Every year in the weeks leading to Christmas there are Supply Chain & Logistics Operations being planned all over the world to ensure that all stockings are filled in time and in full.
The Logistics Operation at My House Around Christmas
We leave the house on December 24th and return December 27th. In the days before that, my wife usually generates a picklist (with a few items added from my side). On December 23 we go through our (ware)house and gather the amazing amount of material that you need if you go away for a few days with two 4-year-olds. After the pick run everything is checked and packed and if a box (bag) is full it is transferred to the outbound staging lane near the front door. The final last-minute pick list is generated on the morning of the 24th, and after a final pick & pack the whole shipment is completed and loaded into the car, including the kids.
The two stop milk run is already planned as we will be first visiting my wife’s parents and then mine, with the same route and delivery dates each year.
The Supply Chain of Presents
Another important part of the Christmas operation starts in November already: the quest for presents! First Demand is analyzed: The catalogues of various third party suppliers are placed in front of our two biggest customers. When they have finished marking each and every toy they like in all the brochures they can find in the house, the total Demand is known. As always, Demand is higher than Supply (or at least way higher than the intended Budget), but somehow these two customers rarely complain when their order is delivered on Christmas Morning, even if not all items marked are there.
Traditionally my wife and I did all the shopping in actual brick & mortar stores, but nowadays we order a lot of presents on the internet. It’s easy, fast, and if you do it in time, there is a relatively low risk that the goods are not delivered on time. By doing that we fuel the Logistics Frenzy that is the Holiday Season.
The people at Derby Logistics made a great Infographic of the Logistics of the Holiday Season (Please click the thumbnail below to view it).
And you? Is your operation ready for the Holiday Season?
Logistics of the Holiday Season
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