Supply chains under pressure as Black Friday looms

Black Friday and Cyber Monday signal the start of the shopping period in the run up to Christmas and while these two shopping days are most popular in the US, other countries have been jumping on board in recent years too.

The annual shopping event kicks off on 27 November following Thanksgiving and although it’s been around for a long time in the US, it’s gaining popularity in the UK too with sales set to exceed £1 billion this year.

The popularity of the two sales days puts immense pressure of supply chains on both sides of the Atlantic and retailers have been working hard to take some of that pressure off by forecasting sales and predicting the products that will be most popular.

It’s not only the supply chains under pressure but also the technology that keeps things moving smoothly. Extra website traffic could easily bring down a website and thus halt any sales, which, of course, is bad for business.

The coordination that goes into these busy times of the year is immense and it’s so important that businesses are able to stock the right products in the right places at the right time. It’s no longer an option to sell out as this could lose huge amounts of business for a company. Planning for quick turnarounds, fast shipping and correct stock levels is essential.

It’s also important that businesses are able to react to changes in demand as we come up to Christmas and supply chains get busier and busier.

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