As the saying goes, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year” –– as the Christmas festivities have already begun. These days, the only sounds you can hear are the chimes of the bells, accompanied by lights and a positive aura that radiates happiness and warmth. For business and shop owners, this season is the most profitable time of the year, especially for small businesses. But this season is also the hardest for business owners, as they must ship all orders to the required destinations within the short delivery time that most customers demand. If your business has already made a name in the market, then this is the time to reap the rewards of your efforts: large orders and a significant workload of packaging and shipping.
But all this is not as chaotic as it appears to be in the first instance. To avoid panic and mismanagement, plan ahead. If you are someone new to all this, then this is the most important article that you absolutely need to go through. Planning is vital to quickly address issues with bulk orders. Listed below are a few important steps that can help you in taking one step at a time and preparing for the season ahead.
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Plan Your Christmas Order Volumes Early
The first thing that you must plan for is the last-minute order panic that you are sure about. To plan, just estimate the number of orders based on past data. This procedure is going to drastically help you in staying prepared for the upcoming orders. When calculating this, pay attention to the various offers and discounts that the company is planning for the season. Listed below are a few important things that you need to keep in mind when planning the Christmas volumes. Completing this task in advance will provide you with a clear understanding of the situation you need to navigate and plan solutions for.
Things to consider:
- Last year’s Christmas order numbers
- Any planned discounts or promotions
- Growth in sales throughout the year
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Make Sure You Have Enough Packaging Supplies
Packaging supplies such as bespoke cardboard boxes happen to be the lifelines when it comes to the entire idea of packaging and shipping stuff to different destinations. It is therefore crucial that after you have made a rough calculation of the potential orders, you also prepare the packaging and shipping materials. Understand the different types of packaging materials you might need, and then contact a company that can either supply these materials as needed or provide all of them at once.
At a minimum, you should have:
- A variety of cardboard box sizes
- Protective materials for fragile items
- Packing tape, labels, and spare supplies
- Extra stock for unexpected order spikes
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Choose the right cardboard boxes for Christmas orders.
During this busy festive season, parcels are often handled roughly as the delivery time is shorter. It is important to clearly understand the types of packaging materials you might need and to always choose the best quality cardboard boxes to ensure they do not get damaged during transit.
When you buy cardboard boxes, think about:
- Weight: Heavier items may require double-wall boxes.
- Fragility: Delicate products need stronger cartons
- Fit: Oversized boxes increase shipping costs and damage risk.
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Keep a large roll of bubble wrap ready.
Packaging is not merely limited to putting the stuff in the cardboard boxes and shipping them. It also includes the addition of the necessary protective packaging materials, such as the bubble wrap rolls or the kraft paper rolls, that help in ensuring that the items do not move when placed inside the boxes when in transit. This procedure ensures the safe delivery of the items to the destination.
A large roll of bubble wrap is ideal because:
- It lasts longer during busy periods.
- It reduces interruptions caused by roll changes.
- It offers better value per metre.
Summing Up
To sum up, it is important to understand that planning puts an end to most of the problems. Therefore, if you are expecting huge orders in the festive season, all you need to do is plan ahead and stay prepared, and you will have an effortless time managing orders, and that too without putting too much unnecessary pressure on yourself.
