eStore Logistics had a bumper Black Friday with fulfillment volumes up 319% on average 2019 volumes and up 59% compared to black Friday last year.
Our success comes down to our own team with operational and IT planning for Black Friday and Cyber Monday commencing in July, including the recruitment of staff.
Being one of the country’s leading e-commerce fulfilment companies, we predict peak season sales volumes by holding close talks with own customers in the lead-up to the period.
Founder and managing director Leigh Williams says over 400 employees have worked across 22-hour shifts, seven days a week, fulfilling demand across eStore’s four fulfilment centres in Melbourne and Sydney.
“Once we get those sales forecasts we use benchmarked metrics that relate to equipment utilisation like forklifts, packing and picking trolleys, pack stations and scanning devices to work out how much extra equipment is required to meet demand and how much extra staff is required, including hours of operation,” Williams says.
Preparation is paramount and that includes upskilling people.
We bring casuals in for the sales period of which many are then converted into permanent employees.
Here at eStore Logistics we use our own in-house proprietary software system to monitor volume and allocate staff and equipment accordingly to support the highest possible throughput.
This year we shipped over 99.5% per cent of orders within one business day during the sales period.
Thousands of those orders were easily updated or changed after a purchase was made thanks to our customer self-service portal. This free cloud-based software offered by eStore Logistics also allows real-time tracking of orders, resulting in a more streamlined process.
“We’ve reduced costs for retailers and it’s making the life a lot easier for their customers,” Williams explains.
“It enables us to continue to be seen as the leader for e-commerce fulfilment in Australia.”
We utilise the Manhattan Associates tier one warehouse management system (WMS) SCALE, which is highly configurable to cater for specific client requirement.
Our freight optimisation software calculates the most suitable and cheapest carrier to send to client orders.
The system uses consignment chargeable weight and destination postcode to calculate the cheapest carrier.
“Many clients hold inventory in multiple eStore warehouses across Melbourne and Sydney,” Williams says.
“Using eStore’s freight optimisation software they have been able to enjoy double digit freight savings during this peak period.”
eStore Logistics was established in 2008; today we fulfil over 60,000 orders a day with an average of 1.4 units per order with multiple pick and pack processes.
Being the proud winners of the 2019 Fulfilment Provider Award at the NORA Network Awards as voted by Australian retailers, it’s safe to say your freight is in good hands.
“It’s a huge honour to be recognised as the fulfilment provider with NORA,” Williams says.
“It’s a testament to how hard our team works and what our focus is every day.”