Seasonal logistics refers to the times of the year when there is traditionally more consumption. Christmas, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Singles Day in Asia… Companies in the logistics sector are forced to have extra capacity and contract extra resources at this time of year. The goal is to address the surge in work volume that occurs during these times in the short term. Seasonal logistics must overcome two major challenges in this context: it is difficult to predict and it is inaccurate.
Seasonal logistics is a great opportunity for Indochinapost, as a freight forwarder and integral logistics operator that manages freight traffic from any port to any destination in the world, to demonstrate our solutions for the sector.
Contents
Seasonality management tools
- Demand forecasting. This is one of the areas that has seen the most progress in recent years. Peaks have been reduced by moving the start of shipments forward and softening volumes. Although this is a tool with limitations due to retailer storage capacity.
- Calculate the volume. It is a matter of evaluating previous sales, the economic situation, the state of the industry, or predicting as far ahead and accurately as possible the volumes that will be moved to each destination and on what dates.
- Visibility. Seasonality strains the entire supply chain. Having as much information as possible and being able to share it makes things easier. In fact, knowing the location and real-time status of shipments allows you to spot issues. Then, contingency plans can be developed.
Other considerations
Aside from seasonal logistics, the transport sector is currently influenced by factors such as the last mile, the role of localized deliveries or flexible networks, and, finally, technological evolution.
