How Hershey Direct manages seasonal order peaks to avoid a Christmastime meltdown

By Alicia Orr , Editor In Chief and Catalog Success

Due to the huge seasonal swings in its order volume, Hershey Direct has only a limited full-time call center staff, relying on temporary hires and outsourcing to make

up the difference at its busiest times—starting with the first holiday catalog drop on the Tuesday after Labor Day.

“We begin staffing-up the call center in September for our first Christmas catalog drop,” explains Gill. The number of reps increases 10-fold during the peak season. “Our big holiday catalog drops in October, so we need a lot of people on the phones by then.”