Winter typically calls for cold weather and holiday festivities. For many businesses, it also signals the busiest time of the year. With only 22 days between Cyber Monday and Christmas, businesses and consumers alike are feeling pressed for time. According to Adobe Analytics, online holiday shopping between the months of November and December in the United States is projected to be $143.7B, a 14.1% growth compared to last year.

With the increase in seasonal purchases, a unified logistics process is vital for getting orders to your customers quickly, accurately, and efficiently. In today's modern business world, consumers are now the drivers of the supply chain. Never have items been easier to purchase and harder to fulfill – customers can place orders at the click of a button and it's up to your business to fulfill these orders and meet customer demands.

The benefits and convenience of online shopping and fulfillment options such as buy-online-pick-up-in-store (BOPIS) in our increasingly busy lives is obvious. However, getting those items to you in a timely manner can be a tough task for businesses. To meet quick shipping expectations, businesses need to have the infrastructure to support the increase in orders which results in more storage, transportation, and labor needs. Companies unwilling or unable to adapt their logistics operations to meet these heightened demands will lose customer loyalty and sales.

Businesses can breathe a little easier this holiday season if they address these core issues in their logistics operations: