How Businesses Can Minimize Holiday Post Delivery Issues

The Christmas holidays can impact delivery times for businesses. The volume of post increases dramatically around this time of year, which makes it harder to stick to a delivery schedule. While customers for the most part will understand if a package or letter takes longer to reach them, it’s better for businesses to look at ways to minimize issues.

Manage Customer Expectations

Communicate clearly on your website, social media, and any promotions about realistic delivery estimates. Let customers know the dates by which they should order to receive items before the holidays. Be upfront about potential shipping delays and carrier issues so customers are prepared if orders arrive later than expected.

Upgrade Shipping Options

Consider providing faster shipping options close to the holidays. Services like express or overnight delivery, or certified USPS labels from Certified Mail Labels, can get orders to customers quicker during peak times. Just make sure to communicate the deadlines properly for when express shipping is no longer available. The extra shipping costs may be worthwhile to retain happy customers. Also, look into smaller, more local carriers that may have more capacity than major carriers around the holidays.

Use Fulfillment Centers Closer to Customers

If you ship items from one centralized warehouse, see about setting up temporary fulfillment centers positioned closer to concentrations of customers. For example, a fulfillment center on the West Coast can get orders to those customers faster than shipping everything nationwide from the East Coast. Evaluate where your holiday orders tend to ship and consider adding fulfillment partners in those regions.

Adjust Cutoff Dates

Carefully analyze your processing capacity and adjust order cutoff dates accordingly. Build in extra time to account for higher order volumes. Clearly communicate these cutoff dates on your website and remind customers in emails and social media. Cutoff dates should ensure customers receive purchases by promised dates, even with your busiest processing and shipping days factored in.

Pause Non-Critical Marketing Efforts

See if any non-essential marketing campaigns or offers can be paused in the weeks leading up to holidays. Redirect your customer service and order processing resources away from less critical tasks. Your focus should be on smoothly getting existing orders packaged and shipped during the holiday crunch. Pause or delay any projects that aren't vital to meet customer expectations.

Add Processing and Delivery Staff

Boost your processing and delivery capacity to match higher holiday order volumes. Hire temporary seasonal warehouse staff for fulfillment, packing, and shipping. Also, utilize additional customer service reps to handle increased inquiries about shipments. Make sure adequate staffing levels are in place to get orders out the door quickly and respond to customer questions.

Communicate Order Issues Quickly

Even with the best preparations, some holiday orders will hit snags. When that happens, immediately notify customers and provide options. If an item is unexpectedly out of stock, offer alternate purchase or delivery dates. For weather or carrier delays, give updates with revised delivery estimates. Transparent, prompt communication showing customers you're on top of issues goes a long way.

Offer Order Tracking

Give customers the ability to track their shipments and get estimated delivery dates. Carriers like UPS and FedEx provide tracking numbers that customers can use online. Apps and package tracking integrations make it easy to give this information to buyers. Tracking gives customers visibility and peace of mind about their purchase's journey.

Use the lessons learned this holiday to enhance your operations and shipping for next year's busy season.