As the holiday season ramps up, the logistics and supply chain industries work overtime to ensure that all those online orders and store shipments arrive at their destinations in time for Christmas. It’s an incredibly hectic time of year. Extra planes, trucks, warehouses, and workers are deployed to handle the massive spike in package volume that occurs from Black Friday through December 24. Here’s a rundown of some of the logistics required to successfully deliver Christmas:
Warehouses and Transport Go Into Overdrive
Warehouses burst with activity fulfilling online orders and picking millions of products daily to be packaged and sent to shoppers. Additional temporary warehouse workers and shipping partners have to be hired and mobilized quickly. Speed and accuracy are vital to keep the millions of packages flowing smoothly.
Transportation networks are strained under the excessive loads as delivery trucks and cargo planes run at full tilt. Careful coordination between retailers, carriers, rail yards, airports and commercial drivers is imperative. Often temporary transportation control centers are set up specifically to oversee holiday shipping and intervene if bottlenecks crop up.
Massive Pre-Planning and Problem-Solving
Preparation for the holiday crunch starts months in advance as retailers estimate customer demand to best position inventory across their supply chain network. International shipping routes have to factor in longer lead times for ocean freight to ensure popular gifts manufactured overseas make it to stores or e-commerce distribution points domestically.
When unexpected disruptions hit, such as winter storms, supply chain managers scramble to reroute orders through alternative channels. Each day closer to Christmas the pressure intensifies to recover lost time and keep delivery promises.
Delivering the highly anticipated wishlists of millions of households each holiday season is a monumental feat of planning, manpower and logistical wrangling. The shipping teams that power Christmas have to battle immense stress-tests on transportation, warehouse and delivery capabilities to come through on-time. This holiday season as you track your online orders, keep in mind the tremendous behind-the-scenes effort powering those presents to your doorstep.
Thank Logistics Workers This Holiday Season
It’s easy to forget that behind all those tracking updates and delivered packages are countless people working overtime – often in difficult conditions – to enable our holiday joy. From early morning warehouse shifts to long nights driving delivery routes, logistics workers sacrifice time with their own families to ensure presents and holiday meal ingredients arrive for the rest of us.
So among the hustle and bustle of December, take a moment to recognize the shipping and supply chain workers powering it all. A small gesture of thanks goes a long way. As you enjoy special holiday moments, keep those enabling it in mind. It’s the season of giving after all – so give some appreciation to the logistics workers helping to make it all possible.
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