickups. This is often overlooked, but it’s crucial to get all your packages out the door on time.
Outsource inventory management to a fulfillment center
You need to be able to handle the increase in sales orders. If your team can’t handle it, a solution must be found. It’s important that your webshop keeps running smoothly. Fulfillment is the ideal solution. A fulfillment center will take over your inventory management. A fulfillment center will handle the picking and packing, so you don’t have to worry about shipping all the orders. This gives you more time to focus on growing your webshop. A peak period also creates extra administrative work that needs to be managed.
There are also scale advantages that you can benefit from, such as packaging materials and shipping rates. A fulfillment center like Webship buys materials in bulk at favorable rates. Naturally, your webshop can benefit from this. Additionally, the shipping volumes of a fulfillment center are much higher than those of your webshop, which lowers the cost per shipment. Sounds good? Feel free to contact Webship at hallo@webship.be!
