As students returned to university campuses this autumn, retailers saw an unexpected spike in demand for unique, often ‘viral’ or ‘must-have’ products. These trends ranged from specific dorm essentials to popular TikTok-influenced fashion items.
Such moments represent significant revenue opportunities, but only if retailers are prepared to fulfil the sudden surge in demand. The pitfalls of not being able to meet this increased demand can be significant, including poor customer experiences, stockouts and increased operational costs due to an inability to replenish stock quickly.
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Clearly, the sudden surge in orders can turn from a golden opportunity into a logistical nightmare. Ensuring that your supply chain operations are agile and resilient to meet unexpected demand is key to ensuring your organization can take advantage of these opportunities.
Managing supply chain challenges
Research shows that only 6% of companies have full visibility into their supply chains, emphasizing the need for improved oversight. Modern supply chains are complex networks, and addressing this complexity is key to building resilience and agility.
Evolving consumer expectations are a major source of this complexity. Most e-commerce orders undergo at least one change before reaching customers, driven by demands for more options and faster deliveries. Meeting these demands requires advanced data management and flexible systems, which complicate operations even more.
Global trade dynamics, such as geopolitical shifts and labour disruptions, add to supply chain instability. These factors make disruptions more frequent, requiring businesses to adopt resilient strategies like diversifying suppliers and using technology to anticipate risks.
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By GlobalDataAchieving supply chain agility
Supply chain agility refers to how quickly a business can adapt to changing demands and conditions without losing efficiency or customer trust. For retailers, this means monitoring stock levels, maintaining strong supplier relationships and ensuring visibility across their supply chain. To survive in today’s challenging market requires the ability to pivot quickly when trends shift, or disruptions occur.
Technologies like Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) can play a crucial role in building this kind of agility. WMS connects every aspect of warehouse operations, using real-time data to ensure goods, people and processes are in sync. This results in more accurate stock management, helping retailers avoid overstocking or stockouts. The flexibility of a WMS also allows businesses to adapt as needed, whether by adjusting inventory placement for faster picking or streamlining labour management to improve operational flow.
Through the use of technology, companies can respond faster to demand spikes while also operating with greater efficiency. This leads to better customer experiences and fewer operational headaches.
Moving beyond technology
While technology is a critical enabler, overcoming challenges like supplier communication issues or transportation inefficiencies is also necessary. Without real-time inventory data and strong supplier networks, even the best technology won’t make a supply chain fully agile.
A diversified approach to sourcing provides companies with flexibility to manage unexpected disruptions. By relying on a network of suppliers rather than a single source, businesses can safeguard against production delays, transportation bottlenecks or even supplier shutdowns. This strategy ensures that even if one supplier is unable to meet demand, others can step in to fill the gap, maintaining continuity and avoiding stockouts impacting sales or customer satisfaction.
Sourcing from different regions also can help businesses navigate global challenges like political instability, natural disasters or economic shifts. For instance, if one region is affected by political unrest or extreme weather, a company can shift to suppliers in other areas. This geographic diversification reduces the risk of disruption and adds resilience to an organization’s operations.
Incorporating these layers of resilience helps businesses stay agile in the face of uncertainty. Instead of reacting to crises, companies with diversified supply chains are better positioned to act proactively.
From ‘let’s think’ to ‘let’s do’
As retailers enter the “Golden Quarter,” demand for certain products will surge. Retailers need to capitalize on these opportunities, and an agile supply chain can mean the difference between success and failure.
The future of supply chains will be shaped by data, collaboration and smarter decision-making. To succeed, businesses must adopt new technologies and flexible operational strategies.
In a world where social media can make a product go viral in hours, an agile and resilient supply chain is essential for seizing these opportunities. Agility is no longer optional; it is a necessity. Businesses must proactively anticipate and prepare for potential challenges to maintain continuity and efficiency. This approach allows companies to swiftly adapt and recover from disruptions, giving them a competitive advantage over those who fail to adapt.
About the author: Matt Gregory is the Managing Director for Northern Europe at Körber Supply Chain Software.
