ProShip shipping experts share their top recommendations for after the holiday season.

Some retailers are thinking they can now rest easy after the busy holiday season that has filled their planning for the last 6 months or more. But supply chain experts are not convinced that we will see a significant change moving forward. While the White House has noted promising improvements, many suggest that the Omicron coronavirus variant could cause relapse some of the progress. With retailers and consumers alike feeling the uncertainty, ProShip is sharing (or rather re-sharing) recommendations for the post-holiday time frame.

Tip #1: Start planning for 2022 peak shipping season now.

What’s the best way to prepare for the next peak? Zero in on your inefficiencies from this peak season. Shippers should gather all available data and aggregate to analyze the success of your supply chain. You should do a comprehensive postmortem per carrier service and per surcharge, and use the weeks ahead to start carrier negotiations for those most important to you and to discover additional carrier options to ease any shortcomings. Hopefully, compiling this data is a simple task, and you’ll be able to figure out your successes and areas to improve on. [Hint: THIS can make it real easy]

Tip #2: Gather your supply chain A-Team.

Once you’ve compiled all your data, you can draw insights for where optimization needs to happen. If you don’t have the manpower or knowledge within your organization, a supply chain consultant can bring logistics expertise, as well as program management experience to the table to improve the processes and strategies of your overall parcel shipping program. [Hint: We’ve got the connections to hook you up]

Tip #3: Go all-in on the right track

There are several strategies that have shown proven success for retailers. The first being an omnichannel fulfillment approach. While shipping costs are climbing, an omnichannel inventory approach, with inventory spread across multiple fulfillment center locations, can not only help reduce shipping costs but get packages to your customers quicker. [Hint: Check out THIS for a new way to compete]

Next steps for success for supply chain professionals

The next step is to ensure you are utilizing a multi-carrier shipping software, a surefire way to improve the Customer Experience (CX). This solution provides an outlet for managing complex shipping problems like out-of-control surcharges and fees, capacity constraints, and limited shipping options for customers. The right partner will not only provide a simple onboarding carrier process to effectively diversify your carrier mix, but they will offer integrated advanced functionalities. [Hint: THIS one will offer seamless and clear delivery expectations]

While the future is still foggy at best, a few things are certain. Peak season will come whether we are ready for it or not, and our success will depend on (partially, if not mostly) the groundwork we lay now.

Bonus: Shipping software infographic

[View Infographic] New Shipping Software: Why Now is the Time to Buy

For a shipper who is ready to set up their 2022 supply chain program for success, contact the experts at ProShip. With a resume of helping fulfill over 1.5 billion parcel shipments a year from the world’s top retailers, 3PLs and manufacturers, the team at ProShip can accelerate your shipping strategy to tackle what ever the future may bring.