There You Go
There’s the kids’ sports practice, then home for dinner—but only after you finish that online course component—and, time permitting, you have to stop and get ice cream and watch that football game you recorded.
And that’s just a typical day. Can you predict it? Probably not completely, especially if you’re a professional in your field with a family to care for.
It’s nearly impossible to plan our lives out; sure we can attempt predictions or get a sense of events from past experiences, but in the end, we simply can’t tell what’s going to happen every day.
When it comes to businesses like product fulfillment, the idea of unpredictability still applies. However, there is a period in which limited predictions are possible—namely, when you have to work the most. Moreover, during periods when business is slow, you can plan ways to take advantage of the downtime.
Once you’ve got a sense of high and low periods in a product fulfillment work year, you can more or less figure out what’s expected and when. From there, you can simply focus on doing your work.
Peaks and Valleys
The peaks and valleys of business are really just cycles of when you’re busy and when the lulls kick in. It’s not so much about knowing they exist, as it is about getting ready for them well beforehand.
The busy periods of product fulfillment come at those times of the year when public spending is up. These times are obviously never set in stone, but you can predict certain periods; the summer months and the holiday season are the usual suspects. During these times, a real product fulfillment pro has to have all the necessary resources in place to handle the rush: a kitting and assembly team, on-demand printing facilities, and shipping resources that can get products out quickly. It never hurts to make sure you also check up on your in-house client services team and your out-of-office associates, like warehousing and storage units, to make sure everyone is ready for the busy periods.
On that note, most product fulfillment pros need to have a good staff in place for fulfillment management services during these ultra-busy periods. You might want to get into the habit of contracting out a seasonal staff to assist you during these periods; students in this role can be very cost-effective. You might not need a big crew, but if you’ve been busy over the past year, you likely have a good idea of how much extra help you’ll need.
Making the Most of Downtime
When it comes to the valley periods of product fulfillment, it’s good to make the most of the time you have. This means keeping your business running smoothly and working on ways to improve it while taking the opportunity to relax a bit at the same time.
Taking a course on e-commerce, reading up on legal regulations for your business, or discussing some new product lines with your colleagues are just some of the activities you could do. Some product fulfillment pros go out into the world, doing everything from attending new product conventions in Los Angeles to networking with direct mail marketing services in Florida. Whatever you do, make the most of your downtime, so when the rushes begin anew, you’ll be ready to do great business.
Need solutions to your product fulfillment problems? APS Fulfillment, Inc has the knowledge and services to make your direct mail and product fulfillment ventures more successful. Contact APS Fulfillment, Inc by e-mail at [email protected], visit their web site at www.apsfulfillment.com, or phone at (954) 582-7450.
