GOODQUESTION
TREAT PEOPLE FAIRLY. A peak season is great for one side (trucking) and complete chaos for the other side (shippers and receivers). If you treat the other side fairly and make an effort to take care of the other person, they will be there to take care of you when the down season arrives. –Tommy Fishburn VP, Business Development TA Services ENSURE TRUST AND TRANSPARENCY with customers through timely and effective communication. Something simple, like a widget clearly indicating when an item will be restocked, has a huge impact, preventing customer frustration and maintaining loyalty, even during periods of high demand or supply chain disruptions. –Charles Desjardins EVP and Managing Director Commerce Service North America Valtech DON’T TAKE ANYTHING FOR GRANTED. “Give me more time than I need” is one simple phrase I share with colleagues who rely on me to create transportation miracles daily for their just-in-time needs. I never get that time, but I repeat the phrase often in the hopes I’ll have a nice, leisurely shipment to monitor and announce its arrival. How glorious that would be in lieu of “Can you intercept that?” “How much longer?” and the ever-popular “Why does that cost so much?” –Brian Gaffney
Let’s Get Visible
More data = better insights = better visibility, which is the perennial takeaway from all peak seasons. The more deeply we understand our supply chains, the better the job we can do in translating those insights into lessons and actions. –Omer Abdullah Co-Founder, The Smart Cube The days of buying contracted capacity rates are ending. This past holiday peak season saw shipping rates actually decrease, bucking previous trends and forecasts. Contract rates rose even though spot rates fell. It’s clear the future of paying for capacity will rely on real-time network visibility rather than risky contracts.
–Rick Burnett CEO, LaneAxis
Ongoing technology investments can help manage visibility, mitigate risk, and make or break a supply chain during peak season. In preparation, shippers should be consistently tracking consumer behaviors to better understand what improvements are needed to avoid disruption while conducting high-volume shipments. –JJ Schickel CEO, Omni Logistics
THE VALUE OF RESILIENCY. That could mean having a more diverse supplier base to minimize the impact of any one country, having different options for transportation, or even a backup customs broker. Companies that made efforts to build resiliency were better off. –Tony Pelli Practice Director Security and Resilience, BSI INCORPORATE SAFEGUARDS. In the recent peak season, merchants found themselves incorporating more safeguards to protect against increasing cases of fraud while still ensuring a positive customer experience. Nearly 1 in 3 SMBs report
that fraud significantly impacts profitability, as they receive empty boxes, incorrect items, or nothing at all. –Eduardo Lopez-Soriano VP, UPS Capital SPREAD IT OUT. In 2022, retailers spread out the peak season by offering earlier incentives to consumers. Early planning of inventory
and spreading out peak buying resulted in better sales, reduced inventory shortages, and fewer
constraints on carriers—especially last- mile carriers. Creating diversity within both suppliers and carriers also helped companies navigate peak season. –Steven C. Beda EVP, Customer Success, Trax
Supply Chain Specialist Natural Fiber Welding
PLAN AHEAD AND COMMUNICATE CLEARLY. The most successful retailers were ones that planned ahead for peak season by prioritizing clear communication and collaborative planning. Retailers that avoided last-minute changes that impacted how or when customers received orders were able to foster strong relationships with customers through trust and loyalty—and in turn became the most profitable.
Have a great answer to a good question? Be sure to participate next month. We want to know: How will supply chain management transform in the next five years? We’ll publish some answers. Tell us at editorial@inboundlogistics.com or tweet us @ILMAGAZINE #ILGOODQUESTION
–Kelton Kosik Senior Director Supply Chain Strategy, Ware2Go
February 2023 • Inbound Logistics 7
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