Is your business seasonal? What are you expecting? Is anyone in your supply chain focused on seasonal business? Perhaps you should find out!
What Should We Consider and/or What Impacts Could Arise?
Have you prepared for the holiday season? I find this is somehow a common issue among clients. The smartest of clients tend to miss holiday season trends. For example, I worked with one client for several years and key workers took off during the holiday season for extended vacations every year yet it seemed to be a constant surprise when we struggled to keep up with demand. Of course, our customers demand didn’t decrease, even in a non-holiday industry. Of course, clients focused on consumer products always struggle to predict holiday sales as you cannot start producing in December! When I worked with Coca-Cola Enterprises, employees only got Christmas day off because holidays were always BIG.
Think beyond your company. Given the statistics above, do you think your carriers might be a bit busy during the holiday season? How about your suppliers that might supply other holiday-intensive industries? Your trusted advisors? No matter the supply chain partner, perhaps a heads up surrounding holiday activity and expectations would be a good idea. Holiday season volatility is another good example of why you should create a resilient supply chain to navigate disruption and achieve peak performance. Check out our new video and article series as well as our soon-to-be offered Rapid Resilient Supply Chain Assessment service:
November 23, 2018