If you manage an e-commerce business, you know all about seasonal surges; indeed, most e-stores rely heavily on festivals like Christmas and New Year, when they can reach their sales targets and make up for a quiet period. If you have an in-house solution for picking and packing, you need to have efficient logistics, otherwise you should outsource picking, packing and delivery to a third-party logistics company.

Here are a few tips to help you deal with a higher volume of orders.

Outsource Excess Orders To A 3PL Company

You can handle your own logistics to a certain point, after which, the order is forwarded to the 3PL warehouse. This means you only pay for the services you use. The 3PL company is happy to wait in the background until their services are needed. You don’t have to sign a long contract when you work with such a company, so you are not tied to using their services. For those in Australia, for example, there are affordable Sydney taxi truck couriers that can handle same-day deliveries and they are super reliable.

Ordering Products

Of course, the last thing you want is to run out of products. Place bulk orders at the right times to ensure that you always have full stock. You can set up software that notifies you at specific times of the year, reminding you that a holiday is approaching and you can place an order. The same goes for your packaging. Making good use of specific business software keeps you on top of your inventory; it is always good to have extra stock of popular products.

Review Your Processes

From the moment a customer clicks on ‘Buy Now’, list all the processes from that time until the product reaches the customer’s hands. Do you have QC in place? Is your workforce fully staffed? The answers to questions like these can help you identify weak areas and resolve the issue before you get busy. It is usually when your business is extremely busy when mistakes are made and rather than waiting until it happens, take steps to prevent.

Inform Your Customers

You could have a pop-up on your e-store to remind customers about Christmas gifts, stating the last date that you can guarantee delivery for the 24th. If people order in good time, it takes the pressure off you and everyone is happy. If you are using leading 3PL warehousing Sydney or your area offers, they will give you their festival delivery deadlines that you need to meet. There are invariably some late orders that don’t make the deadline and you should send an apology email, which does tell the customer that you are aware.

Preparation is the key to a productive holiday season. Should you ever need the help of an established logistics provider, they are happy to take on your order fulfilment for as long as need be. The holidays in the year are golden opportunities to make extra profit to support the business during slow times, and you should take measures to ensure you can cope.