Thriving Through the Holiday Rush: How Retailers Can Navigate Seasonal Pressures with Confidence

By Jason Yantiss, VP, Client Services, Open Sky Group

The holidays bring a surge in sales, but also a spike in returns. Managing returns efficiently is critical to protecting margins, maintaining customer trust, and keeping inventory flowing back into circulation.

With advanced WMS and TMS solutions, retailers can process returns quickly, track them in real-time, and restock products faster. This not only reduces operational costs but also improves customer satisfaction by closing the loop on the shopping experience.

The right product, in the right place, at the right time - that’s the retailer’s holiday goal! Yet predicting buying habits and stocking the correct assortment is harder than ever, with fast- changing trends and regional variations in demand.

By implementing cloud-based WMS and leveraging real-time data through Open Sky Group’s Kaleidoscope product suite (KDS), we give retailers enhanced visibility into their supply chain. This means better demand forecasting, smarter inventory positioning, and actionable insights to improve product availability across locations.

Consumers continue to demand flexibility, whether shopping in-store, online, or through hybrid options like buy online, pick up in store. Multi-channel demand is growing, but with it comes added complexity in order management, inventory visibility, and fulfillment.

Our solutions enable seamless orchestration across all channels- ensuring inventory is accurate and orders flow smoothly no matter where they originate. With TMS integration, retailers can also optimize last-mile delivery, meeting service-level promises while controlling costs.

We help retailers implement and optimize WMS configurations that integrate with automated solutions, from conveyors and pick-to-light systems to robotics. Automation paired with WMS, TMS, and KDS can ensure your operations are not only moving faster but are also more accurate and scalable.

What sets Open Sky Group apart is our ability to provide both the technology and the expertise needed to make retail supply chains more resilient. Whether it’s handling high return volumes, predicting demand, or orchestrating multi-channel fulfillment, our supply chain experts work with you, giving you a closer look into your operations with real-time visibility and actionable insights.

With KDS, retailers gain a deeper understanding of their supply chain operations, identifying bottlenecks before they impact customer experience. With WMS and TMS, they build the flexibility and scalability needed to handle unpredictable surges in demand. And with our partnership approach, they have a trusted guide who understands the stakes of the holiday season.

Staffing shortages and seasonal spikes make manual processes unsustainable during peak periods. Retailers are increasingly turning to automation, from robotics in warehouses to AI-driven decision-making, all to stay ahead.