Jesse Bailey

Special Guest Blog Post from e2open From demand sensing to dynamic allocation, here’s how leaders turn peak season logistics into profit   Call it Q4, The Golden Quarter, or Peak Season—it’s the 100-day sprint through fall and winter holidays where profits soar, plans tighten, and one slip leaves you scrambling through January. Across peak season logistics, most companies obsess over outbound speed. Yet the real winners are brands that master inbound logistics flow months earlier. Getting the right inventory to the right locations isn’t glamorous, but it’s where the margins live. Every peak season playbook demands strategic evolution. Rerun last year’s strategy this quarter and you’ll sink—unless you’ve built sophisticated inbound logistics capabilities, airtight supplier partnerships, and precise forecasting to anticipate market shifts. With the right strategy, you can stride into the Golden Quarter. That means: Smarter forecasting that detects demand shifts before they hit Sharper allocation that puts inventory exactly where it’s needed Replenishment planning that maintains flow under pressure On Time in Full (OTIF) execution that keeps products moving and shoppers happy In peak season, accuracy wins. Miss inbound positioning, and your bottom line misses too.   Inbound planning: The difference between stockouts and sales Golden Quarter demand…

A shipment delayed at sea can become a financial problem before it ever reaches the warehouse. A routing decision can change exposure to cargo theft. A technology investment can improve visibility while raising expectations for how quickly teams should respond. For supply chain leaders, geopolitical, technological, and economic disruption rarely arrive as separate challenges. They overlap, creating decisions that affect transportation, compliance, customer service, and profitability all at once. In the recent Supply Chain Now webinar, hosts Scott Luton and Jake Barr were joined by Henrik Holm, Vice President of Ocean Freight for the Americas at Apex Logistics International, and Linda Moran, Customs Compliance Senior Manager at Apex Logistics International, to explore how companies can adapt. Their discussion offered a practical perspective on what Barr calls the “never normal”: leaders need strategies that help them operate confidently even when the conditions around them keep changing.   Building Stability Through Preparedness Stability can feel like an ambitious goal when trade policies shift, shipping routes change, and transportation capacity becomes unpredictable. Yet the panel’s discussion suggests that companies can create greater stability through the decisions they make before disruption occurs. Holm emphasized understanding when and where goods are needed, planning earlier, and…