{"id":3615,"date":"2021-09-13T11:03:00","date_gmt":"2021-09-13T16:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/?post_type=articles&p=3615"},"modified":"2021-09-13T11:03:00","modified_gmt":"2021-09-13T16:03:00","slug":"supply-chain-delays-and-labor-shortages-how-to-prepare-for-holiday-2021","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/articles\/supply-chain-delays-and-labor-shortages-how-to-prepare-for-holiday-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"Supply Chain Delays and Labor Shortages: How to Prepare for Holiday 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Few of us will forget the Great Toilet Paper Shortage that\noccurred early in the pandemic but how many of us would have projected the\nlong-term impact on retail supply chains? Supply chain experts, for one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ongoing complications with supply chains are causing headaches\nfor retailers and suppliers. Let\u2019s take a look at what\u2019s going on and how\nsuppliers can prepare for the upcoming holiday season. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s Going on With Retail Supply Chains?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One year after \u201cShippageddon<\/a>,\u201d global supply chains are still tangled worse than an\nold fishing line. Shipping prices are skyrocketing, delays are worsening, and\nretailers, suppliers, and consumers are wondering if they\u2019ve already fallen\nbehind on their holiday wish lists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what\u2019s driving these challenges? Bottlenecks<\/a> up and down the global supply chain. Three driving forces\nare:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Increased\nconsumer demand<\/strong>: after the initial spending freeze when COVID-19 first hit,\nconsumers started to open their wallets back up, especially after the stimulus\nchecks in 2020 were mailed out. And where did much of those dollars go? Online\nordering. Those e-commerce orders added up to a 44%\nincrease<\/a>, further straining supply chains and delivery services.
    \n
    \n<\/li>
  2. Shipping\ncontainer capacities are maximized, <\/strong>especially as ports in China have been\ngrappling with COVID-19 outbreaks. Less space means backlogs for months and\nuncertain timing as new outbreaks crop up.
    \n
    \n<\/li>
  3. And\ndue to the decreased shipping space, shipping prices have skyrocketed<\/strong>,\nfurther complicating matters for retailers and suppliers who carefully project\ntheir needed margins months and months ahead of time. Rob\nGarf, Vice President and General Manager of Retail at Salesforce predicts that<\/a>\n\u201cU.S. companies will spend $163B more on ocean freight in the second half of\n2021 than they did in the second half of 2020.\u201d<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Later in the supply chain, package delivery is also running\nbehind as evidenced by UPS\nCEO Carol Tom\u00e9<\/a> saying, \u201cPackage delivery demand during the 2021 peak season is\nprojected to exceed capacity by about 5 million pieces per day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    All of these forces combine to create the perfect storm, one\nthat\u2019s not going away any time soon. With the holiday season already on our\ndoorsteps, this is especially crucial for retailers and suppliers to pay\nattention to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What\u2019s Happening with Retail Labor Shortages?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    To complicate matters even more, we\u2019re in the midst of a\nretail labor shortage. The Department of Labor estimated there are about 965,000\njob openings in retail<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Retailers are responding by upping their offer. For example,\nWalmart<\/a>\nannounced they will hire 20,000 workers and will be paying supply chain\nassociates $20.37 per hour and had raised their hourly rate to $15.25.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But will incentives like this be enough? Only time will\ntell. But in the meantime, suppliers should be aware that labor shortages are a\nreality and can impact in-store retail execution, particularly in advance of\nthe busiest shopping season of the year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    How to Prepare for Holiday Retail Execution<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    How can suppliers prepare to make sure their sales don\u2019t\nsuffer this year? It\u2019s not enough to hope and brace for impact. Rather, get\nahead of the game by padding your in-store merchandising team to maximize sales\nopportunities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Here are three things to keep an eye on this season that a retail merchandiser can help out with:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. Displays<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Pay attention to sidecap and endcap displays. These prime real estate locations are not to be wasted. Make sure you have consistent eyes on them and someone making sure they are set, frequently stocked, and priced correctly, even if your product is late arriving. Services like RMS\u2019 Display Services<\/a> can fill this need for suppliers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    2. Planogram Maintenance<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    With 70% of purchase decisions<\/a> made at point of sale, you can\u2019t afford not to have your products in stock and engaging to the customer.\u00a0 Don\u2019t let late arriving products and strained labor affect your product placement. \u00a0Partner with a retail merchandiser who can maintain your planograms as if they were their own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    3. Holiday Set Audits<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Speaking of planograms, did you know that only 50% of them\nare set on time and correctly? That number is bound to get worse this year.\nPrioritize an audit\nservice<\/a> to make sure your precious inventory isn\u2019t left behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    RMS is here to help with all of these services and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    BONUS: if you are a Target supplier, check out our Target exclusive services<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This year is shaping up to be a retail holiday season like\nonly one other: 2020. Taking the collective lessons learned last year and\napplying them to now will help suppliers navigate the complex sales season and\nmitigate retail supply chain and labor shortage challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Make sure your products shine this holiday season. Contact RMS for a free consult\ntoday<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":3616,"template":"","article_categories":[39],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSupply Chain Delays and Labor Shortages: How to Prepare for Holiday 2021 - RMS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Discover how to prepare for holiday season 2021 in light of the supply chain delays and labor shortages.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/articles\/supply-chain-delays-and-labor-shortages-how-to-prepare-for-holiday-2021\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Supply Chain Delays and Labor Shortages: How to Prepare for Holiday 2021 - RMS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Discover how to prepare for holiday season 2021 in light of the supply chain delays and labor shortages.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/articles\/supply-chain-delays-and-labor-shortages-how-to-prepare-for-holiday-2021\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"RMS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Essential-Supply-Chain-Delays-and-Labor-Shortages-How-to-Prepare-for-Holiday-2021-1-1024x576.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"576\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/articles\/supply-chain-delays-and-labor-shortages-how-to-prepare-for-holiday-2021\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/articles\/supply-chain-delays-and-labor-shortages-how-to-prepare-for-holiday-2021\/\",\"name\":\"Supply Chain Delays and Labor Shortages: How to Prepare for Holiday 2021 - RMS\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-09-13T16:03:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-09-13T16:03:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"Discover how to prepare for holiday season 2021 in light of the supply chain delays and labor shortages.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/articles\/supply-chain-delays-and-labor-shortages-how-to-prepare-for-holiday-2021\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/articles\/supply-chain-delays-and-labor-shortages-how-to-prepare-for-holiday-2021\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/articles\/supply-chain-delays-and-labor-shortages-how-to-prepare-for-holiday-2021\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Articles\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/articles\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Supply Chain Delays and Labor Shortages: How to Prepare for Holiday 2021\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/\",\"name\":\"RMS\",\"description\":\"Retail Merchandising Services\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"RMS\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/NavLogo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/NavLogo.png\",\"width\":84,\"height\":52,\"caption\":\"RMS\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Supply Chain Delays and Labor Shortages: How to Prepare for Holiday 2021 - RMS","description":"Discover how to prepare for holiday season 2021 in light of the supply chain delays and labor shortages.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/articles\/supply-chain-delays-and-labor-shortages-how-to-prepare-for-holiday-2021\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Supply Chain Delays and Labor Shortages: How to Prepare for Holiday 2021 - RMS","og_description":"Discover how to prepare for holiday season 2021 in light of the supply chain delays and labor shortages.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/articles\/supply-chain-delays-and-labor-shortages-how-to-prepare-for-holiday-2021\/","og_site_name":"RMS","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":576,"url":"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Essential-Supply-Chain-Delays-and-Labor-Shortages-How-to-Prepare-for-Holiday-2021-1-1024x576.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/articles\/supply-chain-delays-and-labor-shortages-how-to-prepare-for-holiday-2021\/","url":"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/articles\/supply-chain-delays-and-labor-shortages-how-to-prepare-for-holiday-2021\/","name":"Supply Chain Delays and Labor Shortages: How to Prepare for Holiday 2021 - RMS","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2021-09-13T16:03:00+00:00","dateModified":"2021-09-13T16:03:00+00:00","description":"Discover how to prepare for holiday season 2021 in light of the supply chain delays and labor shortages.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/articles\/supply-chain-delays-and-labor-shortages-how-to-prepare-for-holiday-2021\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/articles\/supply-chain-delays-and-labor-shortages-how-to-prepare-for-holiday-2021\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/articles\/supply-chain-delays-and-labor-shortages-how-to-prepare-for-holiday-2021\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Articles","item":"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/articles\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Supply Chain Delays and Labor Shortages: How to Prepare for Holiday 2021"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/","name":"RMS","description":"Retail Merchandising Services","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/#organization","name":"RMS","url":"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/NavLogo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/NavLogo.png","width":84,"height":52,"caption":"RMS"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/3615"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"article_categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article_categories?post=3615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}