We know nobody is really thinking about Christmas when we are running around in our shorts, soaking up the sunshine and heading off on our staycations, but believe us, you will thank us for it later. The golden rule for corporate Christmas gifting for employees and clients is early organisation – Making sure you are ahead of the game and have started working on this during the summertime.
Now, wondering why this is the case? Let us give you a few reasons which you may not have considered.
Product shortages
Believe it or not, suppliers start discussing Christmas stock orders with their retailers in the spring time. Therefore, the closer to Christmas it gets leaves you at risk of the suppliers not having the stock left to fulfil your requirements. This is especially the case when you are working with small independent retailers that just do not have the capabilities to do large volume orders at short notice. Now more than ever we all love to support these brands and use their products whenever we can. So to make their life easier, get those orders in early.
Covid is still causing chaos
Sorry to mention the dreaded C word, but Covid is still causing chaos! It is having a huge impact on supply chains for everything to do with gifting. From the suppliers not being able to get hold of so readily the raw materials to make their products, right down to delays in sourcing the packaging used, and so on. Then add Brexit into the mix and we have a real dose of chaos going on, but that is a blog for another day. Remember, preparing early gives you time to allow for any Covid-related delays.
Avoid delivery delays
Last year alone saw every delivery service stretched to its limit, and this year is going to be no different. Whether you are shipping throughout Ireland or further afield, if you leave your corporate gifting to the last minute and you are lucky enough to still be able to source the products for the gifts, you could be very disappointed when they are unable to be delivered in time, especially if you are sending a large bulk order. If you are looking to outsource your corporate Christmas gifting, we cannot stress enough to have your order in early so that your delivery timeframe is also put into the calendar. Our advice on the best time to send corporate Christmas gifts and an alternative option to this can be found here.
Just go ahead and tick your corporate Christmas gifting off your to-do list
If you have been given the task of organising your company’s corporate Christmas gifting for employees or clients, whether it be luxury gifts, food hampers or just a small thank you token – Be prepared and start early. It may seem pretty straight forward, but gifting en masse requires lots of time, space, and helping hands to perfectly execute design, sourcing, counting, quality checking of inventory, gift assembly, finishing touches of ribbon tying etc, recipient list management, shipping and package tracking, etc.
You can thank us later when you are breezing into your Christmas run up with your checklist complete knowing your employees and clients are sorted, all you have to worry about is getting ready for the Christmas parties (hopefully not all Zoom related this year!) Your last minute shopping panic can be left solely for your friends and family.
