{"id":8835,"date":"2025-07-15T09:06:54","date_gmt":"2025-07-15T16:06:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/apldevnew.wpenginepowered.com\/?p=8835"},"modified":"2026-01-19T11:20:25","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T18:20:25","slug":"in-supply-chain-reliability-is-everything","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.apllogistics.com\/2025\/07\/in-supply-chain-reliability-is-everything","title":{"rendered":"In Supply Chain, Reliability is Everything."},"content":{"rendered":"<h4><em><strong>For Shawn McCreary, VP of Supply Chain at Spencer\u2019s and Spirit Halloween, logistics isn\u2019t just a back-end function\u2014it\u2019s the heartbeat of his seasonal business model.<\/strong><\/em><\/h4>\n<p>Spencer\u2019s runs year-round, mostly within shopping malls across the U.S. and Canada. But Spirit Halloween? That\u2019s an entirely different animal. It\u2019s an all-hands-on-deck, seasonal sprint that demands flawless execution in a brutally compressed timeline. And that\u2019s where reliability, like that of APL Logistics, comes into play.<br \/>\n<div class=\"responsive-embed widescreen\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/1153704461?h=a2dca06754&amp;badge=0&amp;autopause=0&amp;player_id=0&amp;app_id=58479\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" title=\"In Supply Chain Reliability is Everything (INTERNAL)\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/p>\n<h3>Seasonal Surge, No Room for Error<\/h3>\n<p>Every year, Spirit Halloween goes from zero to hundreds of stores\u2014fast. \u201cWe&#8217;re going to go from literally doing nothing volume-wise to a tremendous amount of business in a very short period of time with no margin for error,\u201d McCreary says.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not just about shipping. It\u2019s about timing. Products have to arrive in the U.S. from China, sometimes in the face of global disruptions, and land in stores by early August. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to get it in on time because we start opening Halloween stores August 1st every year\u2014400 stores, let&#8217;s say, that week, and every week another 400 or 500,\u201d McCreary explains. \u201cEverything is based on this very strict calendar timeframe.\u201d If they miss that window, they can miss the season.<\/p>\n<h3>Why APLL Matters<\/h3>\n<p>For Spirit, the supply chain isn\u2019t a background process\u2014it\u2019s the business. Which is why McCreary sees APLL not as a vendor, but as an extension of their organization. \u201cThey do critical work for us, essential work, and they&#8217;re extremely responsive,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>In today\u2019s unpredictable global landscape, steady hands are hard to come by. But APLL has shown the flexibility and commitment needed to scale with Spirit Halloween\u2019s intense seasonal swings. \u201cEverything that we ask for as a business need, they&#8217;ve come through for us. It makes me extremely happy\u2014and our company extremely happy\u2014when you can get a valued business partner that you can grow with, and you have confidence in, and they understand you and your business.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Growing Together: From Halloween to Christmas<\/h3>\n<p>What\u2019s next? McCreary says the model they\u2019ve built for Spirit Halloween is now expanding into Spirit Christmas. \u201cThe business model is to take Spirit Halloween stores and just transition them into Spirit Christmas stores,\u201d he explains. \u201cAPLL will be a key business partner for us to grow all that together as we manage these now three businesses going forward with unlimited potential.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With Spencer\u2019s, Spirit Halloween, and now Spirit Christmas under one roof, the supply chain stakes are only getting higher. But with APLL in the mix, McCreary sees nothing but opportunity ahead.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>\u201cSo to develop a business partnership with a provider that understands that and will be able to scale up with us and grow with us is extremely important\u2014because obviously, in supply chain, reliability is everything.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>APL Logistics stands out as a true asset to retail brands. As McCreary\u2019s testimonial makes clear, reliability, flexibility, and deep collaboration define APL\u2019s approach\u2014and those qualities are exactly what retailers need in today\u2019s fast-paced, high-pressure environment.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>With its global expertise and network spanning over 120 service locations across 60 countries, APL Logistics is committed to empowering supply chains for success. Our supply chain solutions leverage the experience of our committed professionals and cutting-edge technology to equip businesses with the tools to improve resilience, boost efficiency, and drive revenue growth.<\/p>\n<p><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For Shawn McCreary, VP of Supply Chain at Spencer\u2019s and Spirit Halloween, logistics isn\u2019t just a back-end&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":9021,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[81],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8835","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-testimonials"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>In Supply Chain, Reliability is Everything. | APL Logistics<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, 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