Don’t be in the Dark This Black Friday
Shine a light on your warehouse operations this Peak Season with our top tips for building your Black Friday ecommerce strategy.
1. Warehouse Layout: Set the Stage for Efficiency
A well-organized warehouse is the foundation of a successful Black Friday strategy.
- Create breaks in pick faces – avoid bottlenecks to allow your team to move through the warehouse as efficiently as possible
- Put popular items and sale products near pack benches – this will minimize travel time and ensure orders are packed quickly
- Make space for ‘shipped’ orders – a dedicated area for ready-to-ship items and packed orders will prevent lost parcels and ensure a smooth collection for couriers
2. Simplify Order Processing for Faster Workflows
Make your order processes as efficient as possible to handle the volume at Peak.
- Assign tasks to individual people – spread your team out accross the pick, pack and ship process, saving on travel time and maximising speed
- Automate, automate, automate – automations in your warehouse can seriously upgrade your capabilities with the staff and space you already have, so invest in your tech stack
3. Track Your Progress
Keeping an eye on your progress is crucial, especially during a high-pressure periods like Black Friday.
- Visible dashboards – real-time data on dashboards through your warehouse will allow your team to identify and address issues immediately, ensuring that everything stays on track
4.Organize Your Inventory: Prevent Stockouts and Delays
Inventory management is key to meet consumer demand for Black Friday.
- Check stock levels – conducting a stock take ahead of peak will help you deliver on customer expectations by avoiding oversells and mis-ships
- Ensure labels and barcoding are correct – mislabeled items can lead to picking errors, delays, and ultimately, dissatisfied customers
- Prep your returns processes – increased order volumes can also cause spikes in return levels, so make sure your warehouse is equipped to deal with this to keep everything moving smoothly
Transform Your Black Friday Strategy with Descartes Peoplevox
Easy to Use
New and temporary staff can be online and working within hours not weeks.
Configurable Pick Processes
Prioritize next day deliveries and remove unnecessary steps
Flexible User Numbers
Adjust user counts up and down based on your needs throughout the year.
Dashboards
Track your most important metrics throughout the warehouse and even gamify the process.
Adaptable Warehouse Layouts
Move best-sellers and sale items closer to your pack benches to cut-down travel time.
Real-Time Support
A dedicated Customer Success Manager and 24/7 support desk to support you at all times.
