3 Tips for an Improved Holiday Supply Chain

Typically, holiday supply chain preparation begins in January when the product portfolio is set for the year. This means retailers should begin 2015 peak season planning as soon as the 2014 holidays wrap up. It's recommended that retailers start forecasting demand and working with manufacturers to strategize intake, stocking and returns preparation at least six months out. This particularly applies to mobile device and electronics retailers that rely on the timely delivery of many of their products from overseas. The challenge is that ports are notoriously crowded at this point in the season, so it's advisable to have the right visibility and flexibility in the supply chain. This will allow time to react to a slower port-intake process to either reroute the delivery of shipments or expedite them.