I frequently talk about resiliency and how companies can plan ahead for tough times. It’s also true that you can learn from past successes and mistakes to create a better future.

Looking back on the holiday season of 2009, we see that retailers (in general) did a good job of battening down the hatches and preparing for a stormy season. Last year’s retail peak season brought a lot of change. Companies had to look at their inventory in a whole new light and come up with innovative ways of making sure they were prepared for the peak season.

To learn more about what retail companies did to cope with unprecedented challenges, the Tompkins Supply Chain Consortium polled its members on their peak season strategies from 2009. Those who responded to the survey had a clear strategy shift from previous years. Some major findings included:

Inventory levels were reduced (in some cases substantially), and generally, retail companies experienced minor negative or no lost sales as a result.

 

Companies emphasized forecasting and planning in an effort to reduce inventory in the retail supply chain.

 

Retailers focused on their own DCs’ crossdocking capabilities and on requiring vendors to hold more inventory for quick deployment.

 

Technology played a part in the peak season, but most companies utilized their existing tools or made somewhat minor enhancements.

 

Retail companies did not discount prices as much as they expected. Price discounting was reduced compared to their plan and compared to previous years.

 

Supply chain capacity was not the major issue that it has been in previous peak seasons. The only issue was Internet and catalog fulfillment capacity, in which significant increases across retail were the norm.

Look for more findings here from the consortium’s new report, Lessons Learned from a Tough Market: 2009 Retail Peak Season Strategies, in the next few weeks.

Meanwhile, are you thinking ahead to your 2010 peak season? What new strategies are you planning?

Go!Go!Go!

Jim

More Resources

www.supplychainconsortium.com - Check back soon for a copy of the new retail report.

 

Specific Resources for the Retail Industry

 

Inventory Management

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