Holiday Peak Season 2021 is Here
Are you ready?
You know that 2020 changed the eCommerce game – you lived it. But what does that mean for Holiday 2021? ShipHero is here to guide you through it all. Keep checking in with us as we walk you through the key dates for different carriers and holiday cut-offs, applicable surcharges and how to best prepare your team for the influx of customer service requests from now until Black Friday / Cyber Monday 2021. ShipHero is here to give you superpowers – not quite as good as the bearded guy up north, but still pretty super.
Your Holiday Prep Starts Here
Dates
Key Dates to Keep in Mind
Surcharges
Just Like Every Year – Surcharges are Here
Preparation
The Holiday Season is Just Getting Started
Support
We’re Here to Help
Dates
Key Dates to Keep in Mind
For ShipHero Fulfillment Customers
Friday, November 5, 2021 – Inventory must be received by ShipHero warehouses in order to be ready for Black Friday / Cyber Monday fulfillment
Friday, November 26, 2021 – Inventory must be received by ShipHero warehouses in order to be ready for Christmas shipments
Shipments received without barcodes will take an additional 2-3 business days to process (total processing time increased from 3-5 days to 5-8 days)
Further delays can be expected for any received shipments that do not meet ShipHero’s inbound inventory guidelines (Click HERE to review guidelines)
For ALL ShipHero Customers
Standard Orders for Christmas must be received by December 10th, in order to meet Christmas Delivery
Expedited orders for Christmas must be received by December 17th, in order to meet expedited Christmas delivery
*ShipHero is unable to guarantee Christmas arrival, because carriers are not guaranteeing delivery. These dates are the dates ShipHero believes will provide the best chance for orders to be received in time, but there is no guarantee.
Surcharges
Just Like Every Year – Surcharges are Here
Some of the major carriers have already announced their surcharges for the holiday season. Below are links to the most common carriers and the rates they have published. Keep in mind that these rates can change, so check back often.
UPDATE: ShipHero’s holiday surcharge rate will be assessed at 8.5% from October 4, 2021 to January 16, 2022.
The United State Postal Service (USPS) already announced overall postal rate changes that took effect January 24, 2021. They recently also proposed new surcharges for the holiday season that would take effect on October 3, 2021. More details can be found on the USPS site HERE.
UPS Peak 2021 Surcharge Rates.
FedEx Peak 2021 Surcharge Rates.
Preparation
The Holiday Season is Just Getting Started
As the countdown to Black Friday and Cyber Monday continues, ShipHero will bring you more information regarding how to prepare your team and warehouses and other key dates and more. Keep visiting this page from now until Christmas to get all the details!
Topics We’ve Already Covered:
- Save Time This Holiday With Case Barcodes
- Make your life easier – Case Barcodes can save you a ton of time. For more details, check out this support document HERE.
- Clear the Way for Putaway
- Forget spring cleaning – September is the time to really make things shine. One of the biggest inefficiencies in the putaway process is cluttered receiving areas and disorganization.
- Avoid Errors with Packer Reports
- Efficiency is key. Run accountability reports to best track your packers and measure KPIs. For more details, check out this support article HERE
- Manage a Painless Returns Process
- One of ShipHero’s valued partners is Returnly, an integration which provides amazing returns management, including processing and reselling. For more information on how to set-up returns within ShipHero click HERE. For more information about Returnly, click HERE.
- Keep Your Warehouse Operations Crisp and Clean
- We can’t stress how important it is to keep your warehouses clean and clutter free. Make sure NOTHING is on the floor. It can cause accidents or provide a hazard that you just don’t need to be dealing with during this busy time. Sweep all the areas, break down all boxes and clear the trash away. Also, be sure to put someone in charge of restocking shipping stations every evening. Replenish any low supplies and reorganize the area for the next day or shift.
- Automate, Automate, Automate
- First, Streamline your processes as much as possible. Is everyone working efficiently? Is the warehouse laid out for easy picking and packing? Second, automate common reports so that they can run without your input. Instead of sitting at your computer, pulling reports, set up the most common to run automatically so that the information is ready when you need it. For more information on automation rules in ShipHero, click HERE.
Support
We’re Here to Help
Need help this Holiday Season? ShipHero is here for you.
Software Client Support Hours
We have extended Support Hours – effective November 15, 2021 through December 19, 2021.
- 2 AM – 9 PM ET Monday – Friday
- 9 AM – 5 PM ET Saturday & Sunday
Fulfillment Client Support Hours
- 8 AM – 9:30 PM ET Monday – Friday
- 8 AM – 3PM ET Saturday
Click HERE to visit our support page and reach out to our Software or Fulfillment Support teams.
Have a general question?
Our Customer Service teams have answered a lot of typically asked questions from both Fulfillment and Software customers and gathered that information into our Knowledge Base. It’s possible that the answer you’re looking for is one they’ve already answered.
Click HERE to access the ShipHeo Fulfillment Knowledge Base.
Click HERE to access the ShipHero Software Knowledge Base.
Deliver Faster Than a Speeding Bullet with ShipHero
ShipHero exists to make it easy for brands and fulfillment providers to ship eCommerce. Built by a diverse global team that values honesty, tenacity and purpose. We are a leader in our industry to positively impact how commerce is shipped around the world.
Fulfillment: We offer outsourced fulfillment at scale through our network of owned and operated warehouses around the US. We pick, pack and ship eCommerce orders with our open API and one-click integration into Shopify and other eCommerce stores.
Software: Our software allows you to run a super-charged warehouse and fulfill customer orders at lightning speeds. ShipHero provides end-to-end automation, a mobile-powered workforce and one-click integration to your Shopify or eCommerce store.
