A Mother's Day Supply Chain

This weekend is Mother’s Day, a world-wide tradition of honoring mothers on the second Sunday of May with flowers, cards and other gifts.

Here are some Mother’s Day statistics of interest:

• Total number of moms in the U.S.: 85.4 million
• Total amount of money spent on Mother’s Day Cards annually: $671 million
• Total amount of money that will be spent for mothers on Mother’s Day: $20.7 billion
• Total amount of money spent on flowers for their mothers on Mother’s Day: $1.9 billion
• The average amount American consumers will spend on mom for Mother’s Day: $168.94
• Percent of Mother’s Day gifts bought online: 28.5 %

No matter what you get your mother for Mother’s Day, whether it’s a card or flowers or candy, stores have had to gear up their inventory levels to avoid any stock-outs of products. Plus, companies that deliver flowers, or other gifts, have to be ready for the increased number of orders and tight delivery windows.

How do retailers know how much inventory to carry or how much inventory to store in safety stock? Using historical data, retailers can uncover peak demands and better understand seasonality. The goal is to have the right amount of inventory at the right location at the right time so that you don’t have any left over or excess inventory that you will need to put on sale.

The next big problem with seasonality is the need for storage space in the warehouse, or storefront, where you will fulfill orders from. Renting more warehouse space can be expensive – especially when you can use products like UNEX Span-Track to consolidate SKUs and reduce storage space by up to 20%.

UNEX will work with you to evaluate your current storage capabilities and uncover ways to improve space utilization, freeing up valuable space to store seasonal products. Using our carton flow solutions, you will use your available space as efficiently as possible.

UNEX is a one-stop shop for all your order picking and storage needs, offering solutions that maximize space for optimal storage. Our Pickologists will help you get better organized so you can keep up with seasonal demand.

Happy Mother’s Day!