Planning for Peak: Inventory Strategies for a More Profitable, Successful Season

Peak season is on the horizon for retailers, and it's time to get ready. While the population at large prepares for summer beach vacations, we gather in offices and on Zoom to ensure we're ready to support our customers in having the best peak period ever.

The festive season brings people together. It gets us out of our daily routines and allows us to share and connect. We make time to bake, browse for the perfect gifts, and show up for one another. For me, the season means baking rugelach and sharing it with friends. But behind those brick-and-mortar doors — behind every warehouse dock and distribution center aisle — all the gears must click together just right to provide shoppers with these magical moments.

Peak season isn't just about maximizing sales figures. It's about delivering an exceptional customer experience that keeps customers coming back for more.

Here's how to prepare for peak like an expert.

Be Planful

Focus on what you can control and what you know. You may want to achieve a lot, but first you must get in that conference room and whiteboard it all out. Think of every possible scenario that could go wrong and plan for it. Have plans A, B, C, D, and E.

Mike Tyson said, "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth." This sentiment is also true for peak season. When you're in the trenches of peak, there's a good chance you'll get hit in the face by shipping delays or staffing challenges. So you must make sure your communication is excellent.

The biggest problem I see today when speaking with retailers is who is talking to whom internally. They're communicating, but often they're talking past each other. Different departments may think they speak the same language, but messages get lost. I recommend that the director of omnichannel or someone in a similar role be there to act as a translator.

Get together often. Once a month is good; once a week is better. Some retailers may think meeting once a quarter is fine, but it's not — not for peak season. Without seamless communication and collaboration across departments, even the best-laid plans can crumble under the pressure of peak season.

Beyond the Sales

As peak season ramps up, challenges multiply. Customer inquiries surge, staffing becomes strained, and disruptions like network outages or delayed deliveries can derail even the most meticulous plans. This is where the value of your whiteboarding sessions comes into play; those B and C plans become lifelines.

During peak, omnichannel fulfillment skyrockets in volume and complexity.

The distribution centers handle online orders, and stores are tasked with handling an uptick in online orders, curbside pickup, and click and collect. There are many moving parts, and getting the staffing right at the store level is critical.

If stores are fulfilling orders, there are numerous considerations. When is the best time to pick items? When is the best time to ship? How do you handle customer pickups when orders spike during peak? Maybe you're sending orders to stores but the stores aren't set up to handle the rise in orders.

Think through all these scenarios and plan them out.

What stores will you fulfill orders from? All of them? All the time? Or do you need to select certain stores and protect flagship locations?

There are no easy answers here. These are all policy decisions retailers need to make for their businesses. Optimizing fulfillment is essential all year round — but during peak, it's critical.

Inventory Management

Once communication is happening and policies are decided on, the inventory needs to hit the right place at the right time. We all know this, but what happens if one of your seasonal items becomes a breakout star? What are you going to do?

If an item sells out online, you can choose to protect it in-store. Turn off the orders that would have been fulfilled at the store so customers can shop there and not miss out because of the influx of online orders.

The inventory can be in all the right places according to forecasts, but if you underestimate demand, the stores can be stripped of inventory at the beginning of the festive period. This massive-demand scenario can be a letdown for customers trying to score the season's hottest item.

I always suggest looking at your store volume pyramid. You have your flagship stores up top and your lower-volume stores at the bottom. During peak, flip that pyramid upside down. Your flagship stores are the lowest priority when pulling inventory for fulfillment. The lower-volume stores at the bottom are now at the top. Pull inventory from these locations because you know you won't sell through.

Prioritize Exceptional Experiences

The retail industry is wild and delightful year-round; peak season is no exception.

By prioritizing exceptional customer experiences, we can keep the most important people at the top of our minds. By fostering seamless communication across departments, we can ensure that the most important messages remain front and center and that everyone speaks the same language. By embracing capabilities like omnichannel fulfillment, we can navigate the rush and remain nimble in our decisions.

Be planful. Begin now. Having the right products in the right places at the right time is vital to a successful peak season. It's a constant balancing act, but it's achievable with careful planning and agility. When your customers finally wash the last bit of sand from their swimsuits and turn their attention toward winter celebrations, you'll be ready.

Ding! My rugelach is done. Who's bringing the eggnog?