Effective Holiday Shipping: 4 Quick Tips
The holidays are filled with joy, peace on Earth, awkward family events, lots of eggnog, people shopping for the perfect gifts, and retailers working to achieve effective holiday shipping their products across the country. Businesses everywhere want to deliver a better customer experience and meet their consumers’ high shipping expectations this time of year.
Effective Holiday Shipping: 4 Quick Tips
The holidays are filled with joy, peace on Earth, awkward family events, lots of eggnog, people shopping for the perfect gifts, and retailers working to achieve effective holiday shipping their products across the country. Businesses everywhere want to deliver a better customer experience and meet their consumers’ high shipping expectations this time of year. Since this will be the busiest peak season in history, it’s important to be ready. Check out these 4 quick tips for effective holiday shipping below!
4. Gather Shipping Materials
Time is of the essence if you want to ship effectively during the holiday season. Planning out everything you can, from pre-packing orders to maintaining the appropriate inventory levels of packaging material, streamlines the process for when business speeds up. Be proactive and box up common orders and shipments during your downtime, and make sure you won’t run out of boxes or tape in the middle of the holiday shipping frenzy! Get a few more holiday business shipping success tips here.
If you’re shipping parcels often, it’s important to note the holiday parcel shipping cutoff dates carriers have in December. If you need a package delivered by Christmas Day or any other specific date, make sure you know when your favorite parcel carrier reaches its cutoff.
3. Ship Smarter
The holidays don’t just have to be the season for spending. For businesses, it should be the season of saving. Stick to your budget by consolidating and bundling shipments to receive discounted rates on volume shipments. You’ll spend less time packaging one-off shipments over time and get everything out of the way in one fell swoop.
Speaking of packaging, don’t get so carried away with the holiday rush that you forget the importance of proper packaging. Choose the right packaging option for your cargo. Your shipping solutions provider can tell you which packaging option works best for your shipment and will save you the most money. Download our free Guide to Freight Packaging for detailed packaging information.
Remember, the winter months can cause water damage to your labels from rain or snow. Cover your labels with plastic packaging tape to prevent the elements from tampering with them. Make sure no folds obstruct the bar code.
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2. Provide Accurate Information
Billing adjustments are the Ebenezer Scrooge of the holiday shipping season. And they can be found everywhere if you’re not careful. Accurate information lowers the risks of post-shipment charges that’ll surely ruin your jolly holiday mood.
We’re all busy, especially this time of year, and the chaos can lead to inaccurate information relayed to customers, employees, and others. Some of this can be attributed to delivery expectations. To help manage expectations, inform customers and other shippers about estimated transit times. Additionally, following carrier cutoff dates helps everyone understand what to expect and when to expect it. Weather-related disruptions and varying holiday operating hours can cause mistimed deliveries when this information doesn’t reach the proper parties involved. So, remember to be accurate and communicate with all parties, such as employees, 3PL providers, suppliers, and customers.
Side tip: Consider third-party insurance options to help reduce the risk of shipment loss or damage costs and for added peace of mind this time of the year.
1. Let a 3PL Guide You
At FreightCenter, our holiday shipping rates are our everyday shipping rates. That’s because we work hard year-round to provide your business with the best, most affordable freight rates all year long. We partner with the nation’s top freight carriers to ensure your business shipping needs are always met. This holiday season is predicted to be busy as retail sales are on the up and up. So you will be extra busy fulfilling holiday orders and shipping your products. Don’t go it alone. Let FreightCenter be your shipping department.
See how we can make holiday shipping easier! Get a free quote or speak with one of our logistics experts by calling 800.716.7608 and give your business the gift that keeps on shipping!
To create value for our customers by delivering customized shipping solutions that meet their unique needs and to fulfill shipping demands from simple to complex with expertise, guidance and ingenuity.
It’s never too early to unlock a few holiday shipping tips for retailers. Our first is pretty simple… Ship early.
With the increase in consumer demand and online shopping, your business and shipping strategies must be completed so that your customers receive their products in a timely, cost-effective manner.
Regarding holiday shopping and shipping, Black Friday and Cyber Monday reign supreme.
Trust the experts at FreightCenter to give you the best prices and the most comprehensive options for all your LTL freight shipping needs.
Guaranteed competitive pricing every time you ship.
