3 ways to maintain peak performance

Close communication helps ensure smooth shipping, but prepare your business for unexpected disruption too with backup suppliers, standby carriers and effective monitoring for customers.

Peak season is just around the corner, and while it brings big opportunities for many businesses, challenges can come in all shapes and sizes too.

Whether it’s staying on top of a hectic workload, meeting more exacting consumer demands, or even managing your workforce effectively so they retain the motivation they need, running a business during peak season can be much more difficult than usual.

Yet this is the time of year when it’s most important that standards don’t slip. Taking those additional demands in your stride could be key to coming out as a winner when you get to the other side of peak season.

So, how do you maintain quality and consistency while keeping a cool head yourself? Check out these ideas to help ensure your business can handle whatever is thrown in its way.

Forecasting is your friend. There are lots of ways you can approach it – from tracking historical sales (plus any orders you were unable to fulfil) to monitoring macroeconomic events and market trends – but being able to gauge demand with some accuracy helps to avoid having too little (or too much) inventory and being out of stock at crucial times.¹

There are many different forecasting methods and it’s important to consider what is right for your business based on the data available and the resources you have. But perhaps the most important thing is simply making sure you are forecasting – studies show that two-thirds of businesses don’t have any formalised forecasting system at all.²

There’s more to demand planning than just forecasting sales, however. Depending on what the numbers show, consider whether you need to add extra capacity to your business to enable it to cope, such as extra stockroom or warehousing space. And work with suppliers to ensure your stock or production needs can be met – after all, they are likely to be busier than usual too.

It’s also a good idea to put contingency plans in place, so if something unexpected happens - think a website crash, supply problems, or staff sickness – you already know what to do.

And it’s important to remember that planning doesn’t just mean longer-term strategies. Short-term plans are hugely valuable too, such as the way you organise your time so you can be as effective as possible during hectic periods. Research shows that spending 10-12 minutes planning your day can save you up to two hours of time that would otherwise be wasted.³

Having the right number of employees in place is imperative and, if your business runs efficiently at other times of the year, that may mean hiring temporary staff over busy periods such as peak. Identify the skills you need, make training and onboarding plans where necessary, and – at a time when the availability of flexible workers may be at a premium – remember that finding the right people may take you longer than at other times of the year.⁴

For existing employees, topping up training in core areas such as customs clearance and packaging – as well as ensuring staff members are up to speed in unfamiliar areas of the business they may need to help out in during busy times – could help things to run more smoothly.⁵ But it’s important to consider time management here too. If this is poorly managed it can lead to lower productivity levels (not to mention higher stress and increased costs).⁶ At peak times, that’s something even more important to keep on top of.

You should also be mindful of any increased pressures on your workforce, and consider ways in which you can make things easier while maintaining your operational schedules. If appropriate, offering flexible hours or allowing working from home could help to reduce the strain.⁷

And don’t forget yourself in the equation either. Research shows that almost 70% of business owners suffer anxiety related to the Black Friday period, with the Christmas period a cause of anxiety for 64% of them.⁸ This may feel like an inevitable price to pay, but it’s worth taking it seriously – 46% of owners feel that stress and mental health issues are affecting the success of their business.⁹

Planning and organisation are crucial during – and in the run-up to – peak season. Ensuring your inventory (including shipping and other packaging) is aligned with your sales forecasts is a smart idea, enabling you to optimise your stock levels so you can fulfil orders efficiently and make more informed decisions about what, and when, to reorder.¹⁰

For larger businesses, it’s also a good idea to make sure your marketing department is on the same page as the fulfilment team. It’s no use driving sales if you are unable to fulfil them so it’s essential that your marketing plans are formed in conjunction with your inventory and logistics plans.¹¹

Be aware of potential demand surcharges from carriers at busy times, and check their cut-off dates around particular calendar events. This can help you avoid missing out on crucial inventory supplies or disappointing unsuspecting customers.¹²

Much of this is down to effective communication, which is essential in the peak season period. But regardless of how efficiently you let customers know when they need to order by, or how your internal teams strategise with each other, or even how regularly you check in with suppliers, things can and often do go wrong.

For that reason, it’s worth having back-up suppliers in place in case your primary supplier is unable to fulfil your order.¹³ And speaking of customers, it’s a good idea to keep them informed at all stages of the process – especially if their orders are facing delays. In that scenario, communicate with them as soon as you can, and remember that providing tracking information and delivery notifications can both boost the customer experience and reduce the pressure on your customer service team.¹⁴