Are you prepared for Peak 2019? 

Oct 30, 2019

Here at wnDirect, we have been planning for peak for a while, and we wanted to let you know what we have in store for 2019!

With the added pressure of Brexit this year, our plans for peak have to be extra thorough, in order to navigate this tricky time. We have been refining our operational processes, making sure our capacity planning is robust and keeping up-to-date with all the enhancements our global partners are making. We always aim for our retail partners to experience ‘service as normal’ throughout the Peak season.

Here are our top Peak tips, that might help your business:

Contingency planning

We already have robust contingency plans in place for our international delivery service and were working hard on additional ones in case of a no deal Brexit. With this now paused until the end of January, we can benefit from the additional preparations we made, ensuring Peak goes as smoothly as possible. We are confident we can react quickly to weather, Customs or capacity issues to support your business.

Increased orders need increased operations

Every year we start to review our operations in August, to ensure it is suitable for increased volumes at Peak. When perfecting your operations, you should consider increasing staff numbers, testing and servicing equipment and daily forecast planning. We not only look at our processing operation, but head office as well – all staff are trained to answer parcel queries and we have a group of volunteers who can switch departments to help with additional work loads.

Can your website keep up?

Like the previous point, if you notice an increase in traffic around busy periods, make sure your website can take it! For us, consumers tracking their parcels is vital to the delivery journey. So, each year we make sure our website servers have been strengthened and can handle a surge in visitors.

Communication, communication, communication

Discussions start in August with our retailers. Our Account Managers continue to discuss our plans, and important information with them throughout September and make sure all questions are answered so they feel confident in our ability to deliver their Peak successfully. Every single retailers Peak is different, so we tailor our services and operations for their perfect Peak.

Finally… PLAN!!!

It may seem obvious, but new retailers may not have an effective plan in place. We like to start the year reviewing the previous Peak; what went well, and where we could improve. This gives us plenty of time to make sure our retailers can continue to grow throughout the year, safe in the knowledge we can deliver their parcels at the most important time of the year. If you start planning (specifically analysing your last peak) we will have time to discuss what went well and what we can do to make your 2019 Peak go more smoothly.

From the beginning of November our teams have daily meetings to discuss every parcel that goes through our network. We want our retailers’ peaks to be as seamless as can be, so work hard to ensure our part of the customer journey is delivered seamlessly, efficiently and to a high standard.

If you would like to learn more about our services and peak plans, contact us through our website.