Happy holiday season! Not for you though, because you have a lot of orders to fill. The holiday season is upon us, and in a country like India, it’s a very long one!
And if your business catches the eye of excited customers, you are going to suddenly face a huge number of orders.
This is, fortunately, a good problem to have, but is your small business ready to handle it?
In this blog, we can explore how your business can handle huge bulk orders when you are just starting out.
It’s important to keep customers happy — timely shipping is a huge factor in customer satisfaction. And if you are in luck to receive large orders for the holidays, here’s how you make sure your products are shipped to your customers safely, and on time.
Shipping during seasonal rush: 6 tips to get it right
Keep your business ready for the orders coming in with these tips:
Make use of a reliable shipping partner
Think like a customer. If you want a product delivered to you in 3 days, would you buy from a website that delivers in 2 days or one that delivers in 5-7 days?
There you go.
Faster shipping will give you an advantage over your competitors. Customers want their products faster and they would always go to a website that has a shorter delivery time.
When choosing a shipping partner, you need to make sure that they offer guaranteed fast shipping and have tracking services.
Another thing that can save you time during the festive rush is by getting the packages picked up at your doorstep. You can find shipping partners that offer this service.
Here is a list of other factors you should consider when choosing a shipping company.
Stock up on shipping supplies
Sure, if you rely on a shipping partner, you need not worry about keeping shipping supplies ready.
But just to be safe, it’s always good to have a process in place. Keep a list of all the physical items you need to fulfil each order.
Keep a surplus of shipping inventory such as:
- Packaging tape
- Markers and pens
- Shipping labels
- Extra boxes
- Protective wrap for fragile products
Speaking of packaging, the festive seasons are a good time to consider if you need to change your packaging design.
You can get creative and add in elements of festivity or switch to sustainable packaging if you haven’t already. Read more about adding a festive flair to your business here.
Take advantage of technology
Businesses see a surge in orders during the festive season. And managing these tasks manually can be a daunting task. Consider automating at least certain parts of collecting orders and shipping.
If you have an online store, you can reduce the pain of shipping an order manually. All you need to do is subscribe to a shipping partner app to automatically sync all your orders & ship them instantly.
Now automate order tracking for your customers on Instamojo! Tired of individually updating order statuses? Now you can automate it so that your customers get notified automatically when your order status changes!
See how to do it here!
You can also view all your orders in one place.
Organise all orders according to their level of completion: received, packaged, dispatched, etc. This way, you can easily sort orders and get them shipped fast, resulting in happy customers!
Designate shipping days
Organising your work schedule to fit in shipping and packaging works can go a long way. Business owners agree that shipping takes up a lot of time, especially if you’re a solopreneur.
See how Happie Curves has clearly mentioned the shipping time:
Handling shipping activities every day might slow down other business functions. One way to solve this is to designate only a few days a week for shipping and packaging.
You only do shipping and packaging in those days. This can help you in managing your time better.
Pre-package popular products
Based on the previous year’s holiday sales, get to know your best-selling products.
Then, you can package them even before orders come in. You don’t have to wait for orders to come in to start packaging. You make the most of your time with this approach.
Consider modifying shipping policies
Shipping costs are often the most common reason why people abandon their carts, so offering free shipping is a smart way to use a compelling offer to improve conversion rates, without solely relying on percentage or dollar value discounts.
After all, it’s the holidays.
For example – Flat rate shipping: Flat rate shipping has great indirect value with regard to cutting down your shipping costs. It also means having a standard charge no matter how big or small the customers’ orders are.
This could get customers to order more to avail maximum benefits from purchasing on your store. Besides this, flat-rate shipping helps promote your business’s order size.
You can also offer free shipping. This will give you an added advantage over your competitors. If you want more tips on shipping, here’s a guide on eCommerce shipping strategy.
Keep your working capital flow positive
Every business needs to keep a positive cash flow running. Irrespective of the season, make sure you have enough money to handle last-minute bulk orders. What are the possible reasons to have extra working capital?
You will need to keep a little extra money in the bank account for:
- Last-minute bulk orders
- Possible Refunds/returns for damaged goods
- Bonuses for daily wage workers (if any)
Ready to rock this festive season?
Get started on Instamojo for free! Host your own online store, create landing pages, and share quick payment links across platforms.
Run your business buttery-smooth.
2 comments
Hey!
I am looking forward to sending some gifts from India to USA during this festive season and you give the exact information what I am looking for. Hope for more informative blog from you.
This is nice and thanks for sharing ,it is fully insured to provide your belongings the extra cushion that they might need during the car shipping and giving you the peace of mind that your valuable possessions are in good hands.