Ever wonder how your local supermarket is able to meet the Thanksgiving demand for fresh and frozen turkeys? It requires more planning behind the scenes than you may think.
Capacity spikes for seasonal and other LTO (Limited Time Offer) promotions are a common challenge for shippers and manufacturers alike. These promotions often require large quantities of products to be delivered to stores in a very short time frame.
How can WHY Logistics take the stress out of dealing with these periods of increased demand?
There are 3 key areas WHY can help with:
- Planning – knowing where products need to go and how long it will take to get them there
- Storage – finding extra space for additional products with flexible terms that meet your needs
- Transportation – having trucks ready to move your products to their final destination without needing a dedicated fleet of in-house drivers
Let’s take a deeper look at how each of these can impact your seasonal capacity spikes.
Planning for On-Time Delivery
The first step in executing any successful seasonal or LTO program begins with understanding where products need to deliver and when. At WHY Logistics we refer to this as “Distribution Network Analysis”; taking an in depth look at your entire supply chain from supplier to customer and finding options that are both time and cost efficient. The goal here is to identify opportunities to balance inventory levels and regionalize distribution in a way that allows for shorter final mile deliveries, which ultimately means faster deliveries and lower transportation costs.
Flexible Warehouse Storage
Most manufacturers will need to produce excess inventory weeks or even months in advance to meet these promotional order deadlines. Where do you store that product if you have limited space? WHY Logistics partners with warehouses across the country to help you meet your short-term storage needs regardless of product type. This allows you to build inventory levels ahead of demand without having the fixed cost of expanding your onsite storage which may go unused for much of the year.
On Demand Carrier Capacity
After products have been produced and are ready to be sent to stores and distribution centers, how do you move so much volume in such a short window? Working with a broker, like WHY Logistics, allows for flexible carrier capacity. We have access to a large network of carriers across the country and can quickly coordinate transfers from your warehouse to the final destination with no added complexity for your team. Whether you need to move 3 pallets or 30 truckloads, brokers allow you to scale capacity up or down as needed.
Learn How WHY Logistics can help
Whether your needs tie to seasonal capacity, or just simpler everyday logistics challenges, contact us today to learn more about some of the ways WHY Logistics can help!