The holidays are busy time for many of our customers. If you sell clothing, accessories, toys and games, electronics—and of course food—then it’s likely that your business experiences an increase in sales when the holiday shopping hits.
Here are 3 tips to help you plan and manage your holiday orders:
1. Act now to get your orders in ahead of the rush.
Not yet thinking about the holidays? It’s time to start! Now is the best time to get your orders placed and shipped out to your customers. Shipping rates generally increase the closer you get to Christmas. It’s better to get your products out sooner and get them in front of the early shoppers. The weather plays an important role as well. It’s safer to get your goods out into the marketplace before the snow storms start—this way you avoid weather-related shipping delays.
2. Contact your distributors to get a head start on your orders.
Distributors and retailers are busy preparing for the upcoming season. Contact them to remind them to stock up on orders now rather than at the last minute. Consider offering them a discount the earlier they place the order. You’ll be able to save on shipping costs by sending out larger orders and you’ll benefit from the opportunity to fill more orders. It can also help strengthen your relationship with your customers; your buyers will appreciate a distributor that they can rely on when December hits and other orders are delayed.
3. Give your carrier a call. Let them know what your estimated product volumes will be.
Once you have a good outline of your orders and shipping destinations it’s a good idea to call your freight company. This will give them a better idea of what’s up and coming in terms of location, warehousing, and load volumes. They’ll be able to plan accordingly and let you know about great offers.
Use these tips to help manage and secure orders and shipping schedules before the busy season. Now go get ahead of your competitors! Give the JBT team a call if you’re ready to ship your products all across Canada and the U.S.