It’s that time of the year, the time when the Holiday season is in full swing. The malls and web are filled with eager (and sometimes frantic) shoppers. Distributors are busily distributing, retailers are retailing, shippers are shipping, and anxious customers are camping at electronic retailers hoping for a chance at one of the hot new products.And, Santa’s elfs are taking a brief rest from toy making for a meal of dim-sum.Well, you’ve got to figure Santa has outsourced his ‘elf’ work to Asia, too!!
It’s also the time of the year that I find myself not shopping, decorating, or celebrating, but using this time to reflect on the year just ending and wondering what the coming year will bring. My 2006 year has been filled with interesting learning, research and dialog in the areas of Pandemic Preparedness, the uncertainty in the universe’simpact on supply chains, and RFID’s ability to improve upon the consumer’s experience.Just between us, I believe that I got all of the really good assignments this year!My research would not have been successful without all of your willingness to respond to the surveys, phone interviews, and allowing some of your actual enterprise activities to be utilized in the reports and articles.
So, a totally natural thought process for me (those of you who know me will agree this was natural for me, but not for many others!) to have was that of what impact my 2006 areas of research might have on the holiday songs, shows, and other traditions that I grew up with. Ilike to think of it as How the Grinch Stole the 12 Days of Christmas but Still Found Time to Deck the Halls.Now, let’s take a stroll down holiday memory lane:
12-The 12 Days of Christmas is reduced to 8 days due to cost cutting measures, concerns over inventory turns, and pressure on suppliers.
11-Global Warming has caused no more:Frosty the Snowman, White Christmas, and Winter Wonderland.Many start-up manufacturers are spending a ton of capital to increase snow making technology capabilities.
10-Deck the Halls and I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus were banned from being listened to in most enterprises because HR determined that those songs could encourage workplace violence and sexual harassment.
09-The Partridge in the Pear Tree, Turtle Doves, French Hens, Calling Birds, Geese a Laying, and Swans a Swimming were all taken off the market due to bird flu fears.
08-The Grinch was forced to postpone stealing Christmas from the town of Whoville because the port that supported all deliveries into Whoville was shut down due to a dock workers strike.
07-Little Cindy Lou Who is grown up now and is an Executive for Best Buy.Her key focus is to drive strategies such as RFID that are to be focused on improving the consumer experience.
06-The Little Drummer Boy used his hand held GPS to find the manger when he received the text message telling him to “COME”.
05-The Three Kings were reduced down to Two Kings after one suffered a death in the Tsunami while in the Indonesia area working on a trade agreement for gold, frankincense and myrrh.
04-Santa Clause is no longer coming to town because he has signed a contract with a 3PL to handle all of his shipping and delivery.This will free him up to focus on marketing and corporate image activities.
03-Rudolph and the other reindeers have had their jobs outsourced due to the 3PL agreement mentioned in #9.They are contemplating moving to India to pursue technology careers or an ongoing consultant role with Lou Dobbs regarding the middle class woes.
02-Babes in Toyland all have RFID chips implanted at time of manufacture to assist in getting them from Toyland to their ultimate point of destination.
01-The manufacturing and distribution of Silver Bells have been pirated and now sell for 10% of what the authentic bells do.This pirating activity has had significant impact on the Silver Bell’s stock price and brand image.
I hope you enjoyed the trip through holiday supply chain memory lane and the bit of humor sprinkled in.One last holiday thought for you all:Since ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers)recently announced the # 1 Most Performed Holiday Song (over the past 5 years): The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire). Am I the ONLY one who wonders what Chet was doing so close to the fire???
Happy Holidays!