5 Supply Chain Challenges During The Festive Season
Published on September 15, 2023
Last updated on September 18, 2023 • 7 min read
Customers are browsing catalogues, gathering gift cards, and adding items to their internet wish lists as the holidays get near supply chain challenges. The Christmas season can be a complete nightmare for supply chains everywhere, despite the fact that it is fantastic to witness an increase in sales orders that result in increased earnings.
It might be ten times more difficult to meet deadlines, transport goods, and maintain track of bills at this hectic time of year.
How The Festive Season Affects Supply Chain Challenges:
1. Pre-Festive Inventory Challenges:
The Christmas season appears to be beginning earlier each year. Early in the fall, shoppers are scrambling to find the greatest offers and items still on the market is one of the big supply chain challenges, placing pressure on their inventory before the busy shopping seasons of November and December.
If you aren’t ready, you can discover that during major shopping occasions, your inventory is depleted and your suppliers are unable to keep up with demand. This will prevent you from being able to replenish your shelves in a timely manner.
2. Festive Order Surge:
The amount of orders rises over the festive season, which means you could require additional inventory management and storage space. Processing online orders may also demand extra work for supply chain challenges. As a result, it may be difficult to find storage space at the last minute if your e-commerce warehouse is not scalable.
3. Unpredictable Festive Inventory Trends:
What is predicted to be the most popular Christmas item yet really doesn’t sell very quickly? On the other hand, a product with little inventory may unpredictably trend, causing firms to examine their inventory to see whether they can satisfy rising consumer demand.
Nobody wants to see empty shelves since it hurts the company’s sales and brand reputation. Ensuring that their product is on the shelf at the appropriate time, location, and quantity presents another significant difficulty for businesses.
4. Delivery Logistics For Supply Chain Challenges:
The delivery service moves to the rhythm of escalating requests over the Christmas season. The orders may be harmed by sudden rain, a storm, or a blazing sun. The carriers get overburdened as a result of the rising demand and inadequate logistics.
Traffic congestion causes seasonally unneeded delays. While everyone wants to enjoy themselves during the holidays, some see it as a chance to burglarise crowded warehouses. One must thus have additional security. During delivery, the unusual losses brought on by bad weather, overloading, and theft happen at an alarming rate.
5. Noise and Business Disputes:
There is a lot of noise from the congested streets and stores. Usually, this cacophony intensifies into argumentative noise. The partners and vendors may argue briefly due to their busy daytime schedules. Even if your company isn’t directly involved in this dispute, it nevertheless has to bear the costs of this misunderstanding.
Solutions For Supply Chain Challenges:
1. Prepare Beforehand:
- The packed streets and stores are very noisy. Usually, this noise develops into conflict-related noise.
- The merchants and partners may argue briefly due to the tight daily schedules. Your company still needs to pay for this misunderstanding even if it is not directly involved in this incident.
- It would be beneficial if you began your preparation at the appropriate moment to prevent communication problems.
- For the organisation to run smoothly at all times, always establish and maintain positive relationships with both insiders and outsiders.
3. Updated With The Latest Technology:
- Investing in the latest technology is a crucial part of managing the supply chain because, without data and supply chain challenges planning, firms risk running out of stock, missing production deadlines, or experiencing lengthy delays in the delivery of their products.
- Companies must utilise more supply chain challenges visibility for better customer service and efficiency. Correct logistics and management procedures may make it easier for consumers to track down things, which can streamline business administration and lead to more satisfied clients.
3. Addressing Festive Season Labor Shortages In Supply Chain Management:
- Dealing with the labour shortage is another key aspect of managing the supply chain challenges during the holiday season.
- Businesses must urge employees to put in more time and produce better productivity during this period, or, if necessary, hire new employees, in order to maintain the supply chain’s flow.
- By improving supply chain operations, it is possible to efficiently manage client demand during this busy time.
4. Transparency:
- After gathering all the relevant data, make sure it is accessible to numerous individuals and systems.
- Mutual trust and openness are increased if the data is shared across all departments via a centralised platform.
- Everyone will now work together to maximise sales and profit over the Christmas season, from upper management to field employees.
5. Prioritize Demand:
- It is crucial to comprehend client demands. Prior to the festive season, it’s critical to carefully watch and assess the demands of the customer.
- Always leave a buffer in the warehouse to account for any potential mishap. To anticipate the patterns of demand and supply chain challenges over the festive season, you should keep an eye on consumer reports.
- You may use it to determine which products will be in great demand this year. The following step will be to make an effort and produce beneficial results by creating a supply chain challenges planning strategy.
- Your danger of running out of stock will decrease as a result of the necessary implementation of the approach. Customers will thus receive the needed goods on schedule and be happy.
Enhance Production Sourcing:
- Many forward-thinking retailers, manufacturers, and procurement managers have started examining and diversifying their production and sourcing activities in an effort to reduce the risk of supply chain challenges interruptions.
- It might be a complicated decision that places a great deal of reliance on new business partners and additional funding. However, this global economic turbulence has made it clear how crucial it is to deal with a diversity of suppliers.
Supply Chain Challenges Trends During Festive Season:
91% of Indian consumers are planning a purchase during this upcoming festival season. Three in five consumers are excited about the upcoming festive season sales.” according to a survey conducted by digital technology company The Trade Desk.
1. Critical Role of Supply Chain Management In Sales Success:
The way companies manage their supply chain operations is the main factor in determining whether they achieve their sales objectives or not. Decisions made regarding the supply chain challenges and logistics play a significant role in firms expanding their consumer base and setting new sales records.
2. E-commerce Collaborations With Local Stores:
This festival season, a lot of e-commerce businesses are collaborating with neighbourhood stores, kiranas, and small shops to enable speedier deliveries. These alliances enable physical and mortar retailers to distribute goods to clients living within a 2–5 km radius of their locations.
This helps retailers enhance foot traffic in stores and grow their income streams because shoppers are still hesitant to enter stores during the Christmas season. Reducing the need for fulfilment space, also makes it easier for logistics and e-commerce enterprises to service clients in highly populated locations. Overall, it works as a win-win strategy for local retail stores, logistics, and e-commerce.
3. Omnichannel Interactions:
An increase in omnichannel purchasing, often known as self-service models, is anticipated as social distance and zero-contact delivery take off. Customers have the freedom to choose the items of their choice from e-commerce websites and pick them up in person from physical locations thanks to omnichannel interactions.
Consumers’ attitudes about the brands they choose to buy are neutral or apathetic to the tune of 53%. According to a poll done by digital technology company The Trade Desk, six out of ten consumers are interested in discovering new companies over the holiday season.
Conclusion:
The festive season sales are the finest time for businesses in India to draw customers’ attention. There are a tonne of brand switchers and brand aficionados in the Indian market. Businesses develop a variety of techniques to attract brand switchers and keep brand aficionados. The holiday season is a competitive venue to draw new clients since India has the highest percentage of brand switchers.
