Every year, it starts the same way. Around August, a little knot of dread settles in my stomach. I know exactly what’s coming: the holiday delivery schedules for Thanksgiving and Christmas. It’s a season that should feel magical — lights, shows, festive events — but for me, it always came with a heavy side of stress.
I remember one year, hunched over my computer, five different mainframes open at once. Dry goods. Frozen. Meat. Produce. And then the Dallas-area versions of meat and produce. One customer change meant navigating all five systems. If I wanted to adjust holiday billing? I had to run through all 1,000 grocery/frozen customers, then meat, then produce, then Dallas meat, then Dallas produce. And the moment Thanksgiving deliveries were done, Christmas schedules loomed. September through December was a relentless cycle of updates, spreadsheets, and last-minute changes while the holiday week raged on around me.
It was exhausting. And frustrating. And no matter how much I tried to plan, surprises always found a way to pop up — a truck rerouted, a customer last-minute change, a holiday promotion added.
This year, though, feels different. With the integration into the National Routing Team, the new OMS system, and a dedicated team handling schedule maintenance, I’m finally seeing light at the end of the tunnel. Now, all product types are housed in one place. One spreadsheet shows everything for a customer. One screen lets me see it all. The chaos of navigating five separate systems is gone.
I’m cautiously optimistic — but also excited. For the first time in years, I can imagine actually enjoying the holiday season. Maybe I’ll catch a show, sip some hot cocoa, even breathe. The work is still there, of course, but it feels manageable. Efficient. Maybe even… pleasant.
After years of holiday scheduling dread, that’s a gift in itself.
