Case study: Big Little Toys
Introduction:
UK-based company Big Little Toys is an online Christmas store selling Elf’s and accessories, having launched in 2015 with their award-winning original character Elf for Christmas. They came to us a year ago as they were dissatisfied with their current logistics provider. With a lack of services available, stock traceability, picking accuracy and communication.
Onboarding:
The first step of onboarding them was to understand their needs, goals, target customers and what they hoped to achieve from this partnership. Then lay out objectives to match these. Understanding their needs was crucial in order to make sure the partnership was a success and so we could create a competitive pricing schedule and find the best courier to match their requirements.
Having previously tried working with a different fulfilment partner, the challenge we faced was if we did not meet their requirements then we would not have won their business. It was therefore important for us to be able to achieve a streamlined end-to-end logistics solution to achieve their goals and meet their expectations.
The solution:
In order to help Big Little Toys overcome their current issues we offered them a more tailored delivery solution, automated order receipt system and an online portal to track deliveries and stock. Providing them with full transparency on orders and stock levels allowing them to make further decisions about their operations and production. We also assigned a dedicated Account Manager to the account for day-to-day support.
Within 4 weeks Big Little Toys had been fully integrated into our system and we were ready to fulfil all their requirements.
The results:
As a result of our partnership with Big Little Toys, we were able to provide a comprehensive logistics solution for the end customer. As well as improve their visibility of order and stock status. Create more delivery options to the end customer and provide a quicker order turnaround. As a result of this, we were able to complete 4,122 orders for Big Little Toys in 2022 with a 99.9% order accuracy.
Alongside this, we were also able to source environmentally friendly packaging in order to improve their sustainability.
Here’s what Sarah Greenwell, Director at Big Little Toys had to say:
“Working with SKU is a pleasure. They’re a friendly, helpful team delivering a reliable service. I’d recommend them to anyone. SKU have made the logistics side of the business so much easier."
How can your business prepare for the Christmas period?
The Christmas period can be one of the most important times of the year for a lot of businesses. It’s a great opportunity for growth with some businesses generating most of their revenue during the holidays and accounting for up to 40% of annual sales.
It is therefore important to make sure you have a clear plan laid out for the Christmas period and ensure you have the infrastructure in place to deal with the high demand for your products/services. The run-up to Christmas also creates great sales and promotional opportunities for businesses through Black Friday and Cyber Monday. You can drive increased amounts of traffic to your business by creating exclusive one-time offers.
How to increase sales during the festive season.
It’s important to have a strong marketing plan in place and tailor your SEO for Christmas to rank higher on Google during Christmas shopping. Creating a social media plan is also a great way to increase sales and promote your products/services in the run-up to Christmas. Through running special discounts and deals as well as offering free shipping you can help drive sales over the Christmas period and draw in more customers than your competitors.
How does Christmas impact business?
Christmas has a large impact on almost every business in some way whether that’s an increase in customers or longer wait times on deliveries. It can be a very stressful time of year especially if you don’t have the right plans in place. A survey was conducted by First Data and it found that almost a quarter of small businesses found the Christmas period difficult and said they don’t enjoy the festive period at all.
How online businesses can prepare for Christmas.
One of the best ways for your business to prepare for the Christmas period is to analyse your data from the previous years, see what went well and what you can improve on this year. It’s also important to ensure your E-commerce fulfilment is prepared to handle the increased demand. Partnering with a fulfilment company like SKU Logistics can eliminate this stress as we will take over everything from receiving and packing orders for shipment to handling returns and any customer queries. Allowing you to focus on driving your business forward and ensuring your Christmas campaigns are a success.
Arguably one of the most important things for an online business is to ensure your website is operating as it should even with the increased traffic. Your website speeds should remain fast and consistent so you don’t risk losing any potential customers due to slow loading times. You should also optimise the user experience of your website as the user experience can lead to either a positive experience for your customers or it can lead to frustration. An improved user experience can lead to higher rankings, a lower bounce rate and greater conversions.