Planning ahead is the best way to prepare for the holiday shipping season. During the months leading up to the holidays, there is an increased amount of imported and domestic goods that must be transported to distribution center or retail stores. For logistics companies, this means an increase in volume that can lead to limited capacity and a decreased amount of drivers. Other factors that play a role are possible weather conditions and hard delivery dates by retailers which can create further shipping challenges.
To prepare for the holiday shipping season, here’s a short list of tips to help you minimize the strain of peak shipping season.
Before:
- Plan ahead when it comes to staffing and have a contingency plan to minimize the effect on daily operations. PTO can negatively impact companies when they need their employees the most.
- Make sure to communicate with management, marketing, and sales to ensure you understand the projected demands as well as upcoming discounts and specials.
- Plan the pricing strategy so that additional shipping costs are covered on rushed orders.
- For critical shipments make sure to factor in transit times and place transportation bookings as early as possible.
- Know that increased demand on carriers may limit available capacity and may cause a temporary increase in rates.
- It’s helpful to have a worst-case scenario plan which accounts for expedited shipping cost increases.
- Communicating shipping deadlines with suppliers and honest delivery expectations with customers can go a long way.
During:
- Make sure to monitor reservoir stock levels just in case supply chain delays occur.
- Know that any delay may impact the estimated time/date of delivery.
- Communicate as soon as possible with customers should any type of delay occur.
You can always count on a top notch logistics company in Philadelphia like Hughes Custom Logistics to handle all of your logistical needs. Do not hesitate to contact our representative and ensure safe & timely shipping!
