The holiday season is just around the corner and online businesses are already feeling the impact of the busiest time of the year. In most circumstances, this can prove to be a stressful experience for many businesses and consumers as in the 2022 holiday season, sales are expected to continue to rise – especially after the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Merchants may face challenges such as storing and fulfilling inventory in an adequate manner to keep up with the seasonal demands. With volume spikes and consistent competition, order volumes could result in insufficient inventory and stock – leading to overselling during peak season. In this article, we will present three key tips to successfully tackle seasonal order demands.
Inventory Management
An inventory analysis will allow your e-commerce business to identify the areas and periods of seasonal demands based on previous data from past holiday seasons – allowing merchants to take control of their profit margins and adjust for suitable inventory levels. A seasonal inventory management analysis will also allow your business to be better prepared for future seasonal demands.
Track Your Inventory
Investing in inventory management software or warehouse management systems allows e-commerce businesses to have better management operations in place. You’ll be able to monitor sales of seasonal items and therefore, forecast the scale of demand outside the peak season periods – enabling data and plans for future seasons.
With a WMS in place, your stock will be in full control and full visibility will be guaranteed. Without this system in place, there is a possibility of ineffective inventory management which can lead to unawareness of low stock levels. This means unsatisfied customers and a negative impact on business. Using a warehouse management system will allow e-commerce businesses to stay ahead of changing warehouse requirements; streamlining warehouse operations by optimizing inventory, order management, picking and put away, and shipping and returns.
Stock Levels
Preparing sufficient stock is critical during the holiday season. Skyrocketing volumes of orders are always expected during seasonal periods (not just the holiday season), which also include: Black Friday and Cyber Monday. These seasonal periods are vastly competitive and customers will not hesitate to find alternative online stores to purchase from if there is no stock available at their preferred store. “Safety stock” will lead to satisfied customers and lead to a reliable and overall positive reputation for your business during high seasonal demands.
Poor forecasting, inaccurate inventory data, and inefficient processes can all lead to stock shortages. This can result in negative impacts on sales and reputation. This is why gaining full visibility of your business operations is vital for success, and implementing a WMS (such as Simple Global’s advanced WMS) would help your business attain full control over business operations while streamlining the process. An advanced WMS would help minimize lead times, eliminate the need for safety stock, while guaranteeing low stock is supplied by enhancing organizational accuracy.
