Prepare for Your Next Sales Spike
Sales spikes are exciting, yet for many product-based businesses, they expose operational cracks just as quickly as they drive revenue. Whether it’s a seasonal promotion, influencer campaign, product launch, or holiday rush, sudden increases in order volume can overwhelm unprepared fulfillment operations.
Before your next growth moment hits, here are the five operational areas eCommerce business owners should evaluate and fix to protect margins, customer experience, and long-term scalability.
1. Fulfillment Capacity and Labor Readiness
One of the most common breakdowns during a sales spike is labor. In-house teams may struggle to scale packing speed, accuracy, and shift coverage fast enough.
Ask yourself:
Can we handle 2–3x our normal daily order volume?
Do we have trained backup labor available?
Are fulfillment tasks standardized or dependent on key individuals?
If your current setup relies heavily on manual workarounds or overtime, growth can quickly lead to errors, delays, and burnout.
2. Inventory Accuracy and Visibility
Nothing erodes customer trust faster than overselling products you don’t actually have. During high-volume periods, even small inventory inaccuracies are magnified.
Key questions:
Is inventory updated in real time across all sales channels?
Do we have visibility into slow-moving vs fast-moving SKUs?
Are counts verified regularly or assumed?
Strong inventory controls — including cycle counts and SKU-level tracking — are critical before any demand surge.
3. Shipping Strategy and Carrier Performance
Shipping is no longer just a cost center, it’s a competitive differentiator. During sales spikes, carrier delays, missed cutoffs, and rate inefficiencies become more noticeable.
Review:
Are shipping methods aligned with customer expectations?
Do we have backup carriers or contingency plans?
Are shipping costs eating into promotional margins?
Optimized shipping workflows help brands scale volume without sacrificing delivery speed or profitability.
4. Packaging, Kitting, and Order Complexity
Bundles, promotions, and limited-time offers often increase order complexity. Without clear workflows, these can slow fulfillment and increase error rates.
Before your next spike:
Are kits pre-built or assembled on demand?
Is packaging standardized across SKUs?
Are instructions documented and repeatable?
Operational clarity reduces friction when order volume rises.
5. Reporting and Decision-Making Infrastructure
Many founders realize too late that they lack the data needed to make fast decisions during growth periods.
Critical insights include:
Daily order throughput
Inventory depletion rates
Fulfillment and shipping costs per order
Error and return trends
Without clear reporting, growth becomes reactive instead of strategic.
Preparing for Growth Is an Operational Decision
Sales spikes don’t just test marketing performance, they test backend operations. Brands that prepare their fulfillment systems in advance are better positioned to capitalize on demand rather than scramble to recover from it.
For growing eCommerce businesses, this often means evaluating whether current fulfillment processes can scale, or whether a more structured, flexible approach is needed.
About CBO Solutions
CBO Solutions partners with product-based businesses to provide custom, scalable fulfillment solutions that support growth without sacrificing accuracy, transparency, or control.
If you’re preparing for your next growth phase, having the right operational foundation in place makes all the difference.
Contact us today to discuss partnership.