10.11.22
The pressure’s on as the busiest time of year approaches. Year on year, Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales continue to grow as an impressive 55% of consumers report spending more during 2021’s Black Friday than they did the previous year.
But this festive season is set to be one of the most challenging yet. Rising energy costs, potential blackouts, the after effects of the pandemic, global tensions, political uncertainty and new trade agreements are all putting a strain on supply routes and pushing up product and delivery costs.
With negative press and anxiety about product shortages building, how prepared is your logistics operation to deliver a successful holiday shopping season?
The story’s alarmist, and that’s bad for business, making your customers less likely to expand their operations. But there are signs of recovery – the shortage of HGV drivers has eased, petrol and diesel prices have stabilised and, despite strikes, ports and transport congestion is easing.
Because these positive stories garner less attention by the media, it’s up to you to take control of the narrative and assure your customers you’ve got the situation under control. Make sure your clients know that, regardless of what they might have heard, they can still expect reliable delivery times, outstanding service and the ability to handle sudden or last-minute requests – even at the height of the festive shopping season.
Just because the industry narrative isn’t always positive, doesn’t mean your organisation’s unique story can’t be. This year, your organisation may have implemented new solutions, secured a range of successes and rolled out operational improvements.
Perhaps you’ve integrated a new automated warehouse system? Adopted new micro-fulfilment centres? Upgraded your fleet? Or even met your sustainability targets? Whatever it is, your partners, competitors and customers should know.
As a forward thinking logistics organisation, you’ve likely been planning ahead for this season – scheduling and recruiting, securing extra vehicles, drivers and storage and looking at potential route optimisation to handle the expected surge in demand.
Maybe you’ve even been running tests on your critical infrastructure like IT systems, website and warehouse automation platforms to make sure they can cope with the added strain. If you’re putting in all this effort, it’s time to share your preparation with customers and demonstrate that your operation is a strategic, safe pair of hands for the season.
We’re experienced supporting our logistics clients through their biggest challenges – helping major organisations create marketing content that tells their unique story and demonstrates their ability to deliver for their clients on time, every time.
