As you begin to set goals for your business for the new year, you are likely looking back on the most recent peak shipping season to see where you excelled and where you failed to meet the needs of your customers. Peak shipping season can vary from one business to the next, but the challenges typically increase during the holiday season which takes place in November, December, and January. For many businesses, the peak shipping season starts on Black Friday and continues into New Year’s Day.
During the holiday season, consumers often demand shorter delivery times and excellent customer service. This expectation, combined with a sharp increase in order volume, often creates challenges for businesses and impacts shipping costs from carriers. Different carriers may dynamically raise or lower rates as they meet increased demand while staying in competition. As a result, businesses need agile fulfillment capabilities to thrive during the surge in demand during the holidays.
Peak season obstacles can range from inventory management and increased staffing challenges to shipping delays and supply chain disruptions. Reflecting on this holiday season, was your business sufficiently prepared for the challenges?
How To Review Your Recent Peak Shipping Season
A retrospective review is a practice often leveraged by business managers to debrief and discuss the results of the previous year or quarter. Performance analysis allows for more efficient workflows and productivity boosts as team goals are restructured and implemented based on prior successes and failures.
A retrospective review poses four questions:
- What went well?
- How can we improve?
- What went poorly?
- What do we want to focus on in the future?
By reviewing these four areas, managers prepare for the next period and face future challenges. By applying these questions to your recent peak shipping season, you can identify improvements while the memory of the recent season is still fresh.
Factors to Consider For 2025’s Peak Season
It is never too early to start planning ahead for your next challenges. Now is the perfect time to assess past performance, identify areas for improvement and implement shipping solutions to stay ahead of the competition.
To ensure readiness for the next peak season, your business should plan to:
- Forecast Demand: Analyze historical sales data and market trends to predict demand for specific products. Ensure you have enough inventory to cover expected sales spikes.
- Streamline Workflows: Use lean manufacturing principles, warehouse automation, and inventory management software, such as barcode scanners and ShipHawk’s Dimensioner.
- Reduce Shipping Delays and Costs: Communicate with multiple carriers and perform in-cart rating using ShipHawk’s Advanced Shipping Software.
- Prepare for Returns: Set up a streamlined returns process to handle post-holiday returns efficiently. Ensure adequate staffing and space for returned items.
- Monitor Performance: Continuously track key performance indicators (KPIs) and use Shiphawk Audit to identify issues and adjust strategies as needed.
- Have a Contingency Plan: Set up backup servers, work with multiple carriers, and build relationships with alternative suppliers in case your primary systems experience disruptions.
Get a Head Start on This Year’s Goals with ShipHawk
Accounting for all of these variables can be a painstaking process, but with a shipping solutions platform like ShipHawk, your company can adjust to the changing holiday season with ease.
ShipHawk’s Warehouse Management System (WMS) offers adaptive omni-channel picking and advanced shipping capabilities to increase warehouse inventory accuracy and order integrity. This innovative approach to supply chain solutions synchronizes the planning, execution, and management of inventory and staffing across warehousing and distribution operations.
Additionally, experience advanced shipping solutions, conduct in-cart rating and analyze metrics with ShipHawk’s Transportation Management Systems (TMS), which works with the WMS to ensure seamless integration. Adjust to the demands of your peak season by investing in innovative shipping solution software to help your business succeed.
Want to discover more about how ShipHawk can support you during the peak holiday season? Schedule a call with one of our shipping experts today to discuss your options.