Does it seem Christmas Season is getting later and later?

The Christmas season for manufacturers typically begins at the Middle of the 3rd Quarter (August) and continue to the day before Thanksgiving -- the kick-off for the Traditional Christmas Shopping season. Historically if you ship after this date, you're screwed. That's right game over, Little Johnny is not going to get his GI Joe with the kung fu grip because someone in the purchasing department screwed up and couldn't pull the trigger and order when the window was available.

For the average Joe Consumer, they are never privvy to the actual behind-the-scenes machinations required to pull this monumental task off. Allow me to clarify. A manufacturer must order the raw materials, convert them, and ultimately ship them. But ours is only a piece to the puzzle because after it leaves our hands it has to be handled by the distributors and finally the retail distribution hubs and retail centers.

All this takes time. You can't simply say one day, "I think I need 100,000 widgets by Wednesday this week," and it magically appears on your retail doorstep. It may happen like this on your favorite cooking show but in real life we operate on more realistic standards.

Raw materials need to be ordered, and that takes time for delivery. Likewise for the manufacturer they will need to convert these raw materials into finished goods and those goods need to be shipped.

But have you noticed something alarming? Because I have. More and more year after year the busy Christmas season seems to be pushed further and further back. Like I said August/September is typically the start of our busy season but we have experienced a sluggish start. It's now November and we are more busy than a one-legged man at a but kicking contest.

Strange.

One of two things could be happening. These retail stores have become more efficient and have a better handle on the consumer pulse, but I highly doubt that. Consumers are a very fickle-minded. Or purchasing managers fueled by fears of a sluggish Christmas Season have held back orders too dangerously long. My only hope they know what they are doing because there are only so many rabbits a manufacture like myself can pull out of his magical hat to make something like this happen.

So when you think about the Holiday Season, the manufacturers have been diligently working behind the scenes to bring you a little Christmas cheer. And if you are unable to get that really Hot Christmas Item because it's sold out don't blame the poor Sales Associate working for sub-standard pay. Instead place the blame on upper management being crippled. They should have consulted his crystal ball earlier.