Peak Season Scheduling:
Where Tetris Meets High-Stakes Mail Delivery
Once upon a time, I was the Lead Production Scheduler at a printing/lettershop, and the lessons I learned still hold true today. During peak seasons and election periods, scheduling is like a high-stakes game of Tetris—pieces flying everywhere, and it’s our job to make sure they all fit perfectly.
Tips for a Successful Peak Season:
Meeting Your Schedule:
The schedule provided isn’t just a suggestion—it’s the backbone of your entire mail plan. Missing a date can create a domino effect, delaying your entire mail date. During election periods, when printers and mail shops are full of political mailings, the stakes are even higher. That’s why we’re laser-focused on sticking to the schedule and ensuring everything runs smoothly.
Advanced Planning and Scheduling:
The production team at IDM uses advanced planning and scheduling tools from the mail shop to manage every detail of our clients’ mail campaigns. This ensures due dates are met and campaigns mail on time. By mapping out the schedule in advance, we can see challenges and adjust as needed to keep everything on track.
Understanding Volume and Capacity:
The year-end fundraising season brings an avalanche of mail, and printers and mail shops handle it with a plan that ensures they have enough staff and equipment. Election season too? That’s when they go from Tetris to a full-blown game of chess to make sure each mailing hits its deadlines.
Prioritizing Jobs:
Not all mail is created equal, especially when Grandma’s fruitcake is in the mix. Printers and mail shops prioritize in their schedules time-sensitive items, like First class mail and or election mail. This is to ensure you get your packages on time and democracy keeps ticking.
Resource Allocation:
Printers and mail shops adjust shifts, bring in extra hands, and run at full steam when needed. During elections, they might dedicate entire teams to handling these mailings because nobody wants to be the reason democracy takes a coffee break.
Contingency Planning:
Murphy’s Law loves peak season, so they’ve got backups for their backups. Whether it’s unexpected volume spikes or a rogue machine, the schedule is flexible enough to handle it. For elections, they’ve got extra emergency plans because nothing says “bad day” like delaying critical mail.
Communication and Coordination:
Keeping everyone in the loop is essential when the stakes are high. During peak seasons, this keeps everyone from turning into headless chickens. For elections, it means making sure everyone is on the same page.
By focusing on these areas, the production team at IDM will make sure your direct mail campaign gets where it needs to go, on time, even when the pressure is on. Your deadlines are our deadlines, and we take that seriously—even if it means playing a few extra rounds of Tetris or even chess to get there.
