From office buildings and warehouses to retail stores and manufacturing businesses, every facility is subject to increased demand during the holiday season. Getting ahead means more than adding seasonal decor; it means preparing your business for more customers, stricter deadlines and higher standards. Here are some ways you can make sure your facility is ready to handle the holiday rush:
Adjust Cleaning Schedule
A clean facility is a productive one, and it contributes to the customer experience during the holidays. High-traffic areas like restrooms, entrances and walkways see more wear and tear as the holiday season approaches. This means that they will need to be cleaned more frequently. Now is the time to stock up on essential janitorial supplies, including cleaning chemicals, paper products and floor care supplies. Implementing a consistent cleaning schedule with daily tasks like disinfecting high-traffic zones, disposing of trash, and routinely sweeping and mopping ensures your facility stays clean and ready to handle the busy holiday season.
Stocking: Stay Ahead of the Surge
As the holiday season brings about a surge in consumer demand, it’s important to make sure that supplies are easily accessible and plentiful. To accommodate these fluctuations, your facility needs to stay stocked with enough inventory to satisfy demand without overstocking your backrooms or shelves. Predicting these shifts in consumer demand allows inventory managers to allocate adequate storage space and make staffing improvements to achieve operational efficiency. Poor inventory management can lead to stockouts of popular items and excessive inventory of slower-moving products.
Retail stores should prioritize seasonal items, promotional displays, and consumables like bags and receipt paper. Make sure that packing tape, stretch wrap, and other packaging and shipping supplies are readily available and well-stocked in warehouses. Use automated demand forecasting to prevent supply chain delays.
Inventory Management: Precision is Key
Without proper inventory management, holiday rushes may erupt into chaos. Inventory management is an integral part of ensuring customer satisfaction. For retail stores, this includes performing a pre-season audit to identify bestsellers, slower movers and shrinkage issues. Planograms and backroom storage can be optimized based on this data. Packaging supplies, printed materials, cleaning products and office supplies should also be monitored and replenished to ensure they don’t run out when you need them.
Warehouses benefit from clearly labeled shelves, real-time inventory tracking and accurate cycle counts. Align inventory management protocols with sales forecasts and stocking plans to reduce under-ordering or over-ordering. Well-managed inventory leads to increased efficiency, fewer errors, and happy customers and co-workers.
Logistics: Organization and Preparedness
Logistics is the foundation of seasonal preparedness. Begin by organizing your seasonal calendar. It should include inbound shipments, staffing plans, cleaning schedules and supplier deadlines. In retail stores, work with distribution centers to schedule deliveries on the days around in-store promotions or sales. Offices should be communicating holiday schedules, verifying hours of operation and coordinating with their supplier to ensure they maintain the necessary supplies. Warehouses need to ensure that their workspaces are clean and organized, and that equipment is in working order to prepare for the holiday demand. From purchasing and delivery to organization, efficient logistics keep your operations smooth and productive.
By paying close attention to logistics, inventory management and cleaning, you can prepare your facility and staff to remain efficient during one of the busiest times of the year. From cleaning and safety essentials to logistics support and inventory optimization, Veritiv Pollock is here to help you tackle the holidays with confidence. Contact us today to get started!
