eMarketer expects 2022’s holiday retail sales for ecommerce to reach almost $236 billion. As customers flock to your online and brick and mortar stores during the holiday season, how can you avoid the panic?
The key is to streamline processes using the right tools. For example, an order management system (OMS) can ensure seamless order management and fulfillment so you can deliver excellent customer experiences regardless of the rush.
Read on to learn about five strategies that can help you prepare for the holiday rush.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
- Use Scalable Cloud Technology
- Get a Unified View of Your Inventory
- Use Powerful and Configurable Workflows
- Incorporate Order Fulfillment
- Give Your Customers Options When It Comes to Delivery
Final Thoughts: 5 Strategies to Prepare Your Business for the Holiday Rush
1. Use Scalable Cloud Technology
Limited scalability is the biggest barrier to delivering a good experience. Consumer demand during the holiday season can overwhelm your ecommerce infrastructure. Your customers will have trouble shopping and might even choose to purchase from a different store.
Prepare for the holiday rush with cloud technology that can reliably scale as needed.
Choosing the right solution is important because:
- You want your ecommerce website to function efficiently when it sees an influx of users during the holiday season.
- Once the peak season is over, you want the cloud technology to scale back so you don’t have to spend extra on excess capacity.
As your omnichannel sales grow,Orckestra’s cloud-native and auto-scaling platform can seamlessly match demand peaks and grow alongside you in an environment that is yours; auto-scaling specifically for your solution.
2. Get a Unified View of Your Inventory
Tracking inventory is critical for omnichannel success, but it can be difficult if you have multiple stores, warehouses, and sales channels.
Enabling a unified view of your inventory allows you to monitor inventory from all locations in real-time to avoid over or under stocks.
A unified view also helps you prepare for the holiday rush because it enables you to fulfill orders right from your stores. That’s especially useful when you’re processing hundreds of orders received through multiple channels. Access to complete information about inventory can also identify upsell opportunities, helping you maximize revenue. You’ll also free up cash from inventory items that move too slowly to be profitable and eliminate markdowns faster to maximize profitability.
3. Use Powerful and Configurable Workflows
Another way to prepare for the holiday rush is to automate your processes. While repeating a process makes teams efficient and eliminates room for guesswork, there’s still the risk of human error and scalability issues.
The answer to both problems? Automation.
Use technology to automate your workflows.
Think about it — would your business be scalable if you had staff manually select the best location for fulfillment for each order, especially during the holiday rush?
You need a powerful system that empowers you to create configurable workflows. Once you’ve configured the workflow, the system takes over the chain of tasks, enabling you to focus on other parts of the business that require a human touch.
For example, you can create a workflow so that every order your ecommerce store receives is automatically routed to the best location for fulfillment.
4. Incorporate Order Fulfillment
A fulfillment app puts powerful and efficient fulfillment capabilities right in the palm of your store associates' hands. It also turns your stores into hyperlocal fulfillment centers, enabling you to optimize your use of inventory and minimize the cost and delivery time of fulfilling online orders.
A fulfillment app makes it easy for your store staff to acknowledge and process online orders, ensuring accurate and timely order preparation. Stores receive order details directly in the app and are guided through the fulfillment process with all the relevant order information, including high-resolution product images.
Orckestra’s integrated fulfillment app streamlines order fulfillment. It’s easy to use and requires minimal training, empowering even novice team members to become efficient at fulfilling orders quickly.
5. Give Your Customers Options When It Comes to Delivery
You want shoppers to have all possible delivery options. Imagine losing a big sale just because a customer doesn’t want to pay for shipping and you don’t offer in-store pickups.
Omnichannel order fulfillment options keep customers happy and drive sustained sales. Retailers need dynamic pickup and delivery options that are flexible enough to meet evolving needs.
The delivery options you should offer include:
- Ship from store: When you receive an order from a customer, you ship it from the nearest location instead of the warehouse. Ship from store helps you make faster deliveries and can help shoppers save money on shipping.
- Ship to store: When a customer places an order, you ship the product to their nearest store location, where they pick it up. It’s convenient for shoppers because they don’t have to wait at home for the package or track shipping times. They can pick up the package on their way to work or when running errands and save on shipping.
- In-store pickup: In-store pickup is similar to ship to store but faster. Items with an in-store pickup option should be available at the nearest (or preferred) store. The customer places an order and can pick up the package within hours since it doesn’t need to be shipped from another location.
- Support for last-mile delivery: Online shoppers want fast deliveries, and expectations on this front continue to rise. 29% of shoppers expect deliveries within two to three days, while 12% expect deliveries in less than two hours. You need reliable partners to ensure you follow through on your customers’ expectations.
With Orckestra's integration with Delivery Solutions, a last mile delivery provider, can offer same-day delivery services through carriers like DoorDash, Lyft, UberEats, and tons more!
Final Thoughts: 5 Strategies to Prepare Your Business for the Holiday Rush
Order management and fulfillment can be overwhelming even without the holiday shopping season.
But here’s the good news:
Orckestra’s Omnichannel Order Management System gives you the technology you need to automate and accelerate your operations.
Try Orckestra's OMS today and stay on top of the holiday rush.
