Don’t Get Burned at the Peak | How Preparing for Peak Season Now Will Save Your Bacon

Peak season either motivates you or keeps you up at night. Surcharges that are hard to plan for, capacity constraints that keep your customers waiting, and internal operational inefficiencies are all issues that bubble to the surface conveniently during peak season. 

Although the 2020 peak season just ended a few short months ago, it is already time to prepare for the 2021 peak season. It is your job to be prepared so that not only does your company make it to peak season, but also so that your company doesn’t get burned by peak season. It’s like hiking up a volcano only to fall in the mouth once you’ve reached the summit. Don’t slip up when it matters most and be mindful to make sure your business is on solid ground when peak rolls around. 

• Arguably the most important point is to start preparing now. 2020 made many businesses rethink their carrier contracts, but reconstructing a contract is very difficult to execute alone. Though, working with a consultant takes time, and if you expect to get a new carrier contract in place by peak season, you need to act now. In this industry, the early bird gets the worm. 

• Check in with your internal processes. Although forecasting may seem impossible in the e-commerce industry these days, and there are externalities that cannot be perfectly accounted for; run the numbers and make sure that you are prepared with the manpower, the technology, and the leadership that you need to make 2021 go off without a hitch. Having an accurate picture of what the end of your year will look like will help immensely with creating an effective plan for peak season. For example, if your product is manufactured overseas, you know that “the shipping industry is seeing the biggest spike in lost containers in seven years. More than 3,000 boxes dropped into the sea last year, and more than 1,000 have fallen overboard so far in 2021. The accidents are disrupting supply chains for hundreds of U.S. retailers and manufacturers”. Disappearing cargo combined with severe port congestion and container shortages is something your business likely needs to be mindful of, and potentially explore other transportation methods for your imported product.

• Listen to your consumer base. Listening is an underrated skill, and the insights that you will be able to glean, just by listening to your customers, are unbeatable. You can learn from your consumers by sending out surveys, hosting focus groups, paying special attention to online reviews, and closely monitoring social media activity. “More than two-thirds of companies now compete primarily on the basis of customer experience – up from only 36% in 2010.” With consumers’ increasing accessibility to the same product from different retailers, they make shopping decisions based on their personal affiliation with your brand--that includes the shipping and delivery experience. Some important questions to ask could be about what customers look for in a delivery experience. Do they want speed? Do they want beautiful packaging? Do they want seamless returns? Do they want the package left in their mailbox or carefully placed at their front door with a knock? Insights like these will help with tips #1 and #2.

At the end of the day, information is power, and in a market this competitive, you need all the power you can get. Critical data will give you leverage with the carriers when recrafting your contract, it will help you create operational efficiency internally, and it will help you improve your customer retention rate through knowing exactly what your customer base wants. 

You and your business are almost to peak once again, and when you find yourself at the mouth of the volcano, you can either harness its power to propel your business forward, or you can find yourself charred. Your actions in the coming weeks will decide that for you.