Planning errors, purchase delays, and unexpected variations in demand often end up putting pressure on the last mile, so anticipating transportation needs and sharing scenarios with suppliers is key to dealing with sales peaks, according to Jorge Pinzón, Logistics Director at Price Shoes .
According to the executive, one of the keys is to build trusting relationships with suppliers and communicate in advance the different scenarios that could arise during high demand seasons.
“One thing that has worked really well for me is building trust and collaboration with suppliers,” Pinzón said.
He explained that the last mile often suffers the consequences of problems generated in earlier stages of the chain , from a delay in purchases to planning that did not respond to the actual behavior of demand.
Therefore, the strategy involves presenting different scenarios to transportation providers beforehand. Pinzón exemplified that, for a season like El Buen Fin (Mexico’s Black Friday equivalent) , the required capacity can be communicated under different levels of demand, even considering scenarios where up to 300 transport units might be needed .
Rather than demanding that capacity when the increase in orders has already occurred, he considered it necessary to involve the supplier from the planning stage so that they can also prepare.
“It’s about anticipating things (…) sitting down with the supplier and saying, ‘Of everything that came out, this is what’s happening, get ready,’” he explained.
In this process, Pinzón referred to Collaborative Planning, Forecasting, and Replenishment (CPFR) , a system based on sharing information among supply chain participants to jointly plan demand and supply. In his experience, this collaboration helps reduce the volatility and pressure that logistics and operations departments subsequently face.
Communication also allows for the early identification of problems within the supplier itself. Pinzón recounted the case of an operation in which a logistics partner faced high staff turnover and gave 30 days’ notice that it might stop serving a certain area.
This visibility allows for exploring alternatives before capacity shortages impact deliveries. During the panel, the discussion focused on e-commerce operations aiming to meet delivery windows of 24 to 48 hours .
Faced with increasingly variable demand, sharing scenarios, anticipating needs, and understanding supplier limitations can provide greater reaction time and prevent the last mile from having to resolve, against the clock, problems originating in earlier stages of the chain.
According to industry estimates, the last-mile market in Mexico could exceed $3.6 billion by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate of 7.4%, driven by the expansion of e-commerce and the change in consumer habits.
Comment and follow us on LinkedIn: @Karina Quintero / @GrupoT21
