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Get ready, the holiday shopping and peak fulfillment season is coming. In many ways, it\u2019s already here, as leading retailers and fulfillment centers are trying to get ahead of near-crisis level supply chain and workforce issues that are expected to wreak even further havoc during the holidays. Amazon, for instance, started promoting and fulfilling Black Friday deals at the end of September \u2013 a full two months ahead of time.<\/p>\n
At 12:01 a.m. on Cyber Monday though, your holiday order fulfillment cycle<\/a> will be in full swing, regardless of how prepared your company\u2019s processes are. Though this peak season is packed with more challenges than ever before, it\u2019s no time to panic. Instead, there are things your company can do now, during and after to meet these challenges head on.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Contents<\/p>\n Though it may sound clich\u00e9, this holiday season is expected to be like no other. Here are 4 of the biggest challenges<\/p>\n we see facing the industry – challenges that can turn into opportunities for you to outshine your competition.<\/p>\n The COVID-19 pandemic, now approaching its third year, has permanently redefined the global shopping experience. More and more brick-and-mortar storefronts are closing in favor of online retail experiences. Many retailers and fulfillment centers are expecting a continued, sizeable increase in online order volume this year.<\/p>\n During the holiday peak season, which has typically started with Black Friday, warehouses can expect around a 3X increase in the number of the shipments they need to process and fulfill. For many companies in the consumer market, 60% to 70% of the money they make annually is made during this holiday push.<\/p>\n This year, however, even more online buying and selling is expected. Depending on the different hot ticket items and other goods like groceries, sundries and clothing that are moving to online mediums, expectations are for anywhere between a 25% and 50% increase in the sheer volume of orders that need to be processed compared with Q4 of 2020. That\u2019s a lot of extra merchandise to move.<\/a><\/p>\n But how is your warehouse going to handle this increase when it\u2019s becoming harder and harder to get the inventory you need in a timely manner? And how will current shipping backlogs affect what you\u2019re promising your own customers?<\/p>\n You may also like: Taking on the role of a warehouse, third-party fulfillment services offer a smart cost-effective solution in order fulfillment. You can check our order fulfillment<\/a> article for more information<\/p>\n Right now, top retailers are warning customers that it may take longer for items they purchase to arrive on their doorsteps. Trade tariffs between nations, the pandemic causing continued shutdowns or delays at manufacturing facilities, understaffed and overworked port operations holding up overseas shipping processes, rising fuel prices and local transportation channels being strained have all contributed to a critical mass moment for the global supply chain.<\/p>\n Everything from paper products to foods to electronics and yes, even those hot-ticket holiday items are suffering from \u201cout-of-stock\u201d syndrome. This means retailers and fulfillment centers that want to create memorable customer buying experiences are going to have to cough up more cash \u2014 or find new solutions \u2014 to ensure they have the inventory to move, when it needs to be moved.<\/p>\n Even if you get sufficient inventory in place, who\u2019s going to help move all of those extra goods? As noted earlier, the pandemic has tapped a lot of traditional resources, including workforces \u2013 many professionals having transitioned to remote working environments themselves. This, coupled with recent push backs from workers over pay, career paths, benefits and more that have seen many frontline workers opting to simply quit their jobs, has led to a massive workforce shortage.<\/p>\n For warehouse and fulfillment center operations, this means finding that extra seasonal help might prove more difficult moving forward. Some companies are reaching out to the workforce early. Others are offering signing bonuses to attract workers that have quit other professions. Still other companies are looking a lot harder at the latest WMS software<\/a> and technologies that can help automate and streamline warehouse logistics and shipping tasks.<\/p>\n Are the current systems you have in place up to the challenges of a dynamic and growing market? Unless you\u2019re using the latest cloud-based warehouse management software<\/a> and inventory management software<\/a>, odds are there are some fulfillment process issues that need to be addressed.<\/p>\n Without a fully automated system in place even your best processes and procedures can become unreliable on your busiest days. Perhaps your inventory counts are off. Maybe picking and packing processes are not ideal. Manual data entry or task processing could be slowing down your peak season fulfillment speeds. Disconnected billing and fulfillment center systems and data could be causing unnecessary delays. Your workers, despite being well trained, must spend extra time comparing product numbers, SKU codes<\/a> or locating buried inventory, and make the occasional, but costly mistake. All of these can add up to create a poor end-customer experience (more on that below).<\/p>\n For many companies in the consumer market, 60% to 70% of the money they make annually is made during this holiday push. Whether you\u2019re a 3PL or a company running your own warehouse, now is the time to make sure your warehouse is ready to handle the holiday rush.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row disabled_on=”off|off|off” module_class=”center-vertically” _builder_version=”4.22.2″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#eef1f8″ background_enable_color=”off” use_background_color_gradient=”on” background_color_gradient_stops=”#6717cd 51%|#0b0b0b 100%” width=”100%” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”42px|auto|45px|auto|false|false” custom_padding=”30px|40px|30px|40px|false|false” border_radii=”on|12px|12px|12px|12px” box_shadow_style=”preset1″ box_shadow_vertical=”0px” box_shadow_blur=”10px” box_shadow_color=”rgba(74,75,109,0.09)” global_module=”3761″ locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.22.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.22.2″ _module_preset=”default” header_3_text_color=”#ffffff” header_3_font_size=”30px” header_3_font_size_tablet=”30px” header_3_font_size_phone=”20px” header_3_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_code _builder_version=”4.22.2″ _module_preset=”default” text_orientation=”center” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]\n
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What to Expect<\/h2>\n
Challenges of Peak Season Operations;<\/h2>\n
Challenge #1: Increased Volume<\/h3>\n
Challenge #2: Supply Chain Disruptions<\/h3>\n
Challenge #3: Tight Labor Market<\/h3>\n
Challenge #4: Investing in Technology<\/h3>\n
Request a free demo to learn more about Logiwa WMS.<\/h3>\n