Logistics of the E-commerce industry during the Christmas period. What do the preparations look like and what happens after the holidays?

In recent years, more and more people are choosing to shop online. That's why the e-commerce industry is making constant progress. However, it is not until the holidays that many companies experience a huge increase in order volume! In turn, after the holidays, warehouses are full of unsuccessful gifts in the form of returns or unclaimed parcels. Therefore, effective logistics during this time is a real challenge.

Pre-Christmas logistical challenges

One of the first challenges is the increased shipment traffic in the warehouse due to the increase in the number of orders. Therefore, it is worth analyzing data from previous years well in advance. This will allow for appropriate preparation, among others: warehouse space, labor and inventory. This way, possible shortages of staff or warehouse space are avoided. Sometimes it is also necessary to reorganize the warehouse to place the most frequently shipped goods in an easily accessible place. By changing the arrangement of shelves and goods, the time from order preparation to shipment is shortened. However, sometimes the storage space may be insufficient, so it is worth considering enlarging or renting an additional hall. In the case of small companies, e.g. Self-Storage warehouses may be useful. However, larger companies before the holiday season pay special attention to the automation of logistics processes to increase warehouse efficiency and throughput. Investments in modern technologies and monitoring systems significantly facilitate and speed up the shipment of goods. During this period, many companies plan additional collections and shipments of goods by courier or transport companies. Despite the above actions, delays in the transport of goods will probably be unavoidable. Therefore, you should include information on the website about longer than usual delivery times for orders. This is extremely important because the products ordered at this time are most often intended as gifts and must reach customers before the holidays. However, if the waiting time for the order is even longer, you can plan an appropriate pool of freebies for such packages. This will be compensation for the prolonged order processing time. The pre-Christmas period is a special time in the e-commerce industry, so it is worth remaining attentive and flexible in the face of emerging logistic problems.

Post-Christmas strategies in the e-commerce industry

Unfortunately, not all gifts turn out to be successful. The post-holiday period is a time of exceptionally high returns. It is worth keeping this in mind when planning work after a short break. Effective returns management is then crucial. You should ensure a quick and easy returns policy, set priorities, and properly monitor shipments so that the process runs as quickly as possible. During this time, you can also employ additional people in the customer service department who will answer all customer questions and ensure accurate product descriptions. By taking such actions early enough, you can minimize the risk of returning the goods. After the so-called After the first fires are extinguished after the new year, sales data is analyzed, which will allow for resource planning for future seasons. The post-Christmas period is also a good time to sell goods to get rid of excess goods and make room for new products. Based on the analyses, it is also worth drawing conclusions and future action strategies, e.g. regarding the quality of customer service or the speed of goods delivery. The post-Christmas period is also a good time to plan and test new business models. Therefore, it is worth remaining flexible and quickly reacting to changing trends in the industry and logistics.

The use of modern technologies saves time and money. This is especially important during periods of heavy traffic in logistics. The Smartload app will reliably help you plan your loading! Thanks to it, you will save valuable time and reduce empty runs. The program allows you to create a visualization that you can then send as guidelines to the warehouse. Come in and check it out!