ARE YOU READY FOR BLACK FIVEDAY?

It doesn’t stop with Black Friday though. We now have Black Fiveday which starts on the Thursday before Black Friday and culminates in Cyber Monday.

I just did some research and the facts and figures are mind boggling. Did you know?

• Consumers are expected to spend 5 billion over the 5 day period.
• Black Friday 2016 will be the biggest day of online spending the world has ever seen.
• 1.1 billion is predicted in sales on Black Friday alone.
• 3.3 billion is predicted for the 3 day weekend.

As a 3PL, especially if you offer internet fulfillment services, you’re at the sharp end of this annual event. The statistics speak for themselves, we need to take this event seriously and have a clear strategy in place to maintain our service.

If you haven’t started your Black Fiveday planning yet, here’s a checklist to get you on track.

1. Identify which of your customers are hosting Black Fiveday deals.
2. Ascertain whether their deals are on specific stock lines or across their whole stock offering.
3. Request details on the volume of orders your customers are expecting.
4. If order volumes are expected to rise significantly speak to your customer about increasing the number of order files you receive from them during the day and the following days. You may need one an hour!
5. Determine the exact length of Black Fiveday promotions. Is it the full 5 days or just the Friday or Monday?
6. Clarify the delivery promises your customers are making to their customers, (next day delivery, within 3 days etc.)
7. In order to maximise productivity, output and service levels decide if and when to run night and weekend shifts.
8. Check you have enough packaging, boxes and labels available.
9. Liaise with your IT support company or department to ensure you have access to their assistance should it be required.
10. Notify your parcel carriers and Royal Mail about the increased volume and arrange additional collections or larger collection vehicles if required.
11. Pre-print Royal Mail franking labels if applicable.
12. Calculate staff numbers, devise shift plans and organise additional training.
13. Arrange for products on offer to be retrieved from bulk storage and placed in an accessible area.
14. If a customer’s deal is just on one or two items, arrange to pre-pack a certain volume of these so they simply need mailing labels and despatch paperwork adding when the orders start flooding in.
15. Make customers aware of any additional charges for night or weekend opening.

And most importantly

16. Have FUN and ENJOY IT! Fast paced, logistics and warehousing  challenges are what get us up in the morning. This is an opportunity for your business to excel. This is what we do best!