Four Ways to Streamline Shipping For Your Business in Challenging Times – Partner Blog with ShipStation

Logicbroker and our partners at ShipStation want to make sure you and your packages are covered for the holiday season. As we work together to ensure every supplier is connected to the retailers and brands they need to succeed, ShipStation has put together this handy guide to both track U.S shipping deadlines and provide a few tips to make sure your packages arrive on time.

Due to the influence of economic restraints on this year’s holiday shopping environment, retail brands must carefully evaluate how to develop and promote their value proposition. To endure rising costs, persistent supply chain disruptions, and weakening consumer demand, businesses must adopt more intelligent strategies. If done correctly, this will help protect profitability and customer satisfaction.

In the last couple of years, businesses have tried all the possible tricks, from paying extra for the freight to having higher safety stock levels. But the challenge seems to continue even after doing so much. This year, businesses began planning for the holiday season earlier than in the past, reflecting increased unpredictability and supply chain difficulties. Supply chain strategies have been shifted from targeting efficiencies to targeting resilience now. The strategy now includes using shorter, more flexible supply chains that can withstand supply shocks and, most significantly, respond to changes in consumer preferences in reaction to external factors (e.g., cost-of-living crisis, geopolitics, pandemics). The companies can take up the following measures to overcome supply chain disruptions more effectively:

Simplification and Localization

Two strategies businesses for the supply chains should be simplifying, shortening the supply chains, and decreasing overdependence on a single nation, especially overseas. With the increased stance of nationalism and global congestions and disruptions, companies should re-evaluate the savings considering these factors and try for possible localizations.

Sharpen inventory planning

Establish alternate supply sources to enable a business continuity plan (BCP). Reduce the inventory re-orders, review, and reconciliation cycle to be on top of the inventory game. Refrain from overstocking only basis the paranoia of supply issues or on fear of missing out (FOMO) on holiday sales.

Digital-first approach

The adoption of “digital-first” supply chains has never been more urgent. Increased efficiency and predictability will assist in optimizing product mix and assortment, pricing power, and waste reduction. In addition, optimizing data flows and digital supply chain transparency can help improve the variety, regionalize products, and adjust prices.

Last-mile and On-time Deliveries

Consumers’ expectations for inexpensive, on-time, and rapid delivery have become standard. To consistently meet demand at scale, investing in more automated distribution centers and micro-fulfillment hubs will be necessary.

There is a lot that businesses can do to ensure they maximize their returns. The easiest is connecting with ShipStation, the top web-based order management and shipping software that helps businesses process, fulfill, and dispatch e-commerce orders efficiently. We integrate with over 100 carriers, marketplaces, and selling channels to simplify order processing, inventory management, shipping label development, and customer communication.

We help merchants across North America, Europe, and Australia fulfill orders and develop their businesses. We build the best shipping software to help you create a memorable client experience and focus on what matters most.

And remember, the holidays start earlier every year, but the deadlines remain the same. Here are your deadlines for FedEx:

FedEx Holiday Shipping Deadlines in the US

To see the full shipping deadlines for FedEx, UPS, and USPS, read the full post from ShipStation.