Operational Assessment
It is mid-February and there is one thing our consultants know happens every year: companies around the world are finishing up their analysis regarding how they did during Peak Season 2018. We’re already working with eCommerce companies who started at the end of last year getting ready for Peak Season 2019, because we all know a peak season can be 30-50% of your annual sales.
Are you ready for Peak Season 2019?
Maybe you’re not ready, per se, but you’re ready to look at where your organization can improve. Black Friday is just 10 months away after all, which means you have about eight months to get any improvements in place to have your best peak season yet. An organization that is unprepared can easily miss orders or lose money during a peak season, and every retail and eCommerce company knows that is the worst time for lower sales and profits. Now is the time to figure out what went right, and more importantly, areas that need improvement. Dig deep into what went right and what could have been better within your organization’s processes and flows.
Data analytics hold the answers.
We know the right questions to ask to get the solutions that are needed. We do our best work with a company’s digital operational data (typically from a WMS or OMS) from 2018 Peak Season. Along with said data, we perform a thorough review of the physical operations, and the use of existing automation, giving us a full representation of what is happening at every juncture. From there, our analytics team uses our proven analytics tools and our consultants’ experience to help identify gaps, or areas that require a deeper view into the operations.
What about leading up to peak season and beyond? Common areas for improvement include SKU slotting, merchandise flow, production scheduling, right-sized labor by department and effective and timely exceptions resolution. While we agree much focus needs to be placed on managing future peak seasons, part of our job is to help companies in retail and eCommerce navigate to an acceptable cost-per-unit. In parallel, also maintain core human capability during non-peak times at volumes 30% to 50% of peak. Our experience and persistence in achieving this essential goal leading up to peak season is why companies soar during this important time: because you can never get 2019 Peak Season back.
There is much to consider. Let us help you figure out how to make your next peak season better than ever.
For the second post in this series of preparing for Peak Season 2019, visit So, your 2019 peak operational capabilities assessment is done. Now what?
For the third post in this series about the design phase, visit our post about effectively evaluating timeframe.
Here is a link to the final and fourth post in our Peak Season series… about real-time implementation.
As of September 8, 2020, Crimson & Co (formerly The Progress Group/TPG) has rebranded as Argon & Co following the successful merger with Argon Consulting in April 2018.
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