Preparing for the Summer Travel Surge: How Convenience Stores Can Prepare for Seasonal Demand
It’s that time of year again…schools are closing for the summer, and families are preparing for road trips to the beach and beyond, marking the beginning of the summer travel season. It also marks one of the busiest times of the year for convenience stores, which must take steps to prepare for the influx of customers looking to take a break from the road.
With the elevated demand for grab-and-go items, snacks, beverages, fuel and seasonal items during the summer, it’s critical for convenience stores to be prepared for the surge. Below are some key considerations to help ensure that your supply chain is ready to accommodate the additional demand.
Inventory Optimization
As road-weary travelers take breaks from hours of driving, they typically seek snacks, cold beverages and even seasonal items like sunscreen. Ensuring that popular SKUs are well stocked can help stores meet demand while boosting sales. In order to manage this, just-in-time deliveries are critical since storage space for excess product tends to be extremely limited. Working with an experienced logistics partner can help to ensure plenty of product is delivered in time to meet demand for popular items.
Flexibility Is Key
Building a flexible supply chain with an extensive network is critical to meeting spikes in demand and just-in-time delivery needs. Working with an experienced partner to optimize routes and manage deliveries during peak periods can provide assurance that timelines will be met. They can also assist with demand forecasting and replenishment to ensure convenience stores don’t have too much (or too little) product on hand at any given time.
Warehousing and Fulfillment
Warehousing, fulfillment and distribution services are additional considerations for convenience stores, who need to be able to scale inventory up and down quickly to meet seasonal needs. Utilizing a warehouse provider with a broad network and with space available regionally can help to ensure flexibility and scalability during peak seasons.
Operational Alignment
During the summer travel season, convenience stores often have various promotions in place, which creates added logistical complexity around placement of additional product, as well as timely delivery and setup of signage and displays. Planning ahead and ensuring these items are delivered on time can help to maximize sales and ensure the success of the overall promotion.
Data-Driven Decision Making
Reviewing historical trends in customer volume and inventory fulfillment can give convenience stores a reliable benchmark for what to expect from one season to the next, but working with a 3PL who can provide these analytics for different regions and different times of the year can enable smarter ordering and delivery scheduling when it matters most.
Working With the Right Partner Matters
When it comes to 3PLs, one size doesn’t fit all, so it is important to ensure that your logistics partner has an expansive network and resources available to help scale your operations, whether seasonally or in times of unexpected demand. Thanks to the 105+-year legacy of its parent company (Suddath), NXTPoint Logistics has the resources and experience to help convenience stores maintain scalable and flexible supply chains. With 35+ owned warehousing facilities in addition to an expansive partner network, we can help convenience stores ensure they have the right amount of inventory available at the right time. And because of our people-powered, customer-driven approach to service, our responsiveness is second to none in the industry, making us the ideal partner to meet just-in-time demand.
To learn more about how NXTPoint Logistics can help your company prepare for surges in demand, reach out to our experts today.
