Hone your forecasts. It’s hard for shippers
to predict what the customer will buy, says
Katie Parker, director of strategic solutions
at Green Mountain Technology, yet it’s
more important to get forecasts right in
peak season than at any other time of year.
“When parcel shippers underestimate the
volume and timing of their shipments, it
affects carriers’ ability to plan and manage
their peak-season operations,” she points
out.
To avoid “underpredicting,” some shippers give carriers forecast ranges. It’s best,
though, to continue to adjust forecasts
and ensure they’re as accurate as they can
make them, right up until a few days before
Christmas, Wilkinson advises.
Manage customers’ expectations.
Increasingly, consumers expect to be able
to place orders a few days before Christmas
and still get guaranteed delivery before the
holiday. But the more packages that enter
the system as the clock winds down, the
harder it is for carriers to meet those expectations. That’s why the major carriers stipulate that certain rules and service guarantees do not apply during peak season.
One way shippers can reduce volume in
“every day matters, so retailers will want to
push as close to that edge as they can.”
Another option is to offer incentives like
discounts to encourage customers to order
earlier in the season. Spreading orders over
a longer period helps both shippers and carriers allocate their resources so as to avoid
bottlenecks in their operations, Parker says.
And if a package is delayed, the shipper and
carrier will have more time to fix the problem before the holiday deadline.
