For Potpourri Group president/CEO Jonathan Fleischmann, Black Friday and Cyber Monday are a critical period for his company.
Fleischmann didn’t disclose financial data, but he says Black Friday was a “big ordering day for us.”
“But this week is really our peak for customer demand,” he says. “We run integrated print and ecommerce marketing campaigns with targeted promotions throughout the shopping season, culminating in three hectic weeks of orders and shipments beginning last week and continuing through the week ending Dec. 18. The usual wild ride of retail in America.”
Fleischmann says one change the company made this year is that “we are running additional email shipping promotions which change as we approach our cut-off on expedited shipments. In addition, we made a conscious effort to improve our in-stock position for the holiday season and are seeing improving customer service levels, fewer back-orders and causing fewer split shipments.”
Fleischmann says the multititle mailer implemented a conveyor system and material handling enhancements to reduce walk time and increase productivity. What’s more, the company developed enhanced capabilities for forecasting SKU velocity, which further reduces walk-time through optimizing primary picking locations.