Inbound Logistics | January 2025

Supply chain professionals need to determine, among other decisions, what levels of supplies to order, how to manage transportation, and when demand will slow—and then place company resources accordingly. An incorrect assessment can increase expenses so they eclipse any jump in revenue. By thoughtfully deploying both technology solutions and solid strategies, companies can leverage the positives of demand surges and manage the risks. “Companies need to go from playing checkers to playing chess,” Rosier says. These 14 steps can help your supply chain declare checkmate on the demand-surge challenge. 1 LEVERAGE TECHNOLOGY TO AID DECISION-MAKING Meeting demand surges often requires unifying and analyzing data that arrives from disparate sources and systems. Individual supply chain professionals may struggle trying to gain the ability to see how each piece of information is

interrelated and necessary to meet the demand surge in an optimal way, says Mark Holmes, senior advisor of global supply chain at InterSystems. Employee brainpower needs to be augmented with technology solutions, such as articial intelligence (AI), that can aid decision-making in real time. AI tools can incorporate sales trends, social media signals, and other information to help supply chain professionals adjust inventory to meet demand uctuations. “Human interaction enhanced with and complemented by automated decision intelligence is where we need to go,” Holmes says. Fantasy Farms, which grows and distributes fresh owers, plants, and other products sourced from Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Mexico, provides a good example. Demand for the company’s plants can jump ten-fold leading up to Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and Mother’s Day. During peak demand periods, Fantasy Farms serves more than 40,000 retail locations, says CEO Daniel Sabogal. To accommodate, Fantasy Farms

leverages several systems, including a robust production planning system and an AI-driven analytics solution for sales forecasting. Advanced analytics can also help shippers evaluate tradeoffs between costs and customer service, says Matt Everson, senior vice president of sales and marketing with Intellitrans. Shippers can use analytics to help them make quick decisions that improve the bottom line while keeping customers happy and meeting demand. “Finding the balance without analytics can be challenging,” he says. 2 EMBRACE AUTOMATION Automation solutions enable supply chain organizations to respond quickly

to spikes in demand. One such organization is World Emblem, a

manufacturer of emblems and patches that makes about one million products each day. Automation, along with cross- training and a diversied manufacturing base, helps the company quickly respond to demand, says Randy Carr, the company’s CEO. While World Emblem typically doesn’t see a holiday-related rush, it sometimes receives bulk orders for, say, 50,000 patches, which will ship within 48 hours. Their competitors’ lead time is about eight weeks, Carr says. Adding to the complexity, World Emblem’s products are custom-made and the minimum order size is a single item. The company’s technology investments have been key to its ability to meet demand. “Even though there can be those surges, we are built for our worst day,” Carr says. The company smooths the surges by exing staff and equipment. World Emblem operates plants in multiple locations across the United States and on several continents. It built a global management system that sends orders to the location and equipment that can best handle them. The decisions account for factors such as the amount and type of work in process at each location.

Automation, along with cross-training and a diversified manufacturing base, helps patch and emblem manufacturer World Emblem quickly respond to demand for large orders.

120 Inbound Logistics • January 2025