+44 (0)1604 968 820 Speak to an expert

Welcome to our second episode of “Peak Seasoned”, the series where we speak with leaders across the business to learn how they contribute to our clients’ success through the busiest period of the year.

In this episode, we’re talking to Alex Sims, J&J’s Solution Architect & Sr. Software Engineer, about how the Tech Team’s approach to ControlPort™ stability is a year-round affair, how the team stays on top of potential issues through the Peak period, and why ControlPort™ is a real differentiator for both our clients and operations teams through Peak. 

A Year-Round Approach

“The Tech Team is constantly building out new features and functionality,” Alex says. “We’re making sure we’re meeting our clients’ needs, supporting operations, and keeping the system running as smoothly as possible.”

That focus intensifies in the lead-up to Peak. With order volumes often doubling, the team spends months testing system performance to identify potential pressure points before the real rush begins.

“We try to stress test our systems to see how they’d react to that increase in volume,” Alex continues. “But nothing beats the real thing. When we’re down on the fulfilment floor helping out, we’ve got our observability dashboard open to monitor how the system’s handling the load. If performance dips, we’ll head upstairs and spin up more compute power to handle the demand.”

Monitoring and Maintaining Performance

To stay ahead of issues, the team relies heavily on observability tools that provide a real-time view into ControlPort’s performance.

“It’s our window into the system,” Alex explains. “We can see every request that flows through ControlPort™ and how fast or slow it’s performing. If we start to notice degradation across thousands of requests, we’ll dig in to find the bottleneck.”

Those insights feed directly into the team’s development pipeline, ensuring that optimisations are prioritised and deployed well before they become a problem. “Because we deal with performance issues as they arise throughout the year,” Alex adds, “we rarely face surprises when Peak arrives.”

Delivering Visibility and Insight for Clients

While the Tech Team focuses on system stability, their work has a direct impact on the experience brands have during Peak.

“ControlPort™ gives clients complete visibility of their stock portfolio,” says Alex. “They can identify slow-moving or dormant lines, track fast sellers to plan replenishment, and monitor order lead times from the moment an order is placed to when it’s shipped.”

That level of transparency helps brands make faster, data-led decisions — something that’s especially valuable when every second counts during Peak.

Collaboration in Action

Peak is a business-wide effort, and the Tech Team is no exception. While much of their work happens behind the scenes, they’re often side by side with operations teams during the busiest weeks of the year.

“The pressure’s on,” Alex says. We go from our standard trading period to almost double the volume. But there’s a great feeling across the business — everyone working together to get orders out the door.”

And while Peak is always a challenge, it’s also a source of pride. “How well does all the work we’ve done hold up? That’s the question,” Alex smiles. “Over the last five or six years, we’ve really not had many issues. Each year, we do a bit more to make sure everything runs smoothly. When it all comes together, it’s incredibly rewarding — for everyone, from the fulfilment floor to the Tech Team upstairs.”

Join us for Peak… and Beyond 

There’s still time to secure a slot with J&J ahead of Peak 2025. Get in touch today for a no-obligation consultation about how we can help your business grow.

About the Author

Related news & insights

Welcome to our first episode of Peak Seasoned, the series where we talk to leaders across J&J Global Fulfilment about how their teams contribute to a successful Peak period for both us and our clients. First up, we have Clara…

70% of UK retailers say that the US is a priority export destination, according to a recent Tamebay survey. While it’s fairly simple to set-up the commercial aspects of selling online to US consumers, handling the logistics is a bigger challenge.

In this episode, Simon Wheeler sits down with the TikTok-vial brand Hair Syrup to discuss her growth journey and the truth behind her controversial Dragon’s Den appearance. From creating hair oils from scratch to building a multi-million pound business in…

In this episode, we sit down with Tom Holmes, the Founder of Tom’s Trunks—a loungewear brand known for its commitment to sustainability. Tom started the business at just 14 years old and has since grown it into a multi-million-pound eCommerce…

Once upon a time, J&J Global Fulfilment was known as James and James—a name inspired by its founders, James Hyde and James Strachan. In this episode of The Scale Up Podcast, Simon Wheeler sits down with them to delve into…

Expanding from a UK-based business to a global brand is an exciting opportunity to reach new customers and grow revenue. However, it comes with its own set of challenges, from managing logistics and international shipping to understanding tax regulations and…

We sit down with Julian Kynaston, a visionary entrepreneur known for shaping iconic brands. From an unconventional past rooted in football hooliganism, Julian went on to build Illamasqua, GHD, and his award-winning branding agency, Propaganda. In this episode, Julian shares…

Cyber Week is the single most lucrative time of the year for eCommerce brands. The condensed shopping period, combined with widespread consumer demand for deals, generates a massive surge in sales that can account for a significant portion of annual…

While we’d be the first people to champion the benefits of outsourced fulfilment, we’re also transparent about the fact that it’s not for everyone. Deciding to outsource fulfilment to a third party isn’t a light one. It’s a big investment….