Many businesses will feel the varied effects of seasonality upon their profit and loss plans. Depending upon the nature of a business, different times of the year will show higher profits and more incoming business than at other times. For example, mail order and online e-Commerce companies who sell gifts often find that their demand peaks around Christmas time and is lower in the summer months.
This fluctuation in consistency of demand can often impact upon warehousing and order fulfillment.
Running an in-house warehousing and order fulfillment operation can have significant cost impacts upon any business. Alongside overheads, premises, heating, light and machinery costs, staffing can often be a real issue. Resource may need to be evenly distributed throughout the year as demand increases and decreases due to seasonality. Some companies have been known to turn to temporary staff to help them manage the ebb and flow of order fulfillment operations. However, this can often have a costly and negative impact on a company as it demands regular training and recruitment – two practices that in turn impact upon a company’s Human Resources department and ultimately, the company’s budget.
Many companies have found a way to avoid costly recruitment and training costs associated with temporary warehousing staff. These firms are turning to third party logistics companies to help manage their order fulfilment processes. By outsourcing warehousing operations, many firms find that they not only save money but they also save time which can be used valuably elsewhere within the business. By allowing an external company to manage certain elements of logistical operations, many companies find that seasonal peaks and troughs in demand become less of an issue to manage. Here at the ILG, we collaborate with our clients to provide tailor-made order fulfillment and warehousing solutions that can often prove to be more efficient and less costly than recruiting temporary staff to address issues caused by seasonality.