Freight Delays – What Every Merchant Needs to Know
Supply chain disruptions like freight delays may continue well beyond this year’s peak holiday shopping season. Learn how to adapt and succeed in 2022 in
HOLIDAY PEAK
Planning for Peak in 2021
We’ve simplified your 2021 holiday sales and fulfillment strategy with quick tips and in-depth guides from Ware2Go’s team of supply chain and fulfillment experts. This holiday season presents a unique set of supply chain challenges, but we’re here to arm you with the tools you need to make this holiday season a profitable one.
Tips to Optimize Holiday Fulfillment
Port congestion, longer lead times, and raw materials shortages have left 46% of merchants concerned that they won’t have enough inventory to meet consumer demand this year. If you’re working with limited holiday inventory, take these steps to maximize the profitability of your sales:
- Remind shoppers that inventory is limited and holiday shipping schedules are tight to create a sense of urgency.
- Offer fast, free shipping in place of product discounts.
- Ring-fence inventory to feed sales on more profitable channels.
- Optimize inventory distribution for 1-2 day ground to meet fast shipping guarantees without hurting margins.
- Geo-target advertising to reach customers closest to well-stocked fulfillment centers.
Final mile carriers expect to be over capacity by upwards of 5 million packages per day. All major carriers with competitive delivery guarantees will be forced to set pickup caps on high-volume shippers. Distributing your inventory across multiple warehouse locations will increase your number of daily pickups so you can meet ecommerce shipping expectations.
Warehouse space and labor are at a premium again this year. Lead times are lagging, and peak sales are starting earlier, which means warehouses are inbounding and outbounding peak volume at the same time. To ensure the best rates and highest service levels from your warehouse partners, communicate your demand forecast so they can schedule labor appropriately.
Choose a fulfillment partner with a fully integrated WMS that streamlines the inbounding process. A well-documented and timely ASN submitted digitally through a WMS will ensure a faster dock-to-stock time so you can start selling faster.
Get to Know The 2021 eCommerce Shopper
Ware2Go’s recent consumer survey revealed that 2020’s online shopping habits may be here to stay. Learn what today’s shoppers are looking for from online and in-store merchants as you plan your 2021 holiday peak strategy.
ESSENTIAL RESOURCES
2021 PEAK PLANNING
Holiday Shipping: Do’s and Don’ts for a Successful Peak
From this year’s holiday shipping deadlines to navigating shipping delays, this helpful guide contains everything you need to know to meet consumer expectations for shipping
How Ware2Go Delivered 12,000 Backlogged Orders in Time for the Holidays
Learn how Ware2Go’s distributed warehouse network helped one merchant overcome carrier caps and deliver 12,000 backlogged orders in just 2 weeks.
Holiday shopping has started early amid fears over shipping delays
This post was originally published in CNET. Disruptions to global supply chains by COVID, storms and shortages have led to worries about empty shelves.
Transloading Services – Why They’re Essential During Supply Chain Disruptions
Learn how transloading services can help lower time in transit and navigate disruptions at the ports and on rail lines.
Carrier Pickup Limits: Leveraging Distributed Warehousing to Meet Holiday Demand
Carriers will undoubtedly enforce pickup limits on ecommerce shippers this holiday season. Learn how distributed warehousing can help SMB’s increase their carrier pickups to meet
Ocean Freight, Port Congestion, & Holiday Success in Spite of It All
Learn how strategic partnerships and distributed warehousing can help SMB’s have a profitable holiday season in spite of 2021’s supply chain disruptions.
Merchants Expect a Record Peak While Inventory Concerns Loom Large
Learn about the top challenges for retail and eCommerce merchants with the upcoming 2021 holiday shopping season. In the aggregate, nearly 60% of merchants expect
W2G Survey: Merchants Expect Holiday Sales Increase, Inventory Concerns Loom Large
New Research Shows Retailers and eCommerce Sellers Expect High Demand in 2021, While External Factors Are Likely to Cause a Repeat of 2020’s Inventory Shortages
A Proactive Approach to Supply Chain Planning
Ware2Go’s supply chain planning expert, Matthew Reid, describes how a proactive approach to supply chain planning can drive top line revenue for businesses of all
Many Americans Plan to Continue Most of Their Shopping Online Post-Pandemic, Ware2Go Survey Reveals
When asked what retailers can do to entice them to shop more, free shipping was a top answer
Inventory Forecasting: Best practices for forecasting demand
Learn what inventory forecasting is, why it’s important, and best practices for future-proofing inventory forecasting.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Peak shipping season is a result of the holiday shopping season. Peak season has always been a major seasonal sales driver for most merchants, but since the recent ecommerce boom, peak fulfillment and shipping have been a top concern for merchants looking to acquire new customers during the holiday season.
Peak shipping season begins at different times for all merchants, but according to Ware2Go’s merchant survey data, 30% of merchants began to see peak season sales as early as September this year. Peak shipping season ends after holiday returns have been made — typically by late January or early February. For ecommerce holiday sales, merchants should expect return rates of up to 40%.
To prepare for peak season, merchants should order inventory according to their demand forecasting models and supplier lead times, determine their marketing budget and build an advertising plan accordingly, and strategically position their inventory to achieve the best possible shipping speeds without sacrificing margins. (For more detailed tips, download our peak planning resource guide.)
Outsourcing peak shipping season to a 4PL or on-demand fulfillment partner is a great way to quickly scale up fulfillment operations to meet seasonal spikes in demand. In a 2020 survey, 44% of merchants indicated that outsourcing fulfillment simplified their operations. Additionally, outsourcing peak shipping can help SMB’s overcome the challenge of peak season carrier pickup caps.
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