Getting deliveries home for the holidays: is your carrier network ready for peak holiday season?

For major e-commerce shippers, planning for peak holiday seasons is a full-time job. While 2022 is expected to be less disruptive than previous years, e-commerce shippers must still be prepared. Organisations should have solid plans in place to deal with the stress of Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the days that follow.

We've all heard about the causes: COVID's long-term impact on the supply chain, year-over-year growth in e-commerce volume, major carriers' efforts to focus on more profitable services, and a tight, unpredictable labour market. As a parcel shipper, especially if you are fulfilling B2C or B2B customer orders, you should be actively conversing with your logistics teams and the providers on which you rely to get through the peak shipping season.

So, are you asking the right questions, and do you have the right answers to help your organisation prepare for peak season in 2022? To get started, here are some questions to ask.

Are your parcel shipping and delivery processes expansive and resilient?

A resilient logistics process is designed to absorb or pivot when faced with disruptions.  These disruptions aren’t unknown in this industry, and all of us have been doing this for a while. However, the volume and timing of shipments can sometimes bring surprises – especially in a market as unpredictable as ours right now. While the cost-of-living crisis has made consumers shy of spending, the demand for a good bargain can shift sales drastically.

Therefore, having options for a wide range of carriers and services can make a big difference. Expanding relationships to include regional parcel carriers and ensuring you have options with major national carriers is also a good way to have confidence you’ll find a service that can deliver. More importantly, having the ability to ‘shop’ for the best-aligned service can make a difference. Side-by-side comparison, optimised prescriptive suggestions, and learned shipping behaviours that are delivered in a global parcel solution are essential tools.

Are you utilising tools and processes that help manage delivery process woes?

One thing is certain: We will see an increase in on-time delivery challenges this peak season. Your customer service organisation will be strained to respond to a high volume of ‘where’s my package?’ questions. Are you helping customers help themselves? Do you have the data available to answer their questions when they call your customer service centers and give them the ability to look shipment status up on their own?

Customer expectations are higher than ever, and the need to know whether a package will be on time for the gift-giving season is always a priority for e-commerce customers. Visibility tools for customer service groups and direct consumer use are improving. Are you taking advantage of those tools to improve customer satisfaction?

Shipping capacity constraints impacting delivery schedule?

Major parcel carriers are changing how they do business, focusing on more profitable services and the predictability of their resources. This creates inflexibility for high-volume parcel shippers, and new unknowns around their capacity and pricing, especially during peak periods. Ask yourself – do you have the pieces in place to pivot?

One of the biggest factors of the last few peak seasons has been big parcel carriers throttling volumes from major shippers due to stress on their networks. The carriers simply don’t have the capacity to ramp up for the intense volume they’re asked to manage during the holiday season. Often, contract terms between carriers and shippers reflect this scenario, giving carriers flexibility in timeframes that stress their resources.

Post-peak: Are you utilising an efficient audit process for your parcel carrier invoices?

The balance between paying invoices on time and having confidence in the accuracy of those invoices is a challenge. After peak shipping, your team doesn’t want to be surprised by costs coming from your carriers, and you want to be able to rationalise transport spending during your highest volume period.

Carrier invoices are frequently incorrect, primarily because of the sheer complexity of shipping contracts and the number of variables that can change daily. Whether in-house or outsourced, manual review processes can be costly and time-consuming. Any high-volume shipper should look at automation to drive the reconciliation process and the level of integration with their accounts payable system. Quickly identifying issues on carrier invoices and engaging in an accurate claims process yields immediate benefits. We’ve seen savings of 10% or more on freight spend when a comprehensive automation process is implemented.

Finally, are you ready for peak seasonnext year?

Finally, are you ready for peak season

next year

?

Peak parcel shipping has always come with challenges – and preparing for the most intense part of the year is never too soon. Your goals for this year (and the next) should include:

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Utilising effective technology to execute the most effective options for shipping execution and cost management

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Minimising disruptions throughout each shipment’s lifecycle

Taking data beyond historical dashboards and using that data to make actionable decisions that make a big difference in cost and efficiency

Improving and expanding your carrier relationships to diminish doubts about your carrier network’s ability to manage your volume

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A lot has changed over the past few years. Our economy and the way it functions is, unfortunately, one of them. As we girdle our loins for another year-end of unpredictability, it is imperative that we think of the possibilities and their outcomes.