Love is in the air on February 14, but so are the potential logistics headaches that come with increased demand for the perfect Valentine Delivery.
(Prefer love stories over logistics headaches? Skip to our logistics case studies where client solutions have efficiency at the heart.)
Just as shippers anticipate higher volumes and capacity constraints around the Christmas holiday season, food and beverage shippers need to recognize the specific challenges of moving flowers, chocolate, and champagne to distributors and loved ones around the country.
While everyone celebrates romantic emotions in February, if your customers are heartbroken on the “holiday of love,” we’ve got advice to avoid conflict the next time Cupid comes calling.
This article discusses the importance of logistics on Valentine’s Day and presents the best practices for smooth and seamless Valentine delivery.
The Big Stats on Logistics And Valentine’s Day
Over the years, Valentine’s Day has become increasingly lucrative for retailers. Reports by the National Retail Federation (NRF) found that more than half (53%) of U.S. consumers will celebrate the holiday of love during 2024. When they do, they plan to spend an average of $185.81, nearly $8 more than the average Valentine’s Day spending over the past five years.
Even consumers not celebrating the holiday are spending this year: 29% plan to mark the occasion with treats or other purchases. This amounts to $25.8 billion in estimated Valentine’s Day spending, a massive opportunity for retailers in several markets.
While there is a definite uptick in demand for roses on Valentine’s Day, flowers are not the only popular gift. Chocolates or candy is the top choice for 57% of consumers, followed by greeting cards (40%), flowers (39%), an evening out (32%), jewelry (22%), clothing (21%) and gift cards or gift certificates (19%)
Flower Power
Flowers may put the biggest strain on the Valentine supply chain. According to the USDA, 97% of roses and carnations are transported on air freighters between South American and Miami every year. For the first six weeks of 2023 about 500 temperature-controlled truckloads left Miami every day, moving those flowers across the nation. Drivers often bear the weight of unloading shipments at their destination. Temporary peak surcharges are also common for flora carriers.
Logistics and Transportation Management Best Practices for Valentine’s Day Delivery
Valentine’s Day is a big day for businesses due to the high demand for goods and services. Effective logistics practices must be in place to ensure that every Valentine delivery arrives on time and with the highest quality.
Plan Strategically
Transportation network modeling looks at every aspect of an order, considers all possible risks, and finds alternate solutions to ensure the best delivery outcomes. Transportation network models also help shippers feel the love by minimizing costs, optimizing operational processes, and delivering shipment lifecycle improvement across the supply chain.
Integrate for End-to-End Visibility
Achieving end-to-end visibility requires communication with all parties along the journey. Fragmented, global networks make this incredibly complicated. TMS integrations bridge the gaps in communication by linking disparate systems to collect up-to-the-minute shipment updates. As a result, everyone maintains awareness across the shipment lifecycle, ensuring that goods and gifts arrive on time.
Keep Your Freight Network Flexible
A well-integrated TMS provides additional support to improve workflows, match freight with capacity, optimize routes dynamically, and navigate holiday seasons to execute your Valentine delivery on time and in full.
Mind the Final Mile
Final mile technologies for vehicle routing, scheduling, and dynamic optimization are essential for getting precious holiday cargo into the hands of the customer. TMS-powered predictive delivery functions support final mile delivery by identifying exceptions in real time and offering automated course correction in the face of disruption.
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MercuryGate is the TMS solution capable of integrating supply chain systems so you can develop highly optimized networks. Contact MercuryGate today for a demo and see how easy it is to feel the love this Valentine’s Day.
