Valentine's Day Roses: How The Supply Chain Works
Similar to the logistics challenges of holiday shipping, the intricacies of Valentine’s Day logistics revolve around the critical importance of an efficient supply chain network. Let's take a closer look at the logistics of Cupid’s Valentine’s Day flowers.
After the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season, Valentine’s Day emerges as the second busiest time of the year for shippers.
Similar to the logistics challenges of holiday shipping, the intricacies of Valentine’s Day logistics revolve around the critical importance of an efficient supply chain network.
Let's take a closer look at the logistics of Cupid’s Valentine’s Day flowers.
Valentine’s Day maintains its romantic allure, with total spending on significant others for the holiday projected to hit a record $14.2 billion, according to the annual survey conducted by the National Retail Federation.
A significant 39% of Americans plan to purchase flowers for Valentine’s Day, translating to an estimated $2.6 billion in flower expenditures.
🌹 Flowers:
Roses, the quintessential symbol of love, boast a shelf life of about 10 days. Therefore, Cupid meticulously manages his supply chain to ensure the freshness of the estimated 250 million roses sold for Valentine's Day.
Consider the significant impact of even a day's delay in the supply chain, especially when the product has such a limited shelf life.
🛩️ Airplanes:
The vast majority of Valentine's Day roses and carnations originate from Colombia and Ecuador, conveniently located just a few hours' plane ride from Miami. Miami International Airport handles a staggering 91% of all flowers imported into the US. Once the blooms are harvested and prepared, they are carefully packed by hand into refrigerated airplanes to commence their journey.
🌴 Miami:
Upon arrival in Miami, the flowers are sorted and packaged by thousands of seasonal workers into smaller boxes or gift arrangements. These meticulously organized blooms are then loaded onto planes, freight trucks, or delivery vans bound for destinations across the United States.Miami experiences a transformation in the weeks leading up to Valentine's Day.
The city becomes inundated with flowers, and thousands of trucks swarm southward to redistribute them across the country. Typically considered a "freight desert" for much of the year, Miami undergoes a temporary shift as Valentine's Day approaches.
🚛 Truckloads:
During the seven weeks leading up to February 14th, an average of 500 truckloads per day depart from Miami, handling an astonishing volume of flora. This equates to a staggering 24,500 truckloads dedicated solely to transporting flowers.
