How to better manage your supply chain for variable demand
Pallet Hotel® is our on-demand warehousing service, giving you flexible pallet storage whenever you need it.
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Demand variability is a huge challenge for the retail industry. Seasonal trends, supply chain disruption and changes in the economy all have the potential to seriously impact consumer demand. Variable demand can make it difficult to forecast accurately, leading to either too much inventory that needs shifting or stock running out.
Pallet Hotel® gives you the flexibility to adapt to consumer demand. This allows you to quickly scale your storage space without any long-term commitments.
Managing seasonal inventory
Shops have to dramatically ramp up their stock levels in the lead-up to big seasonal events like Black Friday and Christmas, often exceeding their existing warehouse capacity.
Some might consider investing in extra warehousing facilities to cope with this increase, but this is a costly solution that can lead to wasted space during the quieter months.
How Pallet Hotel® can help
Pallet Hotel® is a Pay As You Need service. You can scale up your storage space during peak seasonal periods without having to commit to any long-term contracts. There are over 200 locations across the UK, so it’s easy to find space to suit your exact requirements.
Storing unsold stock
Evergreen goods like Christmas trees in winter or BBQs in summer don’t lose their value over time. However, if they haven’t sold when they’re in season, they often end up being heavily discounted in clearance sales.
This can really eat into profit margins and there often isn’t the free space available to store the unsold goods.
How Pallet Hotel® can help
Evergreen stock can cost-effectively be stored during the off-season at a Pallet Hotel®, without the hassle of having to sign a long-term contract with complex terms and conditions. This allows you to sell the goods at full price the following year. The savings from not having to heavily discount goods can often pay for the storage costs.
Stocking goods ahead of Chinese New Year
The unfortunate combination of Chinese New Year factory closures and the ongoing Red Sea crisis is a real headache for retailers. Goods need to be imported as soon as possible to avoid the risk of empty shelves in the spring, but this often clashes with the need to manage leftover Christmas stock and returns, putting an immense strain on already limited warehouse space.
Traditional just-in-time delivery approaches have simply become too risky. Supply chains are more vulnerable than ever to being disrupted by global events.
How Pallet Hotel® can help
Pallet Hotel® provides a safety network of temporary warehousing space that can be relied upon for last-minute storage needs. It can be accessed quickly and there are no long-term commitments, which means that it’s always there as a cost-effective option to be called upon whenever there’s a sudden need to store overflow stock.
Seasonal planning
Sales peak during the Christmas period, with the highest sales month being December. While manufacturers and retailers rely on a successful holiday season, predicting consumer demand is a close to impossible task. Everything from the economy to the weather can impact sales.
Uncertainty can either lead to overstocking, resulting in costly storage and potential markdowns, or understocking, with missed sales opportunities and disappointed customers.
How Pallet Hotel® can help
Offering both no commitments and on-demand flexibility, Pallet Hotel® acts as an insurance policy against unpredictable consumer demand, while a fixed price per pallet delivers pricing certainty.
By knowing that there’s a flexible, on-demand solution to rely on, you can proactively plan for variations in consumer demand while building much-needed resilience into your supply chain strategy.
