But, there are areas as a business that are in your control. Here are some tips to to get you better prepared for the Christmas rush:
Pallets
Pallet and container pooling services, like Chep and Loscam, are still reporting shortages. Start planning now and stock piling pallets. You don’t want to be caught out as drivers can refuse goods if they are not on pallets.
Last year there was a massive shortage of timber. Plan early and get your pallet orders in well before time. Or even add another pallet supplier – you can never have too many pallets leading into Christmas.
Labels
Make sure you have enough labels to dispatch freight. Nothing worse than being caught off guard.
Notices To Customers
Our suggestion is to send three letters/emails out to your customers reminding them of the Christmas and Festive Season rush. The first letter should be sent out in the beginning of October advising to start placing Christmas orders.
The second letter should go out in November advising that freight delays will start occurring and to put 1 to 2 days extra for delivery.
And the third letter should be sent at the beginning of December advising when the last trucks will last linehaul for Christmas to ensure delivery before Christmas. If you are dealing directly with the carriers – get hold of your representative. If you are dealing with a hands-on Freight Manager, we will have advised you already.
Contact Details
Are the details of your customers up to date? Our system Openfreight sends tracking notifications via SMS and email. Are those details going to the relevant person? By receiving a notification your customer will be informed. This will help limit the amount of inbound phone calls.
