By Carrie Tallett, Product Manager at Orderwise, Forterro’s ERP solution for ecommerce companies
‘Holidays are coming’, chimes the jingle of a well-known soft drinks brand around this time of year. And indeed, they are – Christmas is now less than two months away. Some retailers and ecommerce companies will be fully prepared and ready to go, but others might be a little more last minute.
In what is the busiest time of the year for most retailers, big or small, this lack of readiness could be a sign of a less-than-stellar festive period to come. But it doesn’t necessarily have to be that way.
Fail to prepare, prepare to fail
Research has shown that approximately two-fifths of SME retailers take more than half of their year’s takings during Christmas trading. 60% say that Christmas is the most important time of the year for their business, yet almost half worry that it will fail to generate the revenue their business needs.
Given this, you might think that most retailers would be completely ready and waiting for a bumper season. But that’s not the case. Running a chain, standalone store, or ecommerce company can be hugely busy, meaning that preparation can be more ad-hoc than is ideal.
Anyone who has not prepared correctly during this time may face challenges such as delivery delays and inventory shortfalls. These can impact revenue and profits, upset customers, and long-term brand perceptions. No one wants to be known as the company that ruined Christmas.
Use past seasonal data to inform this year
To prevent this, data analysis is critical. Every Christmas season has its own story to tell, and by taking some time to look into your historical sales data for the season, you can uncover trends and patterns that will help you plan for now. Knowing what worked last year—and what didn’t—means you can stock up on winning products and avoid slow movers.
With the right tools, you can remove all the guesswork out of forecasting, and using the insight from previous years, make data-driven decisions that set the business up for success.
Optimise stock levels
There’s a fine line between having too much stock and not enough. Overstocking leads to markdowns that can have a significant impact on your bottom line and mean that you have piles of product cluttering your premises or warehouse.
Understocking is no better. There is the immediate impact of lost sales and the longer-term effect of that on customers. If they had been shopping at the last minute, no customer would appreciate not having much time to go elsewhere, even if it had been partially their fault.
The solution is to use a real-time inventory system that monitors stock levels. That way, you’ll always have the right amount of product to meet demand without overcommitting your resources.
Ensuring you have the right stock levels is hugely important, but so is the physical positioning of items in your warehouse; if your data tells you an item is a ‘hot mover’, bring it as close to your packing benches as possible and put slower moving items further away for a minimum input, maximum output picking experience. After all, the quicker you pick, pack and despatch, the quicker customer satisfaction grows meaning repeat business.
Always deliver on time
This should apply to any time of the year, but it is especially important at Christmas. The Amazon factor means that many customers expect super-fast delivery, so when the season kicks into gear, your warehouse can either be a well-oiled machine or a bottleneck.
Implementing efficient picking rules, tracking stock in real-time, and using mobile devices for instant updates can dramatically reduce errors and speed up order fulfilment. With the right setup, you can get products to customers quickly, building the loyalty that comes with that and earning a reputation for seasonal service excellence.
Prioritise customer communication
There’s nothing worse than leaving your customers in the dark during a busy holiday season. Whether it’s a stock shortage, delayed delivery, or an out-of-stock item, clear communication can make all the difference.
Going silent in such situations is never a winning strategy, but most people are understanding as long as they are kept up to date. Proactively updating customers on orders, whether a stock shortage, delayed delivery, or an out-of-stock item, can make all the difference, offering them alternatives and revised delivery dates. You can make their experience even better, and reduce the manual touchpoints in the process, by introducing automation to your order updates through SMS or email, instantly updating your customers in real time.
Mastering Christmas sales doesn’t have to be overwhelming or especially demanding. With just a little foresight, the right strategies and an ERP system tailored to your specific sector, you can turn this Christmas into a true opportunity for growth.
