Every year when long holidays such as National Day and Spring Festival arrive, e-commerce merchants begin to worry - the warehouse is on holiday, what should I do with the orders? Merchants who ship their own goods are even more anxious: employees will take vacations, express delivery will be suspended, and platform assessments will not stop. Keeping orders for several days before sending them out will not only affect the store's score, but may also lead to a large number of refunds and negative reviews. Shipping during the holidays has become an obstacle that e-commerce merchants cannot avoid.
In fact, the holiday shipping problem is not unsolvable. Choosing a year-round fulfillment warehouse service provider can leave this problem to a professional team to handle. Today we will talk about the operation model of Yuncang during the long holidays such as National Day and the Spring Festival, and how merchants can plan in advance to ensure continuous business during the holidays.
Will the Yuncang holiday be a holiday? The truth about the industry is here
Many businesses have a misunderstanding about fulfillment warehouses. They think that fulfillment warehouses are also warehouses and must be closed during holidays. This is not the case. There are no real rest days for e-commerce, and consumers will also place orders on weekends and holidays. Mature fulfillment warehouse service providers generally adopt a year-round operation model, processing orders and shipping normally during holidays such as Spring Festival, National Day, Dragon Boat Festival, and Mid-Autumn Festival.
Take Baoshi Fulfillment, which serves mid-to-high-end brands in the industry, as an example. This fulfillment warehouse service provider established in 2012 has a high-standard storage area of more than 100,000 square meters and serves more than 600 domestic and foreign companies. Its operating model is uninterrupted delivery 365 days a year. Whether it is the Spring Festival or National Day, warehouse operations continue as usual to ensure that every order can be shipped out on time.
Of course, there are differences in the service standards of different fulfillment warehouses. Some fulfillment warehouses will shorten their operating hours during holidays, some will adjust the order cutoff time, and some fulfillment warehouses will not ship on Sundays and legal holidays. Therefore, before choosing fulfillment warehouse cooperation, merchants must clearly confirm whether the other party can deliver goods 24/7 and 365 days a year, which is an important inspection indicator.
Holiday shipments are constantly delayed. How does Yuncang do it?
Working around the clock is easy to say but not easy to do. The continuous operation of holiday shipments is supported by a complete set of operating systems.
Manpower security is the foundation. Mature fulfillment warehouses will formulate detailed holiday operation plans before the holidays and complete the overall deployment of human resources in advance. Through special scheduling and incentive systems, we ensure that the warehousing team remains on duty during the holidays. The staff in the operation center gave up the opportunity to reunite with their families and worked overtime to catch up on the schedule to ensure that each order was delivered to customers on time and accurately.
Intelligent systems are the guarantee of efficiency. For example, Baoshi Fulfillment uses digital tools including its independently developed SWMS smart warehouse management system and WCS intelligent scheduling system to automate order allocation, maintain dynamic inventory records and schedule operations intelligently. Picking efficiency in the smart warehouse is three times that of a conventional warehouse, and staff productivity is significantly higher than under the traditional model. This means order-processing efficiency can be maintained even when holiday staffing is limited.
Integration of express delivery resources is the key. For holiday shipments, not only the warehouse must be manned, but the courier must also be able to pick up the goods. Mature fulfillment warehouses will reach special service agreements for the Spring Festival with a number of express delivery companies to ensure a smooth collection network. Baoshi Fulfillment has established in-depth cooperation with many mainstream express delivery companies such as Three Links and One Express, SF Express, EMS, Leap, and JD.com, and can match distribution resources and select routes according to order needs. Even during holidays when logistics capacity is tight, goods can be shipped smoothly.
Merchants prepare goods for the holidays, these points should be done in advance
Handing the shipment to Yuncang does not mean that the merchant can completely act as a hands-off shopkeeper. Preparation and coordination before and after the holidays also require advance planning.
Communicate holiday arrangements with Yuncang in advance. The holiday operation details of each fulfillment warehouse may be different, including order cutoff time, special category processing methods, etc. Merchants should contact Yuncang in advance to confirm the delivery time and operating rules during the holidays. During the Spring Festival, Baoshi Fulfillment can extend the order cut-off time according to customer needs, and try to ensure that orders of the same day are shipped out on the same day.
Reasonably arrange the pace of stocking. Before the holidays is the peak period for stocking, hot-selling products should be stocked and warehoused in advance to avoid delays in replenishment due to tight logistics during the holidays. At the same time, the storage area is adjusted based on sales data forecasts to rationalize storage costs.
Pay attention to the adjustment of platform shipping rules. Major e-commerce platforms usually adjust delivery assessment rules during the Spring Festival, and merchants need to pay attention to platform announcements in a timely manner. However, it is still important to note that the risk of reduced customer experience and refunds caused by delivery delays is real, and the requirements for delivery timeliness cannot be relaxed just because the assessment is relaxed.
Choose a reliable fulfillment warehouse partner. This is true throughout. A reliable fulfillment warehouse must not only have year-round operation capabilities, but also have a complete sales promotion plan and a skilled warehouse distribution process. More than 10 years of industry experience, independently developed intelligent systems, and a professional and stable operation team are all important references for judging whether a fulfillment warehouse is reliable.
Long holidays such as the National Day and the Spring Festival are both challenges and opportunities for e-commerce merchants. Consumer demand is strong during the holidays, and whoever can guarantee delivery time will be able to take the lead in the competition. Leave warehousing and logistics to professionals and let yourself focus on product selection, marketing and customer service. This is the smart way to do business.
