With Black Friday almost here and Christmas fast approaching, online customers will soon begin putting in their orders. Whether they are organised or last-minute shoppers, consumers expect their deliveries to arrive quickly, with 80% of shoppers wanting same-day delivery [1]. However, even though eCommerce businesses can offer a range of fast shipping options, there are certain uncontrollable factors that can disrupt last mile delivery.
For eCommerce businesses to be prepared when facing shipping disruptions such as mail strikes, port congestion, extreme weather and more, having contingency in place is vital. If you work with just one carrier, or rely solely on postal service for your deliveries, you could end up stuck should they have any issues. How do you quickly get another carrier to take on your deliveries? And what if they’re closed for capacity?
During peak selling, it’s more important than ever that your delivery doesn’t let you down, especially with 70% of UK consumers less likely to shop with retailers after hearing about a negative delivery experience. [2]
Do You Have a Plan B?
Many retailers are worried about the impact of Peak and delivery disruption. Sound like you? Which is why you need a Plan B now more than ever to have a solid contingency plan for last-minute disruptions.
Why?
Putting a contingency plan in place means you have had can quickly move to alternate options that do not disrupt operations, do not cause delivery delays, and can have your products with customers with minimal/no disruptions trickling down to final mile delivery.
How?
By partnering with a strong delivery service partner who can offer the width of choice in services matched to your business needs. Share your tactical approach and expectations from peak with them, and make your delivery partner a part of the conversation to see what they can bring to the table. Especially since they have the expertise and experience working with other customers within the industry. This means, when you’re faced with a situation as many eCommerce sellers are seeing right now, you have the convenience of quickly switching carriers to avoid delays, or even planning for capacity in case of unexpected sales.
With 85% of online shoppers saying that a poor delivery experience would prevent them from ordering from that retailer again, can retailers take the risk of not leaving their business unprotected from external disruptions this peak? [3]
Don’t panic – we can move quickly to protect delivery
GFS can make sure you have contingency in place when you need it most. Whether you are dealing with domestic or international delivery, we can help you buy making it easy to switch carriers or get additional capacity when you need it.
With access to multiple carriers through one quick and easy integration together with GFS pro-active support at your side, you’ll be ready for whatever this peak season throws at you.
