Supermarket News Column: Winning in Summer – Optimising Supply Chains
Summer seems a long way off, as the weather is reminding us of the force of nature it can be, with the devastation we’ve seen wreaked on parts of our country. Our thoughts are with those affected by the recent weather events, as they start yet another rebuild.
While we have a number of cooler months to go, with the passing of the winter solstice and appearance of Matariki it is a time to look ahead and celebrate the coming year. This year we celebrated the Māori proverb Matariki whetū heri kai meaning Matariki, the bringer of food. This proverb heralds sustenance and abundance of the harvest, resonating with our industry and members, as we start turning our minds to planning of the months ahead.
By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail
Benjamin Franklin said that by failing to prepare you are preparing to fail, and it’s as relevant as ever. It has been highlighted to me by retailers regularly that gaps on shelves over summer is a frustrating and avoidable lost opportunity for both retailers and suppliers alike and importantly leaves consumers with less choice at a critical time of year.
It’s a double whammy, with heightened consumer demand for all the summer and festive treats and trimmings and the annual Christmas holiday period for this industry leaving less staff at a high-intensity time – this all adds up to a significant operational challenge.
Preparation for this pivotal time needs to begin early and soon. At the forefront of this preparation is the ‘Winning in Summer, Winning Together’ programme, which has been jointly developed over the years by the Foodstuffs North Island, Foodstuffs South Island, and Woolworths NZ, through the New Zealand Food & Grocery Council’s Supply Chain Working Group. Now in its sixth year, this initiative represents a truly collaborative effort.
Winning in Summer, Winning Together
The programme includes the NZFGC supplier toolkit along with performance support and monitoring input from the retailers. The goal? By leveraging past performance data, we can empower the industry to navigate the complexities of the peak season leading to more products on shelves for our consumers, more of the time.
What we learnt from last Summer 2023/24
Last year’s data provided us with valuable insights, and we saw solid improvement, but we can still do better. We are not yet back to pre-Covid performance levels – that is the aim for this year.
Despite the challenges posed by persistent shipping delays, we saw many suppliers improve their readiness to manage this challenge by swiftly implementing mitigation strategies, such as increasing lead times and stock on hand to protect service. Production constraints that result from low staffing levels remain a real challenge, underlining the need for excellent planning in advance for this critical time.
Our long-term analysis reveals consistent fluctuations across various weeks and years. The period begins in mid-November and through to early December we see promising results. However, as the season progresses towards late December and January, supply patterns exhibit much greater variability, so suppliers need to be alert and initiate mitigation plans.
Get a copy of the Supplier Toolkit
Looking ahead to the 2024/25 summer, the toolkit is being updated, and we will be launching a joint campaign tailored to suppliers, with webinars hosted with the retailers, aimed at promoting best practice and proactive planning strategies.
Planning, data-driven insights, and ongoing dialogue all contribute to a more resilient supply chain. The success of this summer hinges on our ability to plan early and react quickly. As we look forward to the warmer, longer days of summer ahead, together, we can ensure that ‘Winning in Summer, Winning Together’ becomes more than just a programme, but confirmation of our industry’s ability to collaborate and get it right.
