Should You Change Fulfillment Providers? Probably, But Not Right Now.
Don’t look now but Black Friday is roughly 50 days away.
If you’ve been less than happy with your fulfillment provider, we’re here to tell you that now is absolutely not the time to make a switch. (But you already knew that.)
But now is the time to sketch out what criteria you need to evaluate during peak season in order to make a decision – once the chaos is behind you – as to whether or not you’re going to make changes to your fulfillment operation.
Here’s what to gauge.
The True Meaning of Partnership
Even with immense amounts of data at our fingertips, fulfillment is still very much a business rooted in relationships. When was the last time you heard from your fulfillment partner? Did they proactively reach out months ago to help you prep for peak season? Are you giving them what they need to satisfy their end of the relationship?
When you’re in the thick of peak season, make some mental notes on the health of the relationship between your brand and your 3PL. Come January you can ask yourself: Are we truly partners or not?
The SLA
This is the most obvious metric: Is your fulfillment partner meeting the service level agreement, or SLA? Are they exceeding it? On the backend of peak season, compare your numbers against the SLA. Did your 3PL deliver as promised? Did they fall short? Did they do better than last year?
Quality
Your 3PL is the last touch on your product. Are they handling it as if it were their own? Are warehouse team members representing your brand the way you would? Are products wrapped properly? Are they clean?
Your 3PL should want to show you the quality of their work. If they aren’t interested in that, you know exactly who will: your customer.
The intensity of peak season creates opportunities for quality to suffer. The right 3PL doesn’t let that happen.
Pro Tip: Ops teams should coordinate with their marketing and support teams ahead of peak season to develop social listening and escalation strategies. If fulfillment quality is substandard, that’s where you’ll hear about it.
Scalability
Nothing says peak season like scalability. Either your 3PL can do it or it can’t.
Start by looking at your historical peak season results. When the crush happened, was your fulfillment partner getting products out on time? Or were orders sitting for three, maybe four days before they got out the door?
Obviously it’s a problem if orders aren’t moving on time, but this creates a compounding effect. If orders from Black Friday are delayed, weekend orders are too. That then pushes Cyber Monday orders out.
After Thanksgiving, starting bright and early on Black Friday, we’re operating 24 hours a day for the next 12-14 days. We do this with multiple shifts, lots of planning and a collective “we got this” attitude. This is also when Waldo, C-3PL, Maggie, PutWALL-E and Jarvis are operating around the clock.
“For us, it’s all about planning and flexibility. That’s how we help brands deliver during peak season and it’s how we help them scale long-term.”
Lawrence Timpson
VP of Operations | Capacity
Forecasting
Since peak season is only just a few weeks away, it’s too late to talk about planning – but we’re going to anyway.
Many, many months ago, we asked all of our clients for peak season forecasts. How much do you think you’re going to sell each day during peak? What promotions do you have planned? How many orders? How many units?
“Our relationship managers are reaching out to our brands for peak season forecasts as early as February. It’s incredible to see how accurate some of them are. That level of accuracy makes our job so much easier.”
Lawrence Timpson
VP of Operations | Capacity
This sort of knowledge is crucial. It helps us plan. It helps us allocate labor and design shifts. It eliminates unknowns.
If you’re 3PL didn’t ask you for forecasts back in the beginning of the year, let’s talk after peak.
Cost Management
Peak season often means shipping surcharges. FedEx and DHL rolled theirs out in August! Ultimately, you want your 3PL to be your guide. They know the carriers. They know what’s coming. They’re in the position to help you develop strategies that might soften the blow of surcharges. We’ve worked with clients to help them run promotions ahead of peak season, preparing inventory to accommodate. We’ve also worked with brands to develop shopper incentives like multiple unit ordering.
You Know Peak Season Isn’t Time to Change Fulfillment Partners
But if you’ve been feeling like a change is necessary, use this time of year to gather the facts so you can make an informed decision once this year’s peak season is in your rearview mirror. .