Making the Most of Q4: Purchasing and Procurement in Retail and Manufacturing

Insights for Manufacturing Companies

Walk into any retail store starting October 1 and it becomes obvious that the holiday season is already in full swing.

Some may still be in the Halloween spirit while others have fast-forwarded straight to December and the bright lights and big trees that come with it.

From a manufacturing and retail perspective, the messaging extends beyond décor – if orders haven’t been placed for the Holidays and into the beginning of the New Year, simply put: You. Are. Behind.

“Suppliers, manufacturers, and third-party logistics companies are all striving to keep every business client happy during the holiday season. Yet it only takes one changed invoice and missed communication to cause havoc with your supply chain.”

Can you reach the top shelf?

While the immediate need is keeping the shelves stocked for a bustling Q4, the reality is that strains on everything from supply chain to customer service during this time will impact lead times months into the new year.

Ideally, orders for 2024 Q1 and Q2 are finalized and in the pipeline, as well, so recovery from the Holidays doesn’t have a negative effect on the beginning of the next year.

And, don’t forget, after the rush of December, parts of the manufacturing industry finds itself in the middle of winter where bad weather can pick up where the Christmas rush left off.

“Your supply chain could be running on schedule until the weather reports predict a large storm system is on the way that has the potential to shut down operations for your suppliers and distribution centers.”

Manufacture a plan

To keep things running as smoothly as possible, it helps to complete a few important exercises intended to prepare your organization and your customers.

This is a great list from Logistic Brew with our summary:

Track and Consolidate the Data

Relying on the collective memory of your team to plan for the holiday rush will not serve you well. “…collect all the bills, contracts and other official paper you kept in drawers. As these data are the key element to manage the supply chain, it will be the basis of forecasting trends, associated risk, deciding goals and making strategies to escalate profits.” And don’t forget to share this information internally so everyone is on the same page.

Forecast your customer behavior

Think through your customer’s needs and challenges up until this point and consider what impact the past 9 months will have on the coming three. “Before the holiday season, it’s crucial to observe and analyze the consumer’s needs thoroughly.”

Communicate: both externally and internally

Breakdowns in communication at this point in the year can have detrimental effects to your bottom-line and your customer’s trust in your organization. “Constant communication with trading partners and the internal team will help you resolve the problems at the initial stages. Alternative plans must be discussed with everyone to avoid chaos.”

Streamline the internal process

One universal truth in manufacturing? A flawlessly executed holiday season is unlikely. Anticipating issues so the disruption to your operations is minimal is key. “This is known as streamlining the internal process. It would help if you are alert in the holiday season with up-to-date monitoring, alerting and tools.”

Check and re-check: Equipment & Procedure

Similar to the point above, it pays to be prepared. The same special equipment and procedures put in place to manage the rush of the holidays could be your downfall if left unchecked. “When it’s the peak time of sales, the addition of carts, technology, forklifts, among others, are usually made to escalate productivity. So, it becomes vital to check and even re-check all the new installation and equipment.”

Tackling Shipping Costs

Fast delivery has become the expectation, not the exception. Consider new options to keep costs down including maintaining a diverse carrier mix, which can “…assist businesses in managing growth and increased volumes while saving money, improving the customer experience through speedier delivery, and expanding capacity.”

All said, it pays to remember, while retailers are looking to have at least 8-10 weeks of product on-hand to meet holiday demand, in manufacturing the goal is quite the opposite; lean production with very little on the shelves.

This differing approach to the Holidays and New Year creates the motivation for both sectors to do their best to work together; but the rush to do so in an effective and efficient manner is bound to include some bumps along the way. As always this is where having the right people in the right places can make or break this season and your next. Give yourself the gift of peace of mind and reach out to TZR to meet all of your recruiting goals.

Insights for Retailers

Another year has flown by and we find ourselves amidst the all-important Holiday season. It may seem like you’ve been talking about Q4 since Q1, but retailers know it’s crunch time and what happens over the next three months can set the tone for 2024 and beyond.

“The “Golden quarter” contains the months between October and December, otherwise known as “The Holiday Season”. They include consumer-spending holidays and celebrations such as Halloween, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and Christmas.”

Coming off a lighter than expected spring, retailers across the country are setting their sights high and their goals higher on a lucrative – and, ideally, smooth – Q4.

Now is the time to pull out all the stops and prepare to keep your brand competitive among the noise that comes along with these next few months.

A well-planned strategy including promotional considerations and inventory forecasting is essential and will be the guiding light for your team leading into the New Year.

“It’s no secret that planning is essential to effectively achieve goals and objectives. According to Harvard Business School, “This process is used to prioritize efforts, effectively allocate resources, align shareholders and employees on the organization’s goals, and ensure those goals are backed by data and sound reasoning.”

Promotion Planning

The major driving force behind sales during this period involves the almost year-long (or more) execution of promotional campaigns and events; all culminating in an end-of-year push for record sales.

Of course, these programs aren’t brand new come October/November; promotion planning requires long-term vision and a step-by-step execution plan that all retail-focused teams have contributed to and agreed upon far in advance of the busy season.

Being meticulous in this process is essential since it “…helps align promotional objectives with the overall marketing strategy of the organization. It ensures that promotional activities are consistent with the company’s mission, values, and goals.”

The beginning of this process should have included establishing “…key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the success of each promotion, allowing retailers to track the effectiveness of their efforts and make necessary adjustments to optimize their results.”

Having access to those metrics throughout the year will make the final promotional stretch operate smoothly as you have past successes and failures to build off of in the competitive Holiday market. Not to mention, KPIs give you something to look back on after the new year to determine what worked – and perhaps more importantly, what didn’t – as you start the process all over again in January.

Putting your promotional plan to work across your specific market is step one. Even the most creative and flawlessly executed promotions can only work if your organization has done an equally good job of anticipating how and where these targeted promotions will drive sales and secured the necessary inventory to keep up.

Inventory Prep

It seems obvious but cannot be overstated – having proper inventory on-hand in advance of the Holiday rush is imperative to finishing out the year strong.

“Businesses with strong holiday inventory management will have an advantage over their competition. Those who don’t may cause their happy customers to become frustrated and consider shopping elsewhere”.

All the promotional planning and forecasting means little if you can’t keep up with the demand for your product. And just like above – inventory for the next three months should have been worked out long before the calendar flipped to October.

“For many eCommerce businesses, Holiday sales go into effect before the month of December and continue through the New Year. This means you’ll need to have a solid holiday inventory plan in place to get through the Holiday season and avoid overselling or underselling.”

It’s a thin line between having the perfect amount of product to get you through the year and landing on the wrong side of the inventory equation – whether that’s running low or holding on to an unexpected surplus into 2024. Data-backed forecasting and a keen understanding of your target audience are essential and having the right talent in place are the keys to your success.

A productive relationship between manufacturing and retail initiatives is imperative, ‘“During the holiday season, inventory visibility ensures all channels accurately show the items available for purchase. It also helps make demand planning efforts more accurate so that stock levels can reflect the current demand.”

We hope you’re still actively hiring to fill needed positions and not waiting until 2024 which will most likely equal a slow start for you as your competitors speed past you. We have some tips here on how to make Holiday hiring happen now.

These articles were originally published at TZRecruiting.com