BRENDEN CAVAZOS

Program · Watermelons & Pumpkins

How the Watermelons & Pumpkins Readiness Cadence Works

Two long-running seasonal fresh-food programs, coordinated through a fixed, roughly ten-week cadence that connects Merchandising, Grocery Supply Chain Operations, Transportation, and Data Science Forecasting -- so a season's worth of bulky, bin-heavy volume moves into and out of the network smoothed over time, instead of landing on any one facility all at once.

863K

watermelon bins shipped

394K

pumpkin bins shipped

150+

operators reached with enablement tools

22,549

total full truckloads planned

Readiness Cadence, at a Glance

Across a generalized roughly ten-week cadence, six phases run in sequence, each naming the teams that must align: kickoff and capacity alignment (Merchandising and Facility Operations), order smoothing and forecast validation (Merchandising and Grocery Supply Chain Operations), outbound capacity planning (Transportation and Data Science Forecasting), facility-specific generative-AI enablement reaching 150+ operators, a final readiness check where all four teams align, and in-season monitoring and escalation.

A simplified view of the seasonal cadence. Exact dates, facility names, and internal system details are intentionally generalized for this public one-pager.

How It Works, Behind the Scenes

In general terms, the season runs on a fixed cadence rather than a single hand-off. Roughly six weeks before shipping, Merchandising and facility operators align on total program volume and each facility's maximum capacity. From there, orders are fixed and smoothed into distribution centers over a period of days, protecting receiving windows instead of congesting them. Merchandising confirms safety-stock strategy and forecast accuracy heading into Memorial Day, July 4th, and Halloween. Roughly three weeks out, an outbound trailer-and-driver plan is built together with Data Science Forecasting, sized to the volume already validated with Merchandising. Around two weeks out, every facility receives a tailored enablement view -- built with generative AI from each facility's own capacity and item-level ship schedule -- and walked through live in a short working session. One week out, every team confirms the plan is locked, and the final weeks are spent monitoring inventory flow and escalating for added capacity the moment any facility falls behind.

Featured Capability: Cross-Functional Readiness Cadence

Capabilities Demonstrated

Prepared by Brenden Cavazos as a public, generalized summary. Internal dates, facility names, system names, and confidential process details are intentionally omitted. See the full case study for context and additional impact detail.