Finding the right time to work on your business shortcomings and improve your supply chain is challenging. The quiet shipping season is when you can delve into the core logistics processes and benefit from freight shipping seasonality.
What are freight shipping seasons?
The logistics industry evolves under many internal and external influences throughout the year. Factors like demand fluctuations, global events, and weather conditions divide the transportation year into four main periods. Some of them are straight dependent on essential holidays or increased supply. However, freight shipping seasonality often confuses shippers and retailers when they experience orders shortage and low customer interest.
There’s nothing to worry about – the quiet shipping season from January to March is just a calm before the ‘shipping storm’ in a good sense. If you observe your turnover works cyclically, it’s a good sign. Understanding shipping seasonality gives you credit for better planning your future transit operations. At a lull, you can arrange the supply chain in a way it brings you the best possible outcomes.
How to take advantage of the quiet shipping season?
The quiet shipping season time is valuable for boosting your logistics management. There are several helpful suggestions on spending the slow season with benefits.
Upgrade your shipping strategy
The slow season creates an excellent opportunity to rethink the strengths and weaknesses of your business strategy. Try to use shipping seasonality to identify areas for improvement and modernize your logistics management. Check if you get to align all the supply chain processes at the shipping seasons’ crossroads or deepen relationships with suppliers to make them more convenient. For example, you can contact your vendor to discuss changes in their production layout.
The period of reduced workload allows getting into supply chain organization details. They include inspecting your equipment or testing the new one, evaluating the performance of your employees, and learning about the latest industry trends. You can also use the quiet season to go through some business checkups and training, thus eliminating the need to do it while shipping actively. It will ensure your company is well-prepared to take on the challenges of the peak moving season.
Analyze customer demand
It’s difficult to pay enough attention to the sales dynamics when you’re busy with frequent shipments. Thus, you can track customer demand during the quiet season. Since retail businesses have completed their holiday deliveries, it’s time to look into your sales and evaluate the popularity of different products. Detailed analytics reflect what items contribute to your overall income more than the others. You can generate more optimal orders from your supplier and remove some ignored products from your offer list.
Demand forecasting can be highly advantageous if you have considered using storage facilities for the goods. The analytics results will show whether it is reasonable to keep the most popular products in a warehouse to speed up the delivery during the peak season. Now that you have more free time for preparation, you can look through the warehousing spaces that are both cost-effective and strategically located.
Review your budget during the quiet shipping season
After the holiday shipping season, retail businesses typically take stock of their financial results. It is an excellent chance to examine the areas you invest in and detect those you may overpay. These insights can aid you in shortening unnecessary expenses so you can stick to the planned budget in the upcoming shipping season. The logistics industry sometimes involves unforeseen charges that often emerge during transportation. So, you can consider allocating some backup funds to prevent yourself from unexpected situations.
Digitalization is a good idea to follow if you seek to put the means into your business development. Every year, technology in logistics becomes more irreplaceable, and implementing new advancements such as work automation or route optimization will pay off significantly in the long run. At the same time, freight shipping technologies will simplify your workflow and make your supply chain remotely manageable.
Expand carriers network
Besides reshaping your shipping strategy and updating the supply chain organization, you can examine the productivity of cooperation with different carriers. Suppose you noticed some points causing disruptions to the delivery process during the previous shipping season. In that case, you can work on expanding the carrier network and look for more suitable options. It will also help you implement early planning and book some shipments on more profitable terms.
Take time to evaluate new carrier services regarding their shipping capacity, attitude to deadlines, and ability to deliver goods safely. It is equally important to see if the carrier is willing to maintain business communication and keep you posted about any changes in their transportation execution.
GoShip online service is a great facilitator in searching for professional carrier services. We can connect you to many experienced carriers who prioritize quality performance at affordable rates. Don’t hesitate to try our free quote tool to compare the best carrier offers, and start preparing for the busy shipping today!