The ‘C’ Word: How to Plan Ahead for the Peak Season
Let’s address the elephant in the room, Christmas is coming.
Ah, the peak season! The most exhilarating yet demanding and overwhelming period for businesses. Whether you’re a start-up experiencing your first ever peak season or a seasoned enterprise, the key to mastering the peak season lies in forward-thinking and meticulous preparation.
If you know about our story here at CK Fulfilment you will know that our CEO, Rebecca, also has her own ecommerce homeware business, Silver Mushroom with which she is about to experience her 13th peak season.
Over the past decade, Silver Mushroom has been a significant player in the e-commerce homeware market, witnessing both the highs and lows of peak seasons. Rebecca's hands-on experience has granted her invaluable insights into the unique challenges SMEs face during these high-intensity periods. The myriad of lessons learned, coupled with the occasional missteps, have equipped both Rebecca and CK Fulfilment with a profound understanding. This accumulated wisdom is now the bedrock upon which CK operates, ensuring that our clients not only survive peak seasons but truly thrive.
Drawing upon this experience we have put together some of our tried and tested tips to ensure you’re equipped to make the most of the bustling months ahead.
1. Forecasting:
‘Forecasting’ is peak seasons best friend. If your business has been established for more than one year you will have already survived your peak season (congratulations), so you should have the ability to delve into your trading history from Christmases gone by. If you are heading into your very first peak season, don’t panic, this section still applies to you, just simply look at any trading history that you do have.
Late summer is the perfect time to begin the forecasting process. Using the back end of your ecommerce website or Google Analytics dig deep into your trading history and sales data, you will notice patterns and repetition. By understanding your past sales data, you can:
Accurately forecast the volume of orders, helping you to streamline stock preparations.
Identify potential problem areas ahead of time and strategise to sidestep them. What went wrong last year? How can you avoid it this year?
Using this invaluable data, gear up by:
Staffing up: Ensuring you have extra hands on deck to cope with the increased workload can prevent you rushing around to find seasonal temps or trying to rope in friends and family last minute.
Smart Stocking: Apply the 80/20 rule. Prioritise your resources to invest in the 20% of products that generate 80% of the revenue. This ensures that your bestsellers are always available ready for the peak rush.
2. Marketing:
Early bird catches the worm! Christmas marketing can be extremely lucrative, it’s a rare time when consumers are in a shopping mindset the majority of the time. They are ready and waiting to buy your product, so be sure not to miss out on this window of opportunity. We advice getting all of your marketing content and strategy ready and scheduled as soon as possible.
Scheduling your promotional activities and campaigns well in advance can allow you to capitalise on the peak season shoppers whilst also focussing on efficient operations when it matters the most.
3. Packaging:
The devil's in the details! The costs of consumables often surge as peak season nears.
Source all essential packaging supplies well in advance. Besides avoiding inflated prices, buying in bulk could also entitle you to attractive discounts. Plus you will have more than enough packaging to cover any spikes that are higher than expected.
4. Returns:
With an increase in sales come an increase in returns, one of the downsides of growing your brand. Build trust and enhance the shopping experience by offering a hassle-free return policy for shoppers over the peak season. Your standard returns policy could well be the deciding factor for a consumer choosing between your store and someone else’s.
Consider extending your returns window until the end of January. This way, customers can shop for gifts with the assurance of a flexible return period.
How CK Fulfilment Could Optimise Peak Season for You:
At CK, we treat our clients like ‘partners’, We feel we are an extended part of your team, not just a warehouse where your stock is slapped with a shipping label and whizzed out of the door.
If you are daunted by the thought of peak season, there is still time to come aboard to our warehouse. Here's how we can elevate your peak season preparations:
Proactive Communication: We pride ourselves on good communication with all partners. As part of our own peak-preparations we sync up with all partners on their forecasts and expectations. This enables us to plan our resources accordingly so you can rest easy knowing we’re prepared to handle your forecasted workloads plus an aditonal 20% wiggle room to ensure we can take those unexpected spikes.
Spot-On Stock Integrity: Before the peak season hustle starts, we run something called an 'under 5's' check on all of your stock locations with five pieces or less. This ensures that the stock is precisely where it's supposed to be, minimising any chances of disappointing your customers. Furthermore, we proactively replenish stock, even before the system prompts us, ensuring swift order processing despite the increased workload.
Courier Network: With our vast courier network, come rain or shine, we guarantee timely delivery of your parcels. If the worst was to happen and one of the major courier networks was to buckle under the seasonal pressures we have instant access to tens of alternative, trusted couriers to get your parcels to their destination safely.
We could go on but we’d rather you got prepared for peak season in a timely manner! If you would like more information on our services and becoming a partner please drop us a line at hello@ckfulfilment.com or give us a call on 01772 356673.
