11.11 has come and gone. If you own an online shop whose sales spiked during this period, congratulations! You're either reading this soon after posting (and you don't have problems doing fulfillment--good on you!) or you're reading this days after... possibly because the few days after 11.11 left your team very very busy.
Spikes are great for any shop, but trying to fulfill all the orders in time? Not so fun.
It doesn't have to be this way. You should have your cake and eat it, too. And you can do that if you plan ahead for these spikes (12.12 is coming!) and do these couple tips.
Get Your A Team Ready
Make sure that you've got people ready when a sales surge is expected.
Looking for people to help when you are backlogged will only give you more stress; it's worthwhile to get people ahead of time, train them for what happens, and start working like clockwork once the surge hits.
This goes for human staff and automated helpers alike! Your chatbots and support tools are very much a part of your team.
Plan Your Process
If you're a small team, you might normally work on orders from start to finish. However, when peak season comes, you'll be more efficient and get more orders out with a production line.
How does one start? Separate the whole process of packing an order into smaller, bite-size tasks.
For example, if you've got five people to handle orders:
- One person can get the products from storage
- Second person checks if the order contents are correct and does a quick check for defects
- Third person packs the items into boxes, complete with protective material
- Fourth person seals boxes and makes sure packing slips, receipts, and the like are included
- Fifth person double-checks the parcel and gets it ready for courier pickup
If each person handled one order from start to finish, you may lose some time as people switch between tasks.
Prepare the Right Equipment
Make sure you're prepared the right equipment for your team when they do fulfillment. We're not just talking boxes and packing tape here, although that's still part of the equation (make sure you have enough supplies!).
If you retrieve orders from a marketplace or website online, make sure your staff have access to all the data they need to prepare the orders, such as customer and order history. This may vary between teams and businesses, so make sure you work out with your team what works best for them. Printouts? Access to your shop admin page? Access to an order spreadsheet?
This preparation also extends for even before the peak season starts. If you have a store website, make sure your website can handle the surge of traffic, or end up frustrating your customers. If your shop needs sales staff or customer support staff on call during peak season, make sure you train your staff ahead of time, and get alternative solutions to ease their load like autoresponders and chatbots.
Recoup and Review
After the peak period, make sure you sit down with your team and get feedback from them on how to improve for the next time a surge rolls around. In addition to improving your process for the next time, your customers might be changing over time and may need an updated approach.
Seasonal peaks and heavy sale periods are normal when you're selling anything, whether in offline stores or online shops. Working on your process over time will help you make fulfillment easier for your staff and faster for your customers.
There's still time to prepare for the next surge; start now!