Christmas tree production and sales use many of the same tools that
nurseries use, but the implementation is very different. Examples of these
differences include;
•
Christmas tree growers rely on the master order optional features
that provide for pre-planning of all shipments and scheduled
payments.
•
Load yard inventory status is critical on an hour-by-hour basis. We
provide a location status report that includes trees “in transit”.
These are trees not in the field because they have been cut, and
not yet in the load area, because they are being baled and shuttled
from the growing areas. This process can take several days.
•
Reports are viewed in an “Excel-like” manner. Since tree growers
typically offer far fewer product varieties and sizes, it is possible to provide a
selection of reports that are laid out in a format similar to the example below.
The Nursery Inventory Management System is used by Christmas tree growers in this way.
Pre-Shipping Season - These steps typically occur between August 1st and November 1st.
•
Enter projected customer orders.
•
Schedule payments.
•
Confirm orders & get signed sales agreements.
•
Schedule shipments.
•
Forecast graded inventory counts and/or get tree count projections from growers you may
purchase from.
•
Run preliminary inventory availability reports and make order allocation adjustments.
•
Schedule trucks.
o
Review loads visually and combine partial loads into full truck shipments.
o
Send out a Carrier Request for Quote (RFQ) for each load.
o
Review RFQs and award each bid.
o
Batch print trucking packets.
Shipping Season - Shipping season typically runs from November 1st to December 15th.
•
Determine which trees and how many you’ll need at each load area. Run trees-needed
reports frequently.
•
Get trees into ship yard. Use available tally sheets to count trees into load areas and track
inventory >>> load yard status reports >>> harvest tracking.
•
Load trucks and print shipping documents (tally sheets, load summary, invoice, bill of
lading).
•
Sleep two hours and repeat process daily until mid-December.
Post-Shipping Season - Post season typically starts around December 20th.
•
Clean up sale yard and evaluate load area inventory procedures.
Run payments-due reports and collect money.
•
Rate customers on the Customer Record screen. Find out what the order projections
might be for next year. The program will keep the sales seasons separated by
calendar year.
•
Pay your growers.
•
Evaluate trucker performance and rate carriers (on the carrier info screen).