Your Big Moment Just Happened: Is Your Supply Chain Ready for the Surge?

For many young companies, one of the most difficult parts of launching their brand is building demand around their offerings. Knowing you have a great product is only half of the story; being able to get broad exposure around it to generate interest and see the business come to life is the moment that every brand waits for.

When companies finally reach that stage — whether through a “Shark Tank” appearance, a viral clip on social media or a partnership that takes the business to a new level — the challenge shifts from building demand to ensuring they have enough inventory available to capitalize on it. Failure to plan ahead and ensure plenty of product is ready to ship at a moment’s notice can quickly turn an exciting growth moment into a missed opportunity.

As you companies look to quickly scale their supply chains to meet rapid growth, building an effective inventory strategy is key to supporting growth and delivering great customer experiences.

When Success Creates an Inventory Problem

For growing supply chains, too much of a good thing (e.g., elevated demand and increased orders) can quickly turn an exciting moment into an overwhelming experience if they don’t plan ahead. A viral moment can cause orders to begin flowing much faster than expected, and without having warehousing space located near key customer markets, as well as enough product available to meet demand, companies risk losing sales, eroding customer trust, missing opportunities for repeat purchases and gaining negative reviews during a time when building a positive reputation matters most.

Understanding the balance and risk of having too much versus too little inventory is critical for new brands. While underestimating demand can lead to stockouts, shipping delays and negative customer experiences, having too much inventory can require companies to scramble for additional space to accommodate excess inventory when the surge ends. While it can be difficult to strike the perfect balance, especially for brands that don’t have experience in this area, inventory planning should revolve around flexibility rather than precision.

Building an Inventory Strategy for Unpredictable Demand

When initially building an inventory strategy, it’s important to have a supply chain partner in place that can be flexible as the growing brand’s needs change. In the early stages, brands should work to understand how quickly inventory can be replenished, what supplier lead times are and whether production can be scaled up or down to meet shifts in demand. As the brand grows and is able to access more data around sales and demand trends, they can then use that information to adjust their strategies as needed.

Companies also need to understand where their target customer segments are located and ensure that inventory is positioned nearby in order to reduce transportation costs and shipping times. Gaining visibility into inventory across all sales channels is also key to providing a holistic view of the supply chain to inform strategic decisions moving forward.  

When brands finally have a big break, the right logistics partner can help to create a well-rounded strategy that can be tailored as the company’s needs change. While brands should ensure that plenty of volume is on hand to meet the initial surge, the right partner can also provide:

• Scalability to meet your business in all seasons. Demand for the business will ebb and flow, but having the right logistics partner in place can ensure the company has flexibility to adjust their storage and fulfillment efforts as needs change or demand shifts.

• Assistance creating contingency plans with suppliers to prevent inventory shortages. This entails understanding supplier lead times, identifying potential bottlenecks and determining how much inventory should be held as safety stock in case demand extends beyond early projections.

• Real-time inventory monitoring to provide brands with instant access to information about inventory status, shipment updates, tracking and more.

• Data reports that show trends over time so that brands can understand how marketing, sales and promotional activities impact inventory to inform strategic decisions in the future.

• Scalability to meet your business in all seasons. Demand for the business will ebb and flow, but having the right logistics partner in place can ensure the company has flexibility to adjust their storage and fulfillment efforts as needs change or demand shifts.

Making the Most of the Opportunity

National exposure or a viral moment can create tremendous opportunities for new brands to achieve the next stage of growth, but being prepared to meet the additional customer demand is key to building a positive reputation, creating great experiences and establishing trust with customers from the start. Successful companies understand that inventory planning is not about predicting the future perfectly. Rather, it’s about having the right partner to help build the flexibility, visibility and contingency plans needed to respond quickly when customer interest surges. With the right inventory strategy in place, brands can turn a breakthrough moment in the spotlight into sustained growth and long-term customer loyalty.

Preparing for rapid growth from a “Shark Tank” appearance, viral campaign, retail launch or major media event? NXTPoint Logistics can help you build an inventory strategy that supports demand today while positioning your business for long-term growth. To get the conversation started and learn how we can help, click here to contact our experts.