Posted on 12/20/2009 4:30:01 AM PST by Daisyjane69
ack in the day when I clothed my kids in Gymboree from head to toe, the sales clerks could almost always manage to find the size I needed by, checking in the back. Every store has a stockroom in the back where, presumably, massive quantities of extra products are shelved. Well, a couple of years ago I was surprised to find out that this isnt true, Gymboree notwithstanding.
In fact, most stores operate on a system known as, just in time shipping. In other words, products arrive just in time to be put on the shelves to replace whatever has been purchased. Thats why, when a store has a particularly good sale on an item, once its sold out, it might be out of stock for days or weeks. There are no extras hidden in the back room. Retailers keep their inventories to a bare minimum in order to save money and to not end up with a stockpile of a product that isnt selling.
(Excerpt) Read more at thesurvivalmom.com ...
Did you ever need to use the routes you planned out? Here in the Phoenix area, it’s even worse. We have ONE freeway going north/south, and a lot of it is just two lanes. There’s ONE freeway going east/west and a couple of loops, but that’s it. I don’t want to be here if there’s ever a mass evacuation.
Only true if there’s no major disruption in trucking and transportation.
“Did you ever need to use the routes you planned out?”
Nope - and that was the reason that I studied the maps. I had a state map and local street maps (this is back in the days when maps still existed). My technique was very simple, I plotted out my route on the street maps - then, if any of that route showed up on the state map (i.e., a state or county highway), I tried to get off it and back on streets that only show up on the street maps. There will be times that you get stuck on state highways, like crossing rivers, for example - but often there are parallel routes.
It worked well. I made it to San Antonio in 8 hours for Rita, when most others turned back after 24 hours - and still not making it out of the Houston area. I still had some very slow stretches, but I also had lots of open streets.
It is especially if there is a disruption in shipping. Valuable merchandise will run out quickly regardless of the amount inventoried, within reasonable limits.
By not maintaining excess inventories, retailers may have cash available to obtain substitute and locally available products.
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