How Retail Companies Can Handle Holiday Season Chaos
By Michael Hess, Waste Harmonics
The holiday season is a highly anticipated and busy time for owners and operators of retail companies. The vast increase in shopping, shipping and more in such a short period of time can result in increased profits, revenues and even new employees for additional support.
But when retail chain executives are planning ahead and in the thick of the holiday season, waste management is a service many rarely think about — until it’s too late. Similar to electricity for a home or gas in a vehicle, day-to-day garbage, trash and recycling collection is often taken for granted.
Collecting garbage, trash and recycling materials may seem simple, but it can be an additional stress on retail chain executives during the holiday season. Seasonal shopping occurs in just a few short weeks of highly increased activity, and working with a waste broker is a key step to ensuring you’re able to deliver the best results to every customer while still driving profits.
Proactiveness Is Key
With the 2018 holiday season in full swing, retail chain owners and operators are dealing with the large task of handling the variety of holiday-related employee, customer and logistical issues that are likely to hit their store footprints at some point. The key is to be as proactive as possible.
Develop a plan with your waste broker well before the holiday season to set up any extra pickups across your footprint and establish additional services that might be needed for the holiday season, such as recycling. As you continue a longstanding relationship with your waste broker, they can help you look back at past holiday seasons to tweak or change your plan.
Identify Holiday Season Waste Costs Early On
Setting up an established waste management system with your waste broker will help you identify your holiday season waste costs from the onset, heading off any unexpected surprises or hits to your profit in the middle of December or the beginning of the new year.
Doing so will not only help ensure your 2019 profits and revenues, but also help maintain the razor-sharp efficiency that’s required to keep your business running and moving forward throughout the year.
Establish A Turnkey System
Retail executives work hard to maintain very complex supply chains across their footprint, and managing these chains successfully depends on optimal efficiency. During the chaos of the holiday season, that efficiency can take a downturn.
To stay on track, work with your waste broker to develop a turnkey system that allows you to see all of your trash, garbage and recycling needs and plans across your footprint. Doing so will allow your entire team to manage each store’s needs individually as needed, while keeping an eye on the overall efficiency of your program. Be sure to alert your suppliers and vendors of this waste management plan for the holidays so they can help you keep up efficiency throughout the season.
Michael Hess is founder and CEO of Waste Harmonics, a Rochester, N.Y.-based company that provides customized waste and recycling management solutions for businesses across North America. Hess leads Waste Harmonics’ team of waste/recycling, technology, logistics and customer service experts who broker waste and recycling services — which deliver significant costs savings — for single- and multi-location businesses in a wide range of business categories, including retail, grocery, restaurant, travel center, logistics, distribution and shipping. Prior to founding Waste Harmonics, Hess served as vice president of U.S. operations for Capital Environmental Resource Inc.