Posted by We know how important being organised for the festive period is, and how busy you are, but here are a few points to think about sending and receiving orders at this time of year.
Check on your courier’s website as well as the Royal Mail site for services that are available and hours of operation during the season. These should also provide information about their last days to ship, which will help you get packages to your recipients on time.
If you are sending items abroad the last posting date might only be a few days away now.
If you’re having packages delivered to an address in the Highlands, Northern Ireland and remote parts of Wales, they may take longer to arrive, so allow for the additional delivery times from when ordering.
You may be away from the office more than usual during the holidays, so if you are expecting deliveries think of alternative addresses or arrangements to receive them, maybe other people who come in to work over this period can accept and sign on your behalf.
Make allowances for the increase in packaging supplies you will need for sending the extra orders this season brings, making sure they are well wrapped and arrive safely. Stock up on bubble wrap, mailing boxes and bags, string, including sticky tape and applicator guns.
If you are sending or expecting packages be aware of external factors that could be beyond your control, such as strikes and adverse weather delaying your shipments, so check the long range forecasts, as last order dates are based on normal conditions.
If you are buying several things from one supplier, take into account the availability of each item when you place your order, as they may wait until everything is available which could potentially hold up shipping. Also, make sure that your payment card doesn’t expire before the expected dispatch date.
Check your address book to make sure that all your addresses are correct and up to date. The most frequent problems when goods are being sent or delivered are incorrect postcodes, missing street names and house numbers.