After enduring a record-breaking heatwave, the last thing you may be thinking about is Christmas. But, believe it or not, it’s time to start logistics planning for the Christmas holiday “peak season.”
Santa sets a high standard for efficient Christmas logistics. Anyone hoping to deliver that degree of efficiency requires extensive transportation network planning, especially since Journal of Commerce predicts an early peak season.
Transportation Network Planning for Peak Season Dynamics
Peak season, as we’ve known it, typically runs between August and December. However, Inbound Logistics says, “The holiday selling season is getting longer.” Ensuring your Christmas supply chain is ready requires broader awareness, visibility, execution, and strategy.
Conduct “What-if?” Transportation Network Scenario Planning
Going through transportation network simulations allows you to see the different outcomes and apply them toward improved planning for future shipments. You aren’t dwelling on the past but learning from it to enhance the efficiency of your supply chain through better asset management, collaboration, and routing.
Leverage Supply Chain Predictive Shipping Analytics for Continuous Improvement
When you improve the likelihood of predicting future outcomes, you improve agility. Predictive analytics get smarter over time and identify potential issues, allowing you to make informed decisions and plan proactively.
Stay in Tune with Last-Mile Delivery Trends
Trends in last-mile delivery show us new ways to speed things up, like using tech to increase transparency and visibility in real-time, utilizing alternative delivery points, or crowdsourcing to enhance flexibility and reduce costs. Trends can also help anticipate consumer behavior. Fast, free, reliable, and sustainable deliveries influence customer satisfaction and retention. By staying current on customer trends and values, you can refine your approach to last-mile delivery to improve delivery efficiency and exceed customer expectations.
Calculate your potential Saving While Using an enterprise TMS
Technology’s Role in Enhancing Christmas Logistics Planning
Leveraging the right technological tools in your logistics planning strategy becomes essential for ensuring efficient logistics operations during the hectic peak season. MercuryGate TMS offers a suite of capabilities that are particularly valuable during this time for route optimization, carrier selection, freight spend management, and cost analysis, allowing for smarter, data-driven decision-making.
AI and Machine Learning
In a recent webinar, MercuryGate SVP of Business Intelligence Kevin LoGuidice said, “Machine learning algorithms really shine when you start to consider a lot of variables … because that data model is capturing lots of different measurements, we get results that reflect the real-world dynamics more accurately.”
Plus, they’re great at figuring out the best way to load shipments and choosing the most reliable shipping partners.
Transparency and Visibility
Joe Cook of Oak Harbor Freight Lines shares the impact of MercuryGate’s final mile solution:
Logistics Planning: How to Prepare for the Christmas Holiday Peak Season
We encourage you to check out our First to Final Mile eBook and see the revolutionary impact our technology can have on peak season performance and beyond. Request a demo to see how our solutions apply in your operations.
