Let Supply Chain Technology Tame Your Black Friday Beast
Seasonal or event-related retail ‘spikes’ such as Black Friday are becoming ever more extreme, and can seriously affect even supply chains that are not directly involved...smart selection, implementation and execution of appropriate supply chain and related systems can, however, remove much of the risk and fear, ‘smooth’ the peaks, and ensure continuity of service to your customers.
Black Friday, Manic Monday, Boomerang day – recent additions to the retail lexicon that seem designed to drive supply chains and their managers to distraction. Some players have actively promoted these phenomena; others have followed the herd with heavy promotion and deep discounting. However the spikes (and inevitable troughs) in demand also impact supply chains that have stayed away from the feeding frenzy as available transport, warehousing and other resources become increasingly scarce and stressed. Either way, deploying seamlessly integrated planning and scheduling, supply chain management and warehouse management linked to financials and business intelligence will give an edge to help you sail steadily through such turbulence.
Some definitions. Black Friday is a primarily US phenomenon, where pre-Christmas shoppers flock to the stores on the day after the Thanksgiving holiday – the stores are open, many workers take the extra day’s leave and it coincides with the last pay-check before Christmas. Manic (or Mega, or Cyber) Monday is the online equivalent three days later.
Inevitably, these US events crossed the Atlantic but in the more multichannel minded UK there is less of a distinction between in-store and online peaks of activity.
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