What Do I Do When Sales Spike I Can’t Keep Up With Order Fulfillment?

Virginia Miller

July 19, 2024

In this article

If your online business recently began booming, congratulations! It is a great feeling to open your inbox and see a flood of order confirmation emails. All your hard work is finally paying off.

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However, keeping up with a sudden influx of orders isn’t always easy. Sales spikes can arrive unexpectedly and catch you off guard. How will you ship all those orders out on time?

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Thankfully, an eCommerce fulfillment company can help. You don’t need to have a fancy in-house fulfillment center. Third-party fulfillment companies make it easy for you to handle a sudden increase in sales.

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Handling Unexpected Sales Spikes for Small Businesses

A sudden increase in sales can catch any business off guard. While more revenue is usually a good thing, being unprepared to handle a surge in orders can jeopardize your operations. By planning ahead, you can ensure smooth order fulfillment even during busy times.

Why Sales Might Suddenly Spike

There are a few common reasons why online sales might unexpectedly jump:

Getting mentioned in a popular blog, newspaper, or TV segment
Hosting a successful flash sale or promotion
Increased advertising spending driving more traffic
Going viral on social media or review sites

While positive coverage and word-of-mouth are great, they can also drive more orders than a small business can handle without preparation.

Steps to Handle Fulfillment Needs

When order volumes increase, fulfilling each order accurately and efficiently becomes critical. Here are some tips:

Evaluate your current fulfillment process - How many SKUs do you have? What is your packing and shipping capacity? Where are the bottlenecks?
Consider temporarily expanding your staff - Hiring seasonal workers can help manage peaks.
Ensure you have enough warehouse space and supplies - More orders means needing more storage, materials, and equipment.
Renegotiate shipping contracts - Higher volumes mean better rates from carriers.
Partner with a fulfillment provider - The experts handle warehousing, picking, packing, and shipping for you.

Being Realistic About In-House Fulfillment

While some short-term sales spikes may be manageable in-house, know your limitations. Fulfilling orders with a high number of SKUs, variations, and volumes requires space, staff, systems, and expertise. An outsourced fulfillment provider leverages economies of scale to offer affordable, reliable order processing and shipping.

The key is having a plan ahead of time for how you will handle order fulfillment when sales grow. That way you can focus on running your business, not just shipping orders. Consider both in-house and outsourced fulfillment options to create redundancy during busy periods.

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Next article: Explore the Top Benefits of Leveraging Multi Channel eCommerce

FAQs

Why might my online sales suddenly spike?

Going viral on social media, getting positive press coverage, running promotions, and increasing advertising are some top reasons driving sales spikes.

What steps can I take to prepare for more orders?

Evaluate your fulfillment workflow, consider hiring seasonal staff, ensure enough warehouse space and supplies, renegotiate shipping contracts to get better rates, and partner with a 3PL provider.

When should I outsource order fulfillment?

If you have a high SKU count, many product variations, and are reaching peak capacity even with temporary hires, outsourcing to experts can help you scale.

How much warehouse space do I need?

Plan for at least enough space to store 2-4 weeks worth of inventory to account for restock lead times. More space allows flexibility to handle sales spikes.

What shipping carrier should I use?

Shop rates with USPS, UPS, FedEx, and DHL. Large 3PLs can negotiate the best pricing. Ensure your packing methods align with carrier requirements.

Should I hire seasonal warehouse staff?

Temporary workers can help in the short-term but require hiring, training, and management time. Multi-channel fulfillment providers already have trained teams.

What common fulfillment mistakes should I avoid?

Not having enough inventory, warehouse space, or staff can lead to shipping delays and errors. Poor packing and inaccurate order processing also causes problems.

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