Thanks to Graham and his dad’s hard work, we’ve moved everything back to MCM’s permanent premises. This should mean a return to normal operations very soon. I’ve taken a little time to make some changes to the way the business works, so we’re not quite back to normal order fulfilment just yet.
First has been a reorganisation of the workshop and the office. It is easy to put such tasks off when there are so many more pressing things to deal with on the day-to-day. Moving back in has provided a great opportunity to change some things up. We’re not quite there, but I’m confident things will run a little smoother as a result.
The second big change is finally moving to a better system for shipping. Changes to Royal Mail rules at the start of the year resulted in me having to write a hell of a lot more information on customs forms and not being able to print them myself using my old method. I’m still getting to grips with the RM Click & Drop system and store integration, but it is immediately more efficient – even if the larger format makes international parcels 90% label! Tracking numbers should now be automatically sent to customers when their order is dispatched, which is a big improvement.
Before the move back, we almost completely caught up with orders. Graham was a massive help here, though he isn’t as available right now due to other work commitments. My house is currently a building site, with the extension work coming to its conclusion in the next week. This has meant sleeping on the floor of the room which continues to serve as my wife’s home office, and moving my home PC to the office so we have space for the mattress! No PC at home for me to catch up on work in the evenings, and my workplace is closed on weekends. This is probably healthier for me, but I’ve missed being able to put in a little extra work whilst my wife works on her uni course. These factors, along with the move and reorganisation, has meant things have slipped a little again.
I have a bunch of new products to release, but I’m reluctant to do so until I’m happier with the number of back-orders awaiting fulfilment. I’m now planning on releasing at the end of the week, so stay tuned.
It’s been a hell of a year, and I’m really looking forward to settling back in to normality again. It has been great seeing people at my workplace, I had my first vaccine jab on Saturday, and my local games club reopens pretty soon. Things are looking better 🙂
Ben.