It will come as no surprise that Christmas is the busiest period for sales across most industries. Whether you’re a delivery company, supplier, manufacturer, have a retail business or are working in eCommerce, Christmas is undoubtedly going to be the time of year that you receive an influx of orders and custom. This is why it’s never too early to start preparing your business for the busy festive period ahead.
We all know that customer demand for products and goods increases in the build-up to Christmas. In fact, according to the Bank of England, a typical household will spend over £500 more in December compared to other months, with the majority of spending going on gifts, going out, as well as food and drink.
The increase in customer demand not only means it’s vital that you’re able to meet their needs and provide a quality service but that you’re also able to ensure a profit and ROI on the extra produce you have invested in. In this article, we take a look at how Indeed Flex could help you better plan and prepare the logistics of your business with temporary staffing in the build-up and aftermath of Christmas.
Take stock
Before making your big Christmas orders, you’re most likely going to need to take stock of what you already have, especially in the retail and eCommerce sectors. Depending on the size of your business and current staffing situation, you may or may not have a team readily available to do this. Temporary stockroom assistants can help stock check your inventory as well as organise your storeroom in preparation for new goods. This can be a really time-consuming task and requires meticulous attention to detail, which may be difficult for your other staff members to achieve without distraction if they also have other duties to attend to.
Having trained and organised team members to solely focus on stock checking will help you get a better understanding of what you need to include in your Christmas order. Furthermore, if temporary Christmas staff are a long term part of your seasonal logistics plan, then this process will also help new temporary employees get to grips with the products you have on offer before Christmas orders start coming in.
Stock replenishing
According to a recent survey, more than half of UK consumers (53%) plan to do the majority of their Christmas shopping in November or before, so it’s worth considering that you may need to increase the amount of goods manufactured, as well as regularly replenish your inventory and distribute additional stock. This will require you to have a pool of readily available and reliable staff that can help support the logistics of your business. Indeed Flex can offer you a variety of skilled and trained temporary staff members that can oversee and manage any additional workload in a timely and professional manner.
We cover a variety of roles within the chain of logistics including food manufacturing, warehouse operatives, forklift drivers and stockroom assistants. So whether you’re in need of a Food Production Operative to help you quickly assemble and package food goods ready to be distributed, need a Warehouse Operative with experience to oversee the influx of orders, or a team of skilled Forklift Drivers to help you quickly and safely move large quantities of stock, you can rest assured that our temporary staffing solution will enable you to easily and effectively manage the increase in stock and consumer demand.
Shipping and delivery
With the increase in stock and production of materials, you’ll also hopefully see an influx of orders, which will require the secure and timely delivery of goods to stock warehouses and suppliers. In addition, many of your consumers will also be shopping online and will require a fast delivery service all the way up to Christmas. In fact, 42% of all UK Christmas spending will go on online shopping. As the run-up to the festive period is extremely busy for shipping, importing and exporting, it’s a good idea to have a plan and team in place to ensure that once you’ve received client and customer orders, you’re able to quickly package and safely deliver them where they need to be.
Indeed Flex can help you streamline this process, by providing you with skilled temporary industrial employees that can use forklifts to move large quantities of stock, pick and package orders, load and unload stock as well as deliver goods. If you have a large scale business that deals with both B2B and B2C orders then you’re going to need the support of extra pickers and packers to ensure that your orders are packed correctly and on time for shipping. For large scale deliveries and orders, our temporary loader and unloader crews can help you effectively manage freight, whilst ensuring deliveries go where they need to and in good condition. We also offer certified delivery drivers that will go that extra mile to ensure accurate records are kept, customer signatures are acquired and deliveries are made on time and in good condition.
Positive customer relationships
Hiring extra team members in the build-up to the festive period isn’t just about making money for that quarter, it’s also about ensuring a lasting positive customer relationship. Not only will a lack of organisation and understaffing affect your team, but it’s also bad for business. Delays in production, missing stock, damaged goods and bad customer service could leave a black spot on your organisation and may put customers off from coming back to do repeat business with you. Customers are far more likely to share any bad experiences, which is why every part of your strategy should be designed with the customer in mind.
Temporary staffing is an excellent solution to the increased Christmas demand as it enables you to effectively serve your customers without the long term commitment of overstaffing in quieter months. Our temporary industrial staff are available as and when you need them across a breadth of logistical roles and can help you manage the demand which will be beneficial to both you and your customers. Positive customer relationships will help ensure long-lasting repeat business with existing customers as well as the potential for you to acquire new customers.
Returns and inventory management
If you’re a B2C organisation then chances are that as well as an increase in orders, you’ll also see an increase in returns. Consumers may be returning or exchanging unwanted Christmas gifts or may have ordered more than one size of a clothing item and need to return one. With the influx of stock coming and going it’s crucial that all orders, returns and exchanges are dealt with in a timely and correct manner. As this will be near the end of your customers’ journey with you on this occasion you’ll want to ensure that they receive the correct refund, exchanges are sent in a reasonable time frame and that your inventory is up to date and accurate.
Temporary warehouse operatives and temporary stockroom assistants can help you manage the rush and flow of goods coming in and out of stock. Having this support to form the backbone of returns and stock management will safeguard that no stock goes unaccounted for, that customers can’t buy goods that are out of stock and returned items are readily available to buy again once processed. Christmas can be a little chaotic, especially in a warehouse environment, so having a team that can keep on top of stock levels and general workspace cleanliness will help things run smoother and bolster your permanent team.
Winter sales
For most businesses, the Christmas period doesn’t end in December. New Year and Winter sales are a great opportunity for you to clear out any seasonal stock that may not sell again until the following year. This period can be just as manic as the build-up to Christmas, as orders are still being placed, goods still need picking and packing and deliveries still need to be made.
Keeping your temporary hires onboard until after this busy sale period will help you make the most of incoming sales. The customer journey and experience is still important even if items are discounted. Utilising your temporary staff to continue overseeing this process will help you retain positive customer relationships and will see you in a good position for the following season ahead.
Now that you know how temporary Christmas staff could improve the efficiency of your seasonal logistics, let’s take a look at some of the other benefits of hiring temporary staff with Indeed Flex.
Indeed Flex is the fastest way to hire reliable staff for your business. Not only do you have the choice of who you hire, but you can rest assured that you’ll be hiring from a pool of top-rated and experienced team members. The Indeed Flex app cuts out the middleman, saving you up to 55% on agency fees. In addition to this, the app also allows you to create jobs and hire staff 24/7, with all paperwork and payroll automated. It’s never been easier or more practical for you to build up a team of skilled and experienced temporary staff, especially in the lead up to Christmas.
Download the app today and get prepared for the festive period ahead.
