Christmas and seasonal planning

We all know the feeling. You go to the supermarket at the end of September and see the first Christmas decorations and Christmas chocolates on the shelves. Thoughts like ‘Is it that time of year again?’ or ‘Summer has only just ended’ pop into your head. Some people are happy about it. Others less so. Personally, I love the Christmas season and look forward to it every year, even if the end of September is often a little too early for me.

For me, Christmas is a contemplative time, with beautiful lights everywhere, Christmas music and lots of sweet treats. Of course, a glass or two of mulled wine is a must when strolling through the Christmas market.

I usually buy my presents and make preparations in advance so that I can relax and enjoy the festive season more. However, the festive season is not so relaxed and contemplative for everyone, and things don't always go according to plan. A few incidents have dampened my Christmas spirit a little this year, which is why my focus is simply on other things.

Avoiding unplanned incidents in production

Of course, such incidents do not only occur in private life, but also in production. Unplanned downtime or incorrect materials management can not only be expensive, but also have significant consequences for a company. Production planners are often under even more pressure than usual during the festive season, as production requirements increase in many areas.

The Christmas season, for example, places particularly high demands on companies, as resources are often insufficient and pre-production is therefore necessary. This results in a complex interplay of materials management, personnel planning and warehousing. Precise planning during this period is very important in order to avoid potential bottlenecks and enable smooth production. Our FEKOR planning system helps with this.

The seasonal business of food manufacturers, for example, places high demands on production planners, as products cannot be manufactured too early due to their limited shelf life. In the food industry, suppliers are expected to ensure that the products they deliver have the required shelf life until the best-before date. However, shelf life is also an important factor beyond the food industry.

In metalworking, for example, it must be taken into account that metal parts have a limited ‘shelf life’ between two processing steps, depending on the material, as they will otherwise rust. As a result, companies can only pre-produce products to a limited extent.

Our planning system takes into account the shelf life limits of raw materials as well as the production of intermediate and end products. With FEKOR, there is no longer any need to worry about delivery dates or bottlenecks, as production is planned and utilised realistically. At the end of the day, planning should not be the end goal, but rather a means to achieving objectives without stress. This allows manufacturing companies to enjoy the Christmas season more and devote themselves to other things with peace of mind when it comes to production planning.

Conclusion

Seasonal business is and remains a challenge, not only in terms of private life. Without strategic planning, the Christmas season can easily lead to stress and extra costs. With the tetys planning system FEKOR, manufacturing companies can easily keep seasonal business under control. Material availability, shelf life and optimal resource utilisation are just a few of the areas where FEKOR can help. Planning security and peace of mind are welcome at the end of the year, giving companies time to prepare and focus on the coming year. For many, Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year, while for others it is the most stressful. At tetys, we want to do our part to make it more and more wonderful and allow people to focus on other things.

Here's to a wonderful, peaceful rest of Advent with your loved ones and a successful start to 2026.