It's May and Jingle Bells Are Already Ringing!

17 May
Mosaic

Tips to Get Your eCommerce Business Ready for Christmas Peak Trading 2021

It may only be the second quarter of the year and summer has yet to grace us with its presence, however we here at Mosaic are already busy in our warehouses getting ready for the Christmas ecommerce rush. With Christmas Peak Trading Season arriving earlier and earlier each year, there has never been a better time to consider how your ecommerce business or trading arm could benefit from outsourced ecommerce fulfillment and customer automation processes.

Our experience in 2020 was that Christmas Peak Trading started earlier than usual, possibly due to the twin impacts of Brexit and Covid-19. Brisk trading started building up from July with the arrival of Christmas stock in our warehouses. By September onwards we were very much in full swing – a good month sooner than usual.

Whilst of course it is difficult to predict whether 2021 will follow the same pattern as 2020 given that 2020 was an unusual year to say the least, we here at Mosaic are nevertheless anticipating an early start to Peak Trading again in 2021. 2020 taught our clients that the early bird took the ecommerce worm and it seems businesses are planning their ecommerce fulfilment and customer response strategies early again this year to avoid missing out. At Mosaic, we already know that Christmas stock is heading into our warehouses earlier than during pre-Covid times. We have already planned for this, and so should any business or organisation who wants to flourish.

So, why does your business or organisation need fulfilment and automated customer response services?

In short, ecommerce fulfilment solutions can help your business thrive and grow in a world where consumer behaviour has switched from offline. We at Mosaic can release you from the time-consuming processes of ecommerce fulfilment and customer response so that you can concentrate on growing your business instead.

Customer retail behaviour switched to online overnight during Covid of course, with latest studies suggesting that this change is likely to be permanent. Market research company Nielsen stated in a recent You.Gov survey commissioned by The Drum that online purchasing behaviour had become ‘indelible’ (see article here.)

Online shopping platform Shopify interviewed over 25 industry leaders, investors and commerce experts recently and discovered five trends which are shaping retail and ecommerce.

Their report can be summarised as follows:

"Ecommerce is at an all-time high. Lockdowns, travel bans, and retail closures forced the consumer online, and the world’s largest retailers soon followed, in some cases selling direct to consumer (DTC) for the first time. But not all ecommerce newcomers had the infrastructure in place to deliver a world-class customer experience.

One way DTC brands are standing out in a crowded ecommerce space is through automated shipping and fulfillment. Orders must have fast, free, and sustainable shipping. And the unboxing video phenomenon has caused DTC companies to invest in custom branded packaging.

To better compete with marketplaces and retail giants, brands are also investing in richer, more personalized experiences. Humanizing their brand also aids in customer retention, now a top priority as acquisition costs rise, along with uncertainty in digital advertising."

Shopify – please see here for full report.

Stand out from the eCommerce trading crowd

Delivering excellent customer experience and delighting the online customer has never been more important to a business’s success. Standing out from the ecommerce trading crowd is fundamental to business survival and growth. Customer experience and satisfaction is increasingly king. For this to happen, products need to be:

  • stored securely
  • picked, packed and labelled accurately
  • and dispatched to the customer in a timely, efficient and cost-efficient manner
Whether you are a commercial business or charity organization Mosaic can deliver all of this and more. We have:
  • a Global 100 award for the best call handling contact service
  • we can take orders and handle your returns seamlessly
  • we can bank payments securely and thank your customers
  • we can print on demand, including labels, virtual gift cards, information packs and flyers
  • we have soil association certification and use sustainable packaging solutions wherever possible
  • our economies of scale and competitive courier partners mean that you can save on your postage costs
  • and we can provide a truly positive unboxing experience, including building bespoke subscription box kits and information/gift packs– something we do for several high profile clients!

We know that providing a smooth, pain-free client journey is crucial for your business’s acquisition and retention strategy. Our services anticipate and smooth out the spikes and we support you every step of the way as your business experiences growth pains.

Happy customers, of course, lead to great ratings and reviews:
  • For nearly 9 in 10 consumers, an online review is as important as a personal recommendation
  • Customers are likely to spend 31% more if a business has ‘excellent’ reviews
  • 72% say that positive reviews make them trust a local business more
  • 92% of users will use a local business if it has at least a 4-star rating. Source: www.entrepreneur.com

“Businesses whose pages have 1-star on Customer Review sites are often peppered with comments from customers about delivery delays, incorrect orders, damaged goods, poor communication and slow returns.

At Mosaic we understand how businesses and organisations often have too many plates to spin. Unfortunately it’s a harsh marketplace and dropping just one plate can have a detrimental impact on your reputation and success. Mosaic’s innovative range of tech-driven processes slice through the time-consuming and costly jobs you hate, leaving you with delighted customers, great reviews and able to concentrate on growing your business instead of navigating obstacles.

Online shopping and customer response automation was already on the cards in 2019. Post pandemic, it is clear providing a smooth, seamless ecommerce customer experience at every touchpoint of their journey is here to stay. Economic experts McKinsey confirmed in their recent report that the shift to online retail is real, and it is here to stay. The first half of 2020 saw an increase in ecommerce equivalent to that of the previous ten years. If your business or organization is not online and growing, it is likely that your business or organization is declining in strength.”

Duncan Marrison Mosaic CEO Headshot

Duncan Marrison

Chief Executive Officer

Need an outsourced order fulfilment service that helps your company grow?

Join the online brands who trust Mosaic with their order fulfilment and client response services.

  • Designed for brands taking 1,000+ orders per month. We also have a sister company for smaller volumes
  • Outsource warehousing, pick and pack, shipping and returns
  • Handle rapidly increasing order volumes more efficiently
  • Bespoke customer call centre services including telephone orders, banking and thanking, print on demand, collating packs, virtual gifts, subscription boxes (we will also build them), customer returns and more
  • Storage, pick & pack and shipping
  • You benefit from our economies of scale on courier costs
  • We do the things you hate!
  • We tailor our solutions to fit your business so you only pay for the parts you need
  • Reclaim your time and reduce your costs

If your company is struggling to find the right ecommerce fulfilment and business automation solutions, then there has never been a better time to think about how to make your ecommerce business run smoother, delight your customers and thrive as a business!

Contact one of our experts now!

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MiWorld for eCommerce

Mosaic MiWorld Fulfilment

 

MiWorld for Charities

Mosaic MiWorld Response

 

FMCG

If it moves fast, we’ll fulfil it and fast. Our pick accuracy rate is 99.99% and same-day dispatch rate 99.99% . From alcohol to vitamins to zen yoga products, we cover the whole alphabet of fast-moving consumer goods, delighting your customers as well as your accountants.

Vitamins, Health & Nutrition

From chewable gummies to protein powders, CBD oils and nutritional supplements , we’ll help you keep your customers topped up on their important nutrients. We are organically certified with extensive experience of handling vitamin products. We operate strict FIFO and batch control, allowing you to track and control your stock.

Shelf-stable food & drink

We fulfil a diverse range of food and drink consumables from our clean, ambient distribution centre for several prestige clients, some of whom have Fairtrade and Organic Certification. From teabags, filter coffee and snack bars to wholefood crisps, organic chocolate and mineral water, we understand how important it is to protect these goods, and we handle them with kid gloves so that they arrive in perfect condition. We specialise in handling glass items such as coffee jars and sets of jam too, using specialist packaging which ensures their safe arrival.

Hair & beauty

We understand that hair and beauty products are personal for your customers, and that they want their orders to arrive as quickly as possible and in pristine condition. We can personalise your product with our in-house personalised print-on-demand service or use bespoke packaging which is on brand for you. We have extensive experience of handling hair products and organic hair products including premium shampoos, conditioners, serums – also luxe styling tools. We also fulfil orders for many cosmetics, beauty and perfume brands.

Fashion

Socks, underpants, sandals, shoes, gloves, athletic clothes, streetwear, hoodies, t-shirts – if your clients wear it we’ll fulfil it! We have extensive experience in this field, including specialist fulfilment for prestige sports teams. We even handle orders for pet clothing!

Stationery, Books & Cards

We know that your stationery and card orders need to arrive on time and in perfect condition – our clean distribution centre and immaculate packaging ensures just that. We fulfil stationery orders for over 50 clients, from gift packs, to posters, to pens, books, pamphlets and birthday cards. We even ship Bibles for prestigious clients.

Gifts & luxury products

Fulfilling gifting and luxury orders are our speciality. We understand how important these orders are for your customers, and so we ensure perfect packaging and quick delivery. We’ll collate kits for you, if needed, and we can use your branded packaging. We can even make it personal with our (in house) personalised print-on-demand service.

Pet products

From pet beds to harnesses, from everyday pet food to specialist worming tablets, we have handled it all. We can even fulfil orders for pet clothing!

Home accessories & small electronics

From mugs, teapots and room diffusers, to headsets, phone charging cables and specialist devices, we can help your home accessories and electronic online business grow. We also handle electronic games and specialist hearing protection devices.

Garden products

We’ll handle your orders for garden accessories and equipment, including garden ornaments, tools, accessories, floristry supplies - we’ll even handle your bulbs, seeds and garden gift sets. We can even collate bespoke garden subscription gift sets for you.

Personalised subscription boxes

We have seen massive growth in the popularity of subscription boxes in our clients’ online businesses. We collate and fulfil subscription boxes for several clients of all sizes, using highly branded packaging. We can even personalise orders thanks to our in house print-on-demand service.

Charity trading & virtual gifts

We are charity experts here at Mosaic and we fulfil orders for over 50 well known UK charities. We meet and surpass strict compliance requirements rightly demanded by our charity clients, including handling organic, vegan and Fairtrade products.

Alcohol

We are licenced to store and fulfil orders for alcohol products here at Mosaic, and we have done so for several significant clients for many years. We specialise in fulfilling alcohol subscription orders, and we’ll collate the bespoke kits for you if you like.

Toys, games & sports

We can’t tell you how many orders for toys, games and sports we’ve fulfilled over the past 13 years or so! One of our longest-standing clients is a toy company specialising in educational toys. So we know how important it is for these orders to arrive in time for someone’s birthday or Christmas. Our client list also includes several games, games equipment and electronic games companies. And sports – we have fulfilled orders for clients at the very top of their game!

View our Sports Fulfilment services here

Organic, vegan & fairtrade products

We are passionate about ensuring that our business is as sustainable as possible. We are certified by the Soil Association and we have FSC accreditation. We fulfil orders for many vegan, Fairtrade and organic clients, with years of experience in this area. Have a look at our sustainability policy too.

Advanced Warehouse Management System

Our Advanced Warehouse Management System ensures real-time view of every operation, including stock levels, incoming deliveries, outstanding purchase orders, allocations and despatch. Our Warehouse Automation processes increase efficiency, shrink labour costs and accelerate fulfilment.

We give you end-to-end traceability and visibility:
  • Third-party logistics customer details
  • Delivery method selection
  • Current stock levels of products available
  • Purchase order imports
  • Existing order history
  • Order tracking

Data is automatically updated and adjusted, ensuring fastest customer enquiry response and enhancing customer experience.

Our 3PL Portal
  • Fully integrated with our warehouse management software and management system, OrderWise
  • Specifically set up so you can log in, view your stock levels within our warehouse, book deliveries, place and import orders
  • You have complete control over your deliveries and bookings
  • Direct booking of deliveries, access to the goods inwards calendar
  • Automated delivery and stock updates, advanced shipping notes and stock reports
  • The 3PL Portal eradicates the need for time-consuming ordering methods like spreadsheets, as well as emails and phone calls going back and forth
  • Everything you may need to know is accessible within the portal

Video coming soon!

Medical Products & CBD Fulfilment

Our Soil Association-certified organic distribution centre has capability and experience in fulfilling medical grade products including pharmaceuticals, medical devices and PPE(personal protective equipment). Our processes include strict batch and temperature control to ensure that your compliance and regulatory requirements are met and exceeded. Our cloud-based software ensures total visibility, control and tracking around your Best Before (BBE) End dates, barcodes and serial numbers, so that your stock can be monitored and managed with total accuracy.

We recognise that this is a specialist area and we can (and do) build bespoke solutions around our clients’ specific needs. We would be pleased to discuss how we can help you in further detail. We can also handle the rapidly growing CBD fulfilment sector, whether this is in the form of gummies, tablets, creams, ointments or oils.

Competitive prices

We know our prices are competitive. We also give you value for money with our highly trained and experienced staff, expert processes and state of the art systems.

As a company group we have over 46 years’ experience serving over 200 UK charity clients of all sizes. We give you excellent value for money in return for our efficient charity solutions – as seasoned charity experts, we understand and cater for your needs better than most, at a fair price point for your not-for-profit organisation. Our solutions have been specifically designed around our charity clients’ needs, by our extensive team of charity-expert IT developers. We are also able to deliver economies of scale because we are one of the UKs largest, most comprehensive providers of response, payment, and fulfilment services to the charity sector.

Driven by Technology

Our company group has a team of 19 in house IT developers spread across two university sites. We are tech experts, and we constantly strive for and invest in the best technology, processes and systems. Our cloud-based software and easy to use single platform client portal also gives your charity the edge because of our state of the art insight and reporting functions.

Quality Assurance Guaranteed

We have a team dedicated to quality assurance so that from the start to the end of your projects, quality is monitored and assured when it comes to delivering our solutions.

Dedicated Account Managers

We know how important it is to have a real human being at the end of phone, one who is highly trained, who understands and anticipates your needs and who quietly gets on with inbound call centre work, whilst you focus on your main priorities instead. Your account manager is specifically trained to be a charity-expert, and they will work with you to ensure that you have a smooth client journey, with reporting and updates as standard. We understand that you are outsourcing to us because you are busy, and our account managers ensure a smooth, fast, efficient and cost-effective service which does not add extra complications or layers of work to your working day. For more information on our Account Management services click here.

Compliance Comes as Standard

We fully understand that compliance is of fundamental importance when it comes to your charity’s transactions. Because it is for us too as a business. We also know that electronic security is of the utmost importance. With Mosaic, you will receive watertight compliance and security standards. Take a look at our accreditations, certifications and cyber security here.

Charity Trading & Fulfilment

If your charity runs a dedicated online shop selling cards, homeware, toys, gifts, or anything else for that matter, Mosaic can support your eCommerce fulfilment needs.

Not only do we have vast eCommerce fulfilment experience, but we also have a deep understanding of how charities work.

Mosaic provides tailored charity fulfilment solutions through our IT Ecosystem, MiWorld, offering 24/7 visibility of your orders, courier tracking, and integration with multiple marketplaces and inventory platforms.

MiWorld is our turnkey eCommerce solution for charities, enabling us to support your Head Office staff in delivering e-fulfilment excellence and driving additional revenue.

Our suite of added-value solutions, available via our user friendly IT Ecosystem, also means that we can offer a fantastic customer and supporter journey, from donation processing to order dispatch. With easy access to insights and reporting functionality, to help your organisation spot opportunities and thrive.

Payment Processing

We can handle all your charity’s payment processing needs, whether that’s our charity-friendly, flexible and secure Direct Debit Management service, or Banking and Thanking solutions.

We handle online donations and provide secure online payment solutions.

Our other services include GiftAid capture, In-Mem, building bespoke Customer Fundraising pages, personal supporter communications and customised online shops.

Charity Response Handling

We have the specialist knowledge, capacity and experience required to help charities with all their Response Handling needs. Our omnichannel solutions are delivered with the strictest security standards and in a totally secure, compliant environment.

Check out some of the services we provide in this video.

Best in class for service

We have over 46 years of expertise in the not-for-profit sector as a company group*. This easily makes us one of the most experienced and comprehensive suppliers of charity response, payment processing and charity fulfilment solutions providers in the UK.

Let us handle your back-office workflows and work overflows with our painless and seamless solutions. We’ll also help you with your payment processing and your charity’s fulfilment. We can even personalise your print to demand, including your charity’s pack fulfilment, kit collation and virtual gifts.

Our quick campaign onboarding turnaround times will enable your charity to respond quickly and proactively to emerging crisis situations. We will support you with those time consuming but critical back-office jobs, administrative tasks, insights and inbound calls, allowing you to focus your energies on increasing your charity’s impact instead.

*Companies within our company group MFS Group co Limited collectively have over 46 years of experience in serving the not-for-profit sector.

Charity-expert empathetic staff

With our extensive experience in the fundraising sector (over 46 years* to be precise) and our continual investment in the best people, processes and IT security systems, we are confident that we are the most experienced and comprehensive supplier of charity response, payment processing and charity fulfilment solutions in the UK.

We serve over 60 charity clients of all sizes, always highly trained and working to scripts where needed. Calls can be monitored daily for quality by our experienced managers and we send you regular sample calls, which are selected at random. This is an add on service, so you only have to pay for this if you need it.

*Companies within our company group MFS Group co Limited collectively have over 46 years of experience in serving the not-for-profit sector. This easily makes us one of the most experienced and comprehensive suppliers of charity response, payment processing and charity fulfilment solutions providers in the UK.

80 seat contact centre open 24/7

Our 80-seat contact centre team are experienced charity-experts providing specialist, award-winning inbound call centre services to over 60 leading UK charities of all sizes.

With our extensive experience in the fundraising sector (over 46 years* to be precise) and our continual investment in the best people, processes and IT security systems, we are confident that we are the most experienced and comprehensive supplier of charity response, payment processing and charity fulfilment solutions in the UK.

Our team members are highly trained and work to specialised scripts where the charity requires this. Our contact centre team are treated like human beings and are not on regimented time limits when speaking to clients.

Our team members are given a finite number of charities so that they can get to know and understand the charity, their services and/or products and the charity’s supporters well. Our services are delivered with empathy and a smile.

Calls can be monitored daily for quality by our experienced managers, and we can send you regular sample calls, which are selected at random. This is an add-on service, so you only pay for this if you need it.

*Companies within our company group MFS Group co Limited collectively have over 46 years of experience in serving the not-for-profit sector [link to MFS Group co page]. This easily makes us one of the most experienced and comprehensive suppliers of charity response, payment processing and charity fulfilment solutions providers in the UK.

View MFS Group

Emergency & one-off appeals

We understand that charities need to respond quickly to emerging situations when it comes to emergency, one-off fundraising campaigns and appeals.

We exist to support you and your supporters with your work overflows and your back-office tasks when you need us the most. We can also handle your everyday workflows, so you can focus on your charity’s purpose instead.

We can support you during:

  • Your peak campaigns
  • Peak fundraising times such as Christmas or Easter
  • Or when you need to launch an emergency, one-off campaign quickly

We have over 46 years of expertise in the not-for-profit sector as a company group, MFS Group co Limited.This easily makes us one of the most experienced and comprehensive suppliers of charity response, payment processing and charity fulfilment solutions providers in the UK.

Let us handle your workflows and work overflows with our painless and seamless solutions.

Our quick campaign onboarding turnaround times will enable your charity to respond quickly and proactively to emerging crisis situations. We will support you with those time consuming but critical back-office jobs, administrative tasks, insights and inbound calls, allowing you to focus your energies on increasing your charity’s impact instead.

Work overflows

We exist to support you and your supporters with your work overflows and your back-office tasks when you need us the most. We can also handle your everyday workflows, so you can focus on your charity’s purpose instead.

We can support you during:

  • Your peak campaigns
  • Peak fundraising times such as Christmas or Easter
  • Or when you need to launch an emergency, one-off campaign quickly

We have over 46 years of expertise in the not-for-profit sector as a company group, MFS Group co Limited. This easily makes us one of the most experienced and comprehensive suppliers of charity response, payment processing and charity fulfilment solutions providers in the UK.

Let us handle your workflows and work overflows with our painless and seamless solutions.

Our quick campaign onboarding turnaround times will enable your charity to respond quickly and proactively to emerging crisis situations. We will support you with those time consuming but critical back-office jobs, administrative tasks, insights and inbound calls, allowing you to focus your energies on increasing your charity’s impact instead.

Lottery & Raffles

Our services include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Processing responses from raffle tickets
  • Fulfilling and managing additional ticket requests
  • Hosting draws for charities
  • Supporting charities as an External Lottery Manager (ELM)
  • Processing and coding all entries after the closing date as donations
  • Providing an electronic ticketing and draw management system
  • Conducting early bird or fast responder draws
  • Granting access to a full stack of reporting tools

For more information please visit our Raffles & Lottery page.

Video coming soon!