Category: Fulfillment

Outsourcing to a fulfillment center will save you time so that you can focus on growing your retail e-commerce business. Here are the five benefits of outsourcing order fulfillment.

Let’s face it; there has never been a better time to start a retail e-commerce business than now. With global e-commerce retail sales expected to total $6.169 trillion in 2023 and make up a 22.3% share of total retail sales, it’s easy to see why so many people are jumping into the online retail world.

But with all that said, running an e-commerce store is not as simple as just opening your website and waiting for customers to come knocking on your door. One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to become distracted by activities that keep you from growing your business. You don’t want to store inventory, process, ship, and fulfill customer orders in-house if it keeps you from selling. It can be extremely overwhelming, time-consuming, and costly.

At some point, you’ll need to outsource specific tasks to save money and increase efficiency. And one of those tasks is warehouse fulfillment services. But what exactly does outsourcing fulfillment mean? Is it worth it? How do you know if you should outsource or keep doing things yourself? Keep scrolling, and you’ll find out in the sections below!

What Does Outsourcing Fulfillment Mean?

Outsourcing To A Fulfillment Center – Is It Worth It?

What Are The Signs You Should Outsource to a Fulfillment Center?

Boxzooka Can Help You With Your Order Fulfillment Needs

What Does Outsourcing Fulfillment Mean?

Outsourcing order fulfillment means partnering with a third-party service to handle the logistics of fulfilling your orders. This could include picking, storing, packing, shipping, and delivering your items to customers. In other words, this is when someone else takes care of the details of getting your product from the factory to the customer. So, instead of worrying about getting your products shipped, processed, packed, and delivered, you can focus on growing your business and making more money.

Outsourcing To A Fulfillment Center – Is It Worth It?

If you’re looking to save time and money by letting a third-party professional handle all your logistics needs as you focus on growing your business, it is 100% worth it. But how exactly does the best fulfillment partner save you time and money? Find out below!

1. Leave It To The Experts

As we mentioned, you can’t afford to be distracted by what does not generate revenue when running an e-commerce business. That’s because you don’t want to spend valuable time managing every aspect of your business. Instead, you want to focus on building relationships with your customers and creating amazing products.

By leaving the logistics of order fulfillment to a third-party service provider, you free up your time to focus on growing your brand and increasing your profits. The best fulfillment centers have knowledgeable personnel with years of experience in order processing, inventory management, safe packaging, and shipping.

2. Reduce Your Inventory Costs

If you operate your own fulfillment center, you have to pay for storage space, insurance, utilities, and labor costs. Not only will these expenses add up over time, but they can also eat away at your profit margins.

Outsourcing your fulfillment operations to a third-party company eliminates the cost of paying for these expenses. Here are a few reasons why:

• Storage Space. You must rent, lease, or purchase warehouse space while running your fulfillment operations. If you lease a large facility, you may spend thousands of dollars monthly on rent alone. By outsourcing your fulfillment to a third party, you no longer have to worry about paying for storage space.
• Insurance. As we mentioned above, you have to insure your own warehouse. But even if you use a reputable insurance company, there are still fees associated with insuring a warehouse. These fees can be costly and eat into your bottom line.
• Labor Costs. Even though you might not think so, employees make up a big part of the cost of operating a fulfillment center. They must be paid, trained, and supervised. All these add up to a lot of overhead that eats into your profit margin. But, conversely, a fulfillment center is responsible for hiring, training, paying, and supervising its staff.

3. Increase Customer Satisfaction & Retention

One of the most important things you can do to increase customer satisfaction is to ensure that your products arrive safely and on time. When you operate your fulfillment center, it’s easy to forget that your customers need their orders quickly.

But when you hand off the responsibility of handling your shipments to a third-party fulfillment center, you can rest assured knowing that your customers’ packages will get where they need to go without delay.

Here are a few more ways a fulfillment service helps you improve customer satisfaction and retention:

• Lower Shipping Costs. When you hire a third-party fulfillment service, you can leverage their volume discounts with the shipping carriers.
• Professional Packaging. When you outsource your fulfillment services, you can rest easy knowing that your merchandise is packed with care, safely, and securely.
• Scalability. When you outsource your fulfillment to a third party, your business is scalable for growth. If you get a sudden spike in orders, an outsourced fulfillment center is able to accommodate the extra volume and get your orders out the door timely.

4. Improve Order Accuracy & Process Speed

If you’ve ever ordered something online, you know that sometimes you receive the wrong item or one that doesn’t meet your expectations. This can lead to frustration and wasted time.

But when you outsource your fulfillment operations to a professional fulfillment center, you can expect accurate tracking information and better quality control. In addition, you’ll save money because you won’t have to pay for packing errors.

5. Reduce Inventory Management Costs

You’re responsible for managing inventory levels when you operate your own fulfillment centers. That means keeping track of what inventory you have in stock, what needs to be replenished, and which items should be sold.

You don’t have to worry about all this when you outsource your fulfillment center. The best fulfillment center uses world-class order fulfillment and, inventory management technology that guarantees complete visibility & accuracy, total control, and live sync updates, allowing you to focus on growing your business instead of worrying about inventory management. Besides, you’ll enjoy access to detailed reports that help you keep tabs on your inventory at any moment.

What Are The Signs You Should Outsource to a Fulfillment Center?

If you’re still on the fence about whether you should outsource order fulfillment or keep doing everything yourself, here are some signs that might indicate you should consider outsourcing:

• You have too many orders. If you find yourself overwhelmed with too many orders, it may be time to outsource your fulfillment center.
• Your business is growing. As your company grows, so does your demand for fulfillment services. Hiring a professional fulfillment provider allows you to scale up as needed.
• You incur exorbitant shipping fees. If you’re paying exorbitant shipping fees, it may be time to outsource your fulfillment.
• Your customers are spread across the country. If your customers are spread across different states or countries, it may be time you outsource your fulfillment. This helps ensure that your customers get the products they need quickly and efficiently.

You receive a lot of complaints about delays. Order delays can impact your bottom line, as, 38% of customers are likely to abandon their order if it takes more than a week to deliver. To avoid this, you should outsource fulfillment to an efficient service that ensures fast delivery times.

Boxzooka Can Help You With Your Order Fulfillment Needs

We understand how overwhelming it can be to manage the order fulfillment process. That’s why we offer flexible solutions that allow you to choose the right fit for your business. Whether you want us to handle every aspect of your fulfillment process from start to finish or just one component, we’ve got you covered.

We also provide custom fulfillment services for businesses that prefer to do things themselves. Our dedicated team will work closely with you to create a customized plan that works for your business.

Our goal is to ensure your business runs smoothly and efficiently while saving you time and money. Contact us today to learn more!

By Brendan Heegan

Producing and selling quality products alone do not guarantee customer satisfaction. To influence customer experience, you must ensure that the warehouse order fulfillment process is top-class. Logistics is an aspect of business operation that requires lots of experience, infrastructure, and proficiency. This is why it’s best to outsource it to a third-party logistics (3PL) company.

What is 3PL?

A third-party logistics service handles your warehouse order fulfillment. Once the buyer places the order online, the 3PL packages and ships the product, ensuring that it’s delivered on time. 3PL operations go beyond product delivery. It includes warehouse management, inventory information, and analytics.

Benefits of a 3PL for your eCommerce Business

Like every business decision, the benefits should outweigh the costs before adopting it. What benefits does your eCommerce business stand to gain from a 3PL service?

Reduced costs

Partnering with a 3PL reduces costs incurred while running your business. If you have to fulfill orders in different locations, running the logistics will be challenging. You have to spend considerable financial resources on inventory maintenance, vehicle procurement, maintenance, insurance, logistics staff salaries, etc.

The logistics costs incurred are not limited to money. As the business owner or manager, you will spend a lot of time managing logistics staff and resources. Since you have only 24 hours a day, it naturally takes time away from improving your products and other ways of satisfying your customers.

Additionally, running an in-house warehouse fulfillment places more demand on your staff, who are unlikely to have the experience and training needed to handle complex logistics functions. Even if you manage to hire fully highly competent staff, it takes a considerable chunk of your budget. These resources will be better spent by outsourcing your eCommerce warehouse order fulfillment to a 3PL while the extra is used to improve your products.

Expertise

Most small and medium businesses can only afford to hire entry-level employees. It’s a practical way to run the company because they typically can’t afford to hire more experienced staff. However, some aspects of the business need high-level proficiency to maintain customer satisfaction. One such area is warehouse order fulfillment. Even if you manufacture and sell top-quality products, customers will be unsatisfied if they get their orders late or damaged.

3PLs ensure that your customers get top-notch order fulfillment even though you run a small eCommerce business. As a result, your customers can have a brand perception similar to that of much more prominent players in the market.

As a business owner, it is possible to train yourself to become proficient in handling logistics. However, the order fulfillment process is rapidly evolving, making it more challenging to stay updated. Outsourcing your deliveries to a 3PL ensures that your brand takes advantage of your industry’s best practices and meets your customer’s expectations.

Scalability

Most businesses start with the owner and staff fulfilling all the orders. This is possible when you have less than ten deliveries to make per week. However, if you expect business growth, prepare to handle hundreds of orders weekly. To ensure consistency in customer satisfaction, you must increase capacity before expanding.

A 3PL makes it easy for your business to adjust when order volumes increase. An effective third-party logistics partner gives you access to the technology, storage space, and workforce needed to handle the present and plan future expansions.

Furthermore, you can add an international dimension to your eCommerce business without worrying about delivering your products across borders. The best 3PLs have warehousing facilities in strategic locations, which reduce order fulfillment time for international deliveries.

Personalized Service

Although an efficient 3PL service gives you access to helpful features, they can also customize the service to suit your business best. Some companies require specific packaging requirements to enhance their brand image. For example, if you have several environmentally conscious customers, sustainable packaging effectively communicates such brand values and increases customer loyalty.

Also, some businesses require in-depth information and analytics on inventory management and order fulfillment. Your 3PL partner places all the data you need at your fingertips by providing the knowledge and technology required for proper management.

Improved fulfillment speed

With the right third-party logistics service, your buyers will receive their orders faster. Ensure fast deliveries by choosing a 3PL that manages warehousing facilities in more locations. Some facilities serve whole regions, while others only serve locally. Customers receive their purchases faster with international facilities because the products are transported over shorter distances.

Risk reduction

Covid-19 has caused several changes in the supply chain in several countries. Suppliers and distributors have had to adjust within short notice. Due to frequent policy changes, the supply chain issues had far more significant consequences on international deliveries.

Partnering with a 3PL ensures that you do not bear the order fulfillment risk alone. It also helps you stay ahead of sudden changes in the supply chain and what it means for your product’s order fulfillment

Optimized customer service

A lot can happen between shipping and the final delivery of the purchase to a customer. If there’s a delay or other issue with the delivery, customers naturally reach out to the supplier for clarification. With an in-house logistics system, the supplier only has limited information to address the customer’s complaint. An effective 3PL service has the required software solutions that give real-time updates regarding the delivery status. This means that the customer can accurately estimate the delivery time. Also, if there are issues, the supplier has enough information to address them.

If your eCommerce customers are experiencing late or poor deliveries, it’s time to switch to a 3PL. Also, if you are handling your order fulfillment decently but need to expand in the future, a 3PL will make the process smooth without harming other business operations.

By Brendan Heegan

Third-party logistics (3PL) are a resource being utilized by ever more enterprises today. Yet the advantages of a good 3PL partner are more than just faster, more efficient orders, and pinpoint inventory management. Here’s how 3PL can improve your marketing strategy.

More advanced logistics

Because your 3PL provider is taking on how your products get from A to B – oftentimes from a position of proven expertise and competence – you can convey to your customer base how swiftly, safely, and securely their orders will arrive.

Peace of mind is one of the most bankable commodities available to buyers today. Third-party logistics ensure the goods you produce get warehoused, picked, packed, and sent via tracked delivery to those buyers. By factoring your 3PL marketing strategy into your overall marketing and advertising approach, you can win customers’ trust.

Customers are not too involved or interested in the specifics of shipping logistics until they go wrong. That’s why it is crucial that you provide them the assurance that their orders are in the right hands with a reliable 3PL partner. For instance, you can let them know through your checkout landing pages how your 3PL provider can deliver straight to their homes as fast as possible. And if there are any damaged or faulty orders, returning can be easier through their efficient return process.

You’re almost certain to see an uptick in orders for your small business tied to that most valuable marketing resource of all – trust.

A 3PL partner frees your internal resources for bigger marketing campaigns

Thinking a little larger in scope now, how healthy do you believe your small business marketing strategy is overall? Those organizations still handling orders, returns, and customer tracking inquiries in-house are understandably far more pressed for time and energy every day than those using third-party logistics partnerships.

It’s here that the real value of your 3PL marketing strategy can take shape. While you can create value by telling your customers how fast, safe, and reliable their deliveries and returns will be, there’s also the benefit your small business gains from having more time and resources to devote to marketing overall.

While your 3PL provider handles all your picking, packing, inventory management, and returns resolution, you and your marketing team have more hours in the day to really innovate and enhance your marketing tactics.

It’s not just time saved – it’s money too

Any marketing strategy for a small business is a costly endeavor, and it’s vital that you maximize that ROI.

It’s great that a 3PL partner can help give you more time to devote to building and growing your organization. Yet the costs being saved across the board are just as vital to factor into why having a reliable 3PL partner is such a huge advantage. It’s not just cost savings; your 3PL warehouse fulfillment center saves your brand by keeping your focus on matters that matter most.

A key example of this is customer loyalty – not always easily won in today’s competitive landscape. Ideally, you want your buyers coming back every time they need to make a purchase and for your small business to be the name they think of first when they do so.

Cementing that brand identity into your buyers’ minds is the job of marketing, of course – yet following through on the order accuracy and accurate inventory tracking that makes buying from you so seamless and dependable is made possible by the right third-party logistics ally.

Repeat business and anchor clients are the lifeblood of any small business. As customer loyalty boosts your long term revenues, your advertising budget is sure to increase.

The value of a solid 3PL partner

It’s astounding to realize just how many resources and advantages are unlocked through choosing the right 3PL provider. Entrusting the daily grind of picking, shipping, tracking, and returning orders to a third-party logistics partner lets you focus on bigger advertising, stronger customer loyalty, and a healthier bottom line.

There’s more to the value of a solid 3PL partner to your marketing strategy than you might imagine, and Boxzooka is here to help.

By Brendan Heegan

The explosive growth of e-commerce today lives and dies by the strength of its distribution chains. Yet even those, no matter how efficient, are likewise under heavy scrutiny to conform to the same levels of environmental sustainability being seen in countless other industries today.

At Boxzooka, this commitment to eco-friendly practices and sustainable logistics is a huge component of our growth strategy. We don’t make any investments or expansion goals without first thoroughly evaluating whether they conform to our ideals of eco-friendly packaging and green business.

Here’s how we’re committing to environmental sustainability while keeping efficient, transparent, and trustworthy warehouse distribution chains for our partners and clients.

Efficiency begins at home.

Logistics is all about efficiency, and improvements are always best put into action closest to home. When we first set out to increase our capabilities in green business practices and eco-friendly packaging, we began by looking at our facilities themselves.

A warehouse fulfillment center is the beating heart of any successful distribution chain. Our centers’ layout and travel time are under continuous review, and we track data down to the most precise of details to ensure we’re built for maximum efficiency and eco-friendly practices overall.

Less travel time and faster, more proactive warehouse fulfillment is better for environmental sustainability. Maximizing the productive potential of every moment our facilities are operational doesn’t just cut costs – it boosts sustainable logistics as a whole.

Of course, seizing the day in this respect wouldn’t mean much if our facilities and eco-friendly practices weren’t up to the challenge in tandem. Luckily, we’ve covered all the bases in making our green business model as effective as possible.

Championing recyclables and reusables

The amount of material that goes into even the simplest distribution chains means eco-friendly packaging is an absolute must. At Boxzooka, we have proactively sought ways to maximize the use of our packaging material.

Balancing the safety of shippable goods with eco-friendly practices that demand less use of materials is not always easy. Nonetheless, we use 100 percent recycled and sustainably produced corrugate and packaging material.

We also recycle all such material that we use, whether it’s the byproduct of our green business operations or the inbound packages for our partners and clients. We constantly reach out to our customers to advise and guide their journey into sustainable logistics and eco-friendly packaging alongside us.

Energy-efficient lighting

Does anybody really enjoy changing light bulbs? As part of our shift towards green and sustainable business strategies, we partnered with New Jersey’s statewide Clean Energy Program back in 2018.

Through that alliance, we’ve learned several insights, and one of the most simple yet effective moves toward more eco-friendly practices has come from introducing LED lighting to our facilities.

Those long-lasting illuminations soon made our warehousing proud in 2018 – so much so that we followed up with LED lighting for our corporate offices the following year. Environmental sustainability comes in all shapes and sizes, right down to your lighting.

Environmental sustainability is a constant dialog.

As hard as we try, nobody will save the planet alone. Sustainable business is about alliances, partnerships, and open conversations – just like distribution chains.

We are in continuous dialogue with our partners, suppliers, and growing client base to identify and implement new eco-friendly practices as they emerge. Keeping an open mind and an open channel of communication alive is equally important in environmental sustainability.

And already, we’re delighted to say that the results have been fantastically encouraging. Today, over 95 percent of our shipments are distributed in an entirely carbon-neutral way – naturally, we’d love to see that statistic climb even higher too.

This benefits you and our clients, as well. By working together on environmental sustainability, we’re working together to develop sustainable energy incentives and eco-friendly packaging innovations that keep revenues healthy and the environment protected.

Of course, none of these green business ideals are ever put into action to the detriment of efficiency or security. On the contrary, they often enhance it.

Got some environmental sustainability ideas of your own? Get in touch – we’d love to work together to make it a reality.

By Brendan Heegan

In the last two years, it seems that no issue has impacted retail more than supply chain disruptions. From delays related to the pandemic, materials shortages, and situations like the Suez Canal blockage, the retail industry has taken a hit across channels.

Here’s what retailers should know about the impact of supply chain disruptions on inventory management and new trends in omnichannel distribution strategy.

Supply Chain and Inventory Optimization Affect Omnichannel Retail

Inventory optimization through offering and sharing SKUs among channels leads to increased purchasing power, lower production costs, and more favorable positioning with manufacturers. Business leaders of each channel must partner closely to forecast and monitor sales trends. This enables them to quickly make decisions, such as how and where to allocate inventory to maximize sales and revenue. It is critical to understand which arm of the business can sell the inventory at the highest margin and to allocate inventory accordingly.

Risks, New Trends, and Challenges to Consider

Customer demand for a frictionless shopping experience continues to drive the need for integrated supply chains and the ability to browse, buy, and return merchandise across physical and digital channels.

One supply chain tactic that’s taking off is shipping directly from stores, decreasing the time it takes for orders to reach customers while also lowering costs through prioritizing inventory that’s held at a physical location. With shifts in warehouse order fulfillment due to the pandemic, the ship-from-store strategy grew 80% in 2020 and continues to rise.

In addition, retailers should pay attention to their market saturation, especially as wholesale channels continue to grow, threatening retailer market share. Other logistics and supply chain challenges to consider include the customer expectation for even faster delivery and increased demand for curbside pickup.

Demand Forecasting and Inventory Allocation to Meet Customer’s Omnichannel Expectations

Customers expect a shopping experience that aligns with their needs across digital and in-person channels. Channel managers should plan and allocate inventory to maximize customer satisfaction. One of the best ways to do this is by optimizing the forecasting strategy to minimize discrepancies between inventory and demand.

Forecasting should be done individually at each channel level and then added to estimate total demand across the business rather than creating a topline demand plan and trying to allocate it down to the channels. Each business unit should have a strong sense of its real sales potential so that only a small percentage of inventory shortages or overages is left to be allocated among the channels.

Aligning Supply Chain Planning with Omnichannel Retail

One of the most important aspects of inventory management is ensuring a seamless customer experience across channels through standardized product packaging. Omnichannel retailers should work to have inventory fluidity across each channel, ensuring that the merchandise is SKU’d, priced, and packaged identically. This allows inventory to be transferred with minimal cost or time disruptions while ensuring a consistent experience for the customer.

Best Practices for Omnichannel Distribution Strategy

Since different channels often have different processes, it’s easy for disconnects to arise. Lack of alignment on strategy, pricing, and fulfillment tactics can lead to frustrated customers, wasted time, and missed profits. To combat this, it’s important to take an adaptive, integrated approach to the supply chain. Developing a holistic omnichannel strategy and then creating channel-specific processes will likely be more effective than trying to fit competing channel strategies together. In addition, leaders should prioritize communication and optimization tactics to establish visibility and ensure all channels are synchronized.

Omnichannel Retail And Supply Chain Management Work Hand-in-hand

A comprehensive supply chain management strategy is crucial to the success of omnichannel retailers. Supply chain management provides a line of sight into important data such as inventory levels, order status, delivery times, and other key metrics. Now more than ever, prioritizing a dynamic, responsive distribution strategy that aligns with customer expectations is critical to reducing logistics costs and driving profits.

By Brendan Heegan

It’s a common scenario for growing e-commerce retailers to find themselves challenged by the daunting task of managing a large stock of products while successfully distributing orders both locally and internationally. Products can vary in size and volume, making the logistics of packaging and shipping a tangled web. Those who find themselves in situations like this can benefit significantly from adopting a 3PL fulfillment center’s services.

What is a 3PL Center? 

A 3PL (third-party logistics) is a warehousing fulfillment company that offers logistics services to support shopping operations. Third-party logistic companies take a considerable workload off the hands of their e-commerce clients by conducting some aspects of the business, such as order processing and inventory management. Working with a 3PL fulfillment warehouse center provides visibility to all aspects of the supply chain, removing the stress from the equation. 3PLs create value by enhancing operational, financial, and end-customer performance.

3PL Order Fulfillment for International Selling 

The benefits of selling internationally through a 3PL are vast, including access to better freight rates, improved supply chain efficiencies, and networking shared knowledge and connections. Here’s a breakdown of the most significant benefits of working with a 3PL:

Scalability 

The right 3PL can efficiently manage high and low seasons and respond to demand increases quickly. 3PLs are connected to worldwide service providers that make it possible to respond to flux and changing trends in the market. By linking their clients to less risky resources, 3PL fulfillment centers can ultimately accomplish goals more efficiently.

Access to Technology 

The right 3PL will have a proprietary Warehouse Management Software that, through analytics, will quickly improve all aspects of an e-commerce retailer’s operation. Below are a few of the beneficial technologies that 3PL offer:

• Real-Time Order Tracking
• Freight Audit and Payment Solutions
• Transportation and Management Systems
• Route and Consolidation Optimization Tools
• Learn More About Boxzooka’s Proprietary WMS

The right 3PL center will relentlessly identify ways to improve efficiencies, cut costs involving duty-paid checkouts, and create added value. It’s easy to ascertain that the expertise of a 3PL company designed to monitor, analyze and optimize e-commerce operations is beneficial from all perspectives.

Freedom to Focus on Key Competencies 

Even under the right systems, transportation can be challenging. A 3PL takes on the responsibility of all fulfillment warehousing needs, logistics, and shipping realities, which frees up the e-commerce retailer/owner to focus on their business and the brand’s most essential aspects. Here’s a look at some logistics a 3PL partner can oversee:

• Issue Management
• Inventory Management
• Manage Customer Returns
• Driver and Facility Communication
• Billing and Paperwork
• Order Tracking
• Pick-up and Delivery
• Scheduling

Conclusion

People define value in their own ways. There’s a reason why some will opt for a one-stop shop while others prefer to control every detail. For today’s e-commerce retailers, the key to success lies in understanding all the client’s requirements, the competition, and the intricacies of inventory management.

Contact Boxzooka to learn how to achieve outstanding client satisfaction and unparalleled wholesale fulfillment execution necessary for a successful e-commerce venture.

By Brendan Heegan

It’s time to streamline your seasonal inventory, delivery, and return strategies to bring more gifts to homes for the holidays.

E-commerce businesses make the bulk of their sales during the winter months — but it’s crucial to master a plan for consistent and reliable deliveries and returns.

From stocking up on inventory and anticipating hot spots for delivery and fulfillment warehouse storage to outsourcing third-party logistics when necessary, here’s how to optimize your order fulfillment for the holidays.

1. Stock up

Forecast demand early on to make sure you have the most up-to-date levels of stock. Take a look back at previous orders to understand the quantity, make, and model at the SKU level to get a handle on how much storage you’ll need and when.

Then, analyze sales data from previous years to understand hot spots for deliveries where consumers are ordering from so you can plan for warehouse and storage space accordingly. Consider working with your third-party logistics (3PL) provider to discuss sales trends to bolster peak performance. Take advantage of your fulfillment services; it’s literally why they’re there for you.

Without proper sales forecasting, you may end up having too much in stock and waste money shelling out for high-cost warehousing fees. Be sure to find a balance of having enough of your best-selling products to prevent customers from having to wait long for shipping.

2. Make a plan and scale up as needed 

Retailers will be busy making final arrangements on their order fulfillment for the holiday season — that means warehouse storage must be maximized to make room for seasonal inventory. Analyzing your selling history from previous years and gauging potential logistic scenarios you may encounter could make all the difference. For example, consider adding additional delivery vehicles or drivers to your fleet during weeks that were busy in years past, depending on sales volume.

3. Outsource fulfillment when possible

Diversifying your fulfillment center will allow you to store and ship products to your customers faster and more efficiently. Leveraging a 3PL will also give your business access to analytics to better manage inventory and scale.

4. Optimize package tracking and updates to maintain consumer trust 

Gift-giving can be stressful for consumers, especially during the pandemic when many are relying on presents to be shipped in lieu of spending holidays with loved ones this year. Be sure to provide up-to-date tracking information and updates through e-mail and/or SMS. This will also alleviate the workload of customer service teams who may be flooded with customer questions.

5. Anticipate returns and opportunities for resale 

When the New Year rolls around, e-commerce stores will be bombarded with returns. That means optimizing items that get sent back to warehouses for a swift resale or exchange when applicable to avoid losing out on new revenue.

Be sure to track your return rate and go over your own return policy to make sure you are not covering added costs that aren’t promised to the customer, such as free shipping or free returns.

By Brendan Heegan