As the countdown to peak trading season begins, businesses are gearing up for the whirlwind of activity that accompanies Black Friday, Cyber Monday, the festive shopping frenzy, and returns season. In this dynamic landscape, SHOPLINE, Deposco, and Patchworks got together to bring you a beacon of best practices for efficiency and excellence. 

In this article, the 3 industry leaders offer an insider's perspective on what to expect from peak trading – from the front-end, the back-end platform, all bound together by strong integrations. Welcome to a peak trading experience like never before!

Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) are two of the biggest shopping days of the year, presenting a unique opportunity for businesses to thrive amidst fierce competition. 

• Plan Ahead: Proactive planning is crucial for a successful BFCM campaign. Develop a comprehensive marketing strategy, manage inventory carefully, and optimise your website to handle the anticipated traffic surge.
• Embrace Authenticity: While BFCM shoppers seek enticing deals, staying true to your brand's identity is paramount. Customers value authenticity and appreciate brands that stand out. According to Asendia’s “How to Sell Direct in the Age of the Conflicted Shopper 2023” Report, 73% of global shoppers said authenticity made them more loyal to brands.
  
• Promote Your Campaigns: Effectively communicate your BFCM offerings through email marketing, social media, and targeted paid advertising. Utilise eye-catching visuals and clear messaging to capture attention and drive traffic to your online store.
  
• Optimise Your Website: Ensure a seamless shopping experience by optimising your website for fast loading times and intuitive navigation. Prioritise mobile optimization, adopt a clear and consistent layout, and implement user-friendly features to facilitate product discovery.
• Provide Exceptional Customer Service: Prepare for the influx of customer inquiries and support requests during BFCM. Staff your customer service team adequately, provide multiple support channels (live chat, email, phone), and respond promptly and efficiently to maintain customer satisfaction.

• Labour is key. Keep workers happy. Recognise what hinders productivity and address it ASAP. If your workers are fighting their jobs, they may opt to get another. Day-to-day tasks can be improved with handheld barcode devices and reliable software that’s easy to use and actually works! By optimising and directing warehouse and store operatives to the most critical tasks, automated warehouse management technology enhances people-powered efficiency to reduce errors, boost productivity, and improve job satisfaction.
• Mistakes happen. Efficient exception handling separates the leaders from the laggards. Exception handling is a core discipline of best-in-class warehouse management operations; make sure you’re doing it efficiently. Make it right with customers quickly.
• Reduce errors and reduce returns. Head off inaccurate inventory with frequent cycle counting. Accuracy accommodates peak order volume and provides a continuous check on your facility’s position. Tracking available-to-promise limits overselling, inaccuracies on your web store, and misrouting orders.
• Rely on reputable and experienced technology providers. Ask for proof of zero downtime.Understand how long it will take to get support when needed.Your customers can easily choose another retailer if they have just one bad ordering and fulfilment experience with you.

Top Tips for Retailers, Brands, Tech & Agency Partners:

• Early Optimization is Key: Begin optimising your online store early, ensuring that your website can handle increased traffic. Patchworks recommends conducting performance tests and addressing any bottlenecks well in advance.
• Sync and Streamline Operations: Leverage Patchworks' integration prowess to sync your inventory, orders, and customer data across various platforms. Streamlining operations ensures accuracy, reduces manual efforts, and enhances overall efficiency.
• Strategic Inventory Management: Effectively manage your inventory to avoid stockouts and overstocks. Patchworks enables real-time inventory updates, helping you make data-driven decisions and meet customer demands without a hitch.
• Personalised Marketing Campaigns: Utilise Patchworks' data integration capabilities to create personalised marketing campaigns. Tailor your promotions based on customer preferences, purchase history, and behaviour, maximising the impact of your marketing efforts.

While it’s essential during peak, our cloud-based WMS and distributed order management system (DOM) prevent inventory problems all year long delivering always-accurate, always-reliable information in real-time.  

“During peak season, reduced onboarding time resulted in a 40% increase in production, “reports Lifeguard Press. “Outside of peak season, employee efficiency increased by 60% as a result of converting to the Deposco system.” 

A modern WMS – with order management and DOM – shows exactly what’s available, everywhere, including multiple locations, physical stores, and trading partners. Customers who take advantage of process automation routinely see large reductions in order mistakes, manual tasks, labour costs, and technology onboarding time. All of this helps our customers smoothly sail through Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and every day.