The 2022 holiday season is fast approaching. With the financial pinches of the previous two years during the pandemic, it is more important now than ever that companies prepare ahead of time for the holiday rush to be successful and financially fruitful. Without effectively planning for the rush, your business will be left scrambling at the last minute and may find itself entirely overwhelmed by the number of people shopping and ordering items. While it’s wisest to start planning for the holiday season as early as the mid-summer, it is not too late to plan. At Strapping-Products.com, our business is your business, so we’ve put together a few ideas to help prepare your business now for the holiday season rush.
Organization is Key
First and foremost, you must be organized; you must pre-plan. Reading this article and following some of the suggestions is a start! One way you can plan is to look at the sales numbers from the previous year during the same time. Compare the weeks to one another and further compile them into monthly views. By comparing the weeks to one another, you will see where the busier weeks were, compared to the slower weeks. You should reflect on the previous year’s sales and ask yourself if you felt that anything could be improved upon. Ask yourself about staffing – do you feel like you had adequate staffing? Consider inventory – do you think you had enough products to sell without running out of stock or having to order more? Try to do what it takes to consider things from the customer’s perspective. What can you do to ensure customers have the most consistent and pleasurable experience when shopping with you and your business? Looking at and reflecting upon last year’s data will help you better understand what you might expect this upcoming holiday season and get you thinking about ways to improve last year’s sales.
Keeping Inventory On-hand
By looking at the previous year’s data, you’ll be able to forecast how many of each item you will need to have on hand to ensure that you always have something to be able to put into the customer’s hand. The last thing you want to do is have a customer ready to make a purchase, and you don’t have the product on hand to sell. The customer will almost certainly be headed to your competition to make the purchase. Also, if your products are purchased from third parties, you will need to factor in their lead times and consider this when pre-ordering to ensure that your stock never runs out.
Keep Track of Important Ship Dates
If your company provides products that rely on third-party shipper services, you must keep several key ship dates in mind. For example, to ship things using ground services, December 14th is the last date to mail items to ensure delivery by Christmas Day. The USPS’ deadline is December 20th to ensure a timely Christmas delivery. You’ll need to ensure that you and your staff are aware of such cut-off dates and that your customers are aware of the limitations of your logistical services. While many of these dates and issues are beyond your control, the better you prepare for worst-case scenarios, the better off you will be.
Hiring the Right People and Keeping Them Motivated
It may seem common sense to hire the right people, but often, businesses are simply hiring people to be warm bodies filling positions. Ensure that you select the right people and place them according to their strengths. They are the front line and the face of your company. Ensuring that the right people are in the proper position helps to boost company morale. Many companies consider using temporary services to employ short-term laborers to fill in the gaps or help carry the business through the busier times. You can still work to ensure that even short-term employees are placed in the best positions possible.
Reach Out to Strapping-Products.com to Help Ensure Products Arrive Safely, Securely, and Intact
At Strapping-Products.com, you will find state-of-the-art products to ensure that anything put in delivery can be transported most safely and securely. We produce woven materials that outperform steel banding. Contact us at (888) 803-8140 or email info@strapping-products.com to learn more about our strapping solutions or other shipping products.
