Peak Season Courier Service Tips: Black Friday to Christmas
Now that Halloween is a thing of the past (and when we say past, we mean three days ago), it’s time for the festive season to hit businesses full-swing!
It isn’t uncommon for businesses to become quickly overwhelmed with the demands of the festive season. With Black Friday and Christmas slowly creeping up, here’s some of our top tips for businesses who use courier services during the festive period.
Plan Early and Forecast Demand
Forecasting demand is key. Businesses should analyse last year’s seasonal data to estimate order volumes and put measures in place to ensure the demand is met this year too. Holiday peak season typically runs from mid-November through to December, driven by Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. Ensure your packing supplies (boxes, envelopes, tape, labels) are topped up by auditing inventory and ordering well in advance.
Partnering with a courier service can help alleviate the stress in moments like seasonal rushes. eCourier offers automated dispatch and integration into your current business infrastructure to ensure your courier service is smooth and goes as planned.
- Predict demand: Use last year’s holiday sales data to forecast your peak-volume needs.
- Stock packaging: Order enough materials to meet peak-volume needs, adding around 20% buffer to be safe.
- Automate workflows: Courier Service API integrations directly into current infrastructure to simplify dispatch and delivery.
- Plan staffing: Train or hire seasonal staff, considering flexible shifts to handle busy days.
- Workflow efficiency: Organise packing stations and use order-management tools to process orders in batches.
Choose the Right Courier Service
Choosing the right courier service to meet your business expectations and demands can be stressful. However, there are some key questions all business owners should ask themselves when considering a courier service.
- Does my business require a bespoke courier service, or simply some occasional ad-hoc support?
- Will I require a courier service integration with my business?
- Which vehicle will I require to transport my consignments?
- Will the courier service I choose be a good representation of my business?
- Will I require multi-drop, same day, next day or international services to speed up delivery turnarounds?
For businesses who need a more bespoke service, eCourier provides a specialist logistics team to handle complex deliveries. If you’d like to enquire about these services, simply contact our team to find out how we can transform your business’ workflow in time for the festive period.
Smart Packaging and Labeling
Secure packaging looks like:
- Sturdy corrugated boxes
- Padded mailing bags
- Strong, high-quality tape
- Clear and concise address labels
- Fragile stickers/markings
When a box is packaged correctly, it’ll significantly lower the risk of damage. Using sustainable packaging materials is always encouraged, considering a high percentage of packing materials end up in landfill. If all required documentation is accurately completed – we can ensure your parcel will reach its delivery destination with no setbacks.
Delivery Deadlines and Cutoff Dates
Many courier services operate with limited availability on Christmas Day and Boxing Day. For stress-free Christmas consignments, we always recommend booking well in advance to avoid any missed opportunities.
Confirm with your courier when their final posting dates are across the Christmas period, as well as when to expect reduced services. This is especially important for next day deliveries, where more than one delivery provider will be involved in the handling and dispatch of your goods. Where possible, book well in advance to avoid disruptions during busy periods.
- Check cutoffs: Verify your courier’s last shipping dates for each service used by your business.
- Ship early: Aim to send parcels approximately a week before any important cutoff times.
- Plan around holidays: Courier Services often run on little to no numbers on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
- Use premium services: If needed, offer premium services for urgent orders whilst approaching a deadline.
- Manage customer expectations: Always plan well in advance, ensuring that potential delays won’t be impacted.
Tracking and Customer Communication
Providing tracking and booking reference numbers to customers will give them the freedom to check on the status of their delivery whenever they need to. Always inform recipients of expected delivery windows and delays. Many businesses make the decision to publish their holiday shipping cut-off times on their website to avoid disappointment to the customer.
Using email, SMS, or social media to alert customers about shipping schedules or issues can prove very useful during busy periods like these. Clear communication builds a strong foundation for trust and customer loyalty – so, giving delivery estimates and suggesting premium delivery will prove useful for last-minute orders.
- Share tracking: Send tracking info with each order so customers can see delivery status.
- Notify proactively: Email or post on social media about shipping delays or holiday hours.
- Announce cutoffs: Clearly state Christmas order dispatch deadlines on your website and socials.
- Set expectations: Offer clear delivery windows, encourage premium delivery services for late orders.
- Review policies: Update shipping/returns policy to cover holiday deadlines and possible delays.
To conclude
For businesses and individual shippers alike, success comes down to preparation and flexibility. Remember the old saying “the earlier you send, the better” to avoid delays. By forecasting demand, working with dependable courier services, and packing well ahead of time, you can make peak-season as smooth as possible.
In the end, the earlier you tackle these tasks, the smoother your courier service experience will be. Well-handled holiday deliveries can even turn first-time shoppers into lifelong customers.
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