Black Friday has already gotten off to a strong start! According to Coresight Research, holiday sales are expected to be up by 4% whereas e-commerce will be up 16%! Target had a goal to hire more than 120,000 people for the holiday season which is a 20% increase. UPS planned to hire 100,000 which is up 5,000 from last year (maybe because they had to spent $125 million extra last year to fix delays because they were short staffed). And FedEx planned to hire 55,000 additional seasonal workers which was a slight increase from last year (and they expect a record-breaking year).
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?
Are 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 customer’s 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.
About ASCM and APICS
ASCM is the global leader in supply chain organizational transformation, innovation and leadership. ASCM is built on the foundation of APICS certification and training spanning 60 years. APICS provides world-class supply chain training and certification to foster supply chain talent and improve end-to-end performance. APCIS sets the standard for supply chain education, through outstanding training, certification and community programs..
About APICS – Inland Empire
The APICS Inland Empire Chapter (APICS-IE) covers the Inland Empire region of Southern California, which spans the easternmost portion of Los Angeles county and includes San Bernardino and Riverside counties. The chapter offers educational classes, programs and special events in the hotbeds of manufacturing, distribution and transportation activity including Ontario, Riverside and Temecula. APICS-IE partners with other organizations supporting manufacturing and distribution such as the DMA (Distribution Management Association), neighboring APICS chapters, industry leaders and government officials in support of furthering the region’s workforce development and growth.
Media Contact
Kathleen McEntee | Kathleen McEntee & Associates, Ltd. | p. (760) 262 - 4080 | KMcEntee@KMcEnteeAssoc.com
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