The M&S & Tesco “Sandwich” Frenzy – Bestsellers Are Great If Your System Can Keep Up

M&S and Tesco sandwich

Every so often, a product dominates the headlines and floods social feeds. Right now, it’s M&S’s Red Diamond Strawberry & Crème “sandwich” and Tesco’s Birthday Cake “sandwich” turning up everywhere.

They have been criticised for not being healthy but they’re a clever gimmick and they’re working. Call them what you want, desserts dressed as sandwiches, but they’re selling out quickly.They’re also limited, which is part of the hook. Scarcity fuels FOMO and nothing makes people rush to buy more than the idea they might miss out.

When Orders Flood In

When a product takes off like that, in any industry, the focus quickly shifts from marketing to fulfilment. If your back office systems can’t keep up, all that attention turns into stockouts, missed sales and disappointed customers.

This is a prime example of why, when demand spikes, the back office setup needs to be spot on:-

  • Enough stock in the right locations
  • Real-time inventory updates
  • Quick transfers between sites

You need to know exactly how much stock you’ve got, where it is and how quickly it’s selling. Without that visibility, you can’t plan, react or fulfil orders with confidence.

Predict the Peaks Before They Hit

With AI and machine learning demand forecasting, you can spot surges before they happen and get ahead of them. That means buying and moving stock with confidence, so the bestseller stays a bestseller, rather than a missed opportunity.

Matching Fulfilment to Demand

Whether you are selling, the principle is the same. It’s no good having a product everyone wants if you can’t actually get it to them.

The Tech Driving Your Back End Operations

That’s why I like working with Stok.ly.

Stok.ly Cloud ERP runs the system behind retail operations (inventory control, location tracking, data accuracy, purchasing and site to site transfers) so fulfilment stays accurate and on time even when demand spikes.

A bestseller is only a win if you can get it into your customer’s hands.

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