Santa’s Supply Chain Risk Management: An Everstream Case Study

They say December is the most wonderful time of the year. But it is also the busiest time for one of Everstream’s most valued customers, North Pole Toys.* 

Everstream was first approached by the Noth Pole’s chief supply chain officer, Mrs. Claus, after the Suez Canal blockage in 2021. Delayed goods meant idle production lines for some of their most popular toys. Having had serious challenges in 2020, Mrs. Claus wanted clearer visibility into supply chain risk. 

Santa’s Upstream Supply Chain 

Most people are familiar with Santa’s Workshop. However, North Pole Toys is a very complex organization. The company purchases raw materials and parts from around the world. These are delivered by ocean, rail, air, and ground to a number of different ports across North America and Europe. From here, the elves transfer the goods to North Pole’s icebreaker cargo ships for delivery to the Workshop.

Mrs. Claus and her teams of logistics, procurement, and supply chain planning elves decided that inbound logistics disruption was the company’s most pressing concern. Let’s take a look at the initial project scope. 

Planning to Port 

North Pole Toys does not manage the shipping from the supplier site to their destination ports across Europe and North America. This is undertaken by suppliers, using commercial cargo carriers.  

The company wanted to be aware, during the planning phase, of any potential disruptions to their inbound goods. The team wanted visibility into weather events, along with port closures and congestion. 

Working closely with their suppliers during the planning process, the North Pole Toys logistics team decides on the best routes, lanes, or shipping dates to navigate potential disruptions. 

Figure 1: North Pole Toys uses Everstream Analytics to monitor inbound logistics risks, including extreme weather, accidents or equipment failure, port congestion and so forth. 

Port to Production 

Once the goods arrive at ports such as Rotterdam in the Netherlands, Oslo in Norway, Halifax in Canada, and New York/New Jersey in the United States, the company’s internal shipping team – Santa’s High-latitude Express Logistics Fleet (SHELF) – takes over the delivery to Santa’s Workshop. 

The elf sailors that make up SHELF’s crews are well used to travelling through the Arctic Ocean. However, weather risks are still a concern. North Pole Toys uses Everstream’s global two-week, hour by hour supply chain disruption weather forecasts to ensure there are no undue risks to the crew. 

In addition, North Pole Toys uses this same information to understand when cargo needs to be protected from freezing conditions, and what level of protection is necessary. The SHELF team tries to avoid using refrigerated containers, when possible, as part of North Pole’s sustainability efforts. 

Finally, it is important for North Pole Toys to know if SHELF crews are likely to be delayed at port, especially during the summer months. Elves enjoy cold weather, but they are not immune to very hot weather. Nor are they immune to getting up to mischief. Heat exacerbates this, and crews have been known to start balloon fights, or create water slides onboard in the summer months.  

“You can’t blame them. Heat is very difficult for elves, particularly younger and redheaded elves,” explains Mrs. Claus. “But water fights have damaged inbound materials, so we need to take precautions. Tracking potential port delays allows us to decide on the crew members best able to manage summer heat.” 

The Workshop’s Supply and Sourcing Department 

After the successful rollout of Everstream’s logistics risk intelligence, Mrs. Claus wanted to extend supply chain visibility into procurement. The Supply and Sourcing Department manages thousands of suppliers across the globe. 

First Mrs. Claus wanted to understand North Pole Toy’s strategic risk exposure. Using Everstream’s Risk Assessment and external risk scores, along with the company’s internal quality data, North Pole was able to clearly understand their risk exposure at supplier, country, and regional levels. 

This data gave them the ability to work with suppliers on mitigation plans, where necessary.  

Figure 2: North Pole monitors suppliers for disruptive events such as factory fires, industrial action, extreme weather, and natural disasters. 

Next, North Pole Toys began monitoring suppliers for disruptive events and looming threats. These include natural disasters and weather events, fires, spills, production stoppages, and so forth. 

“The benefit here is twofold,” says Mrs. Claus. “Firstly, we know about any issues that could impact our suppliers. We can quickly confirm if our supply will be disrupted. We have different mitigation responses depending on the nature and severity of the disruption. For example, we could adjust our production planning, do partial assembly, or switch to a backup supplier. Secondly, and more importantly, we have been able to warn suppliers if extreme weather is likely to impact their facilities. This means that they can shut down their production lines and protect staff if they know a hurricane, tornado, or other extreme weather conditions are likely.” 

Fueling the North Pole Workforce 

North Pole Toys has a substantial in-house workforce of elves. Left to their own devices, they would eat nothing but sweets. However, elves thrive when they have a balanced diet including oats, bread, rice, vegetables, and fruits.  

Most food needs to be imported. While certain mosses, lichens, and grasses do grow in the North Pole region, these are only suitable for reindeer.  

North Pole Toys uses the same logistics processes to import food as it does components and raw materials for toymaking. 

Earlier this year, Mrs. Claus approached Everstream about the Crop Prediction solution to monitor some of the most important agricultural products they purchase. 

The company requires a large amount of alfalfa hay to feed the reindeer, as well as huge amounts of wheat for breadmaking. Furthermore, both elves and reindeer are very fond of apples and raisins, so Mrs. Claus likes to have enough on hand for both her elven and animal helpers. 

Another consideration was the price surge for cacao beans in late 2024 and early 2025. North Pole Toys requires a significant amount of chocolate. This is an essential part of the elf diet, and the Workshop also produces a range of chocolate bars as stocking stuffers.  

By monitoring crops during the growing season, North Pole Toys gets early insights into crop yields and quality months before harvest season.  

“We have been delighted with the results we have achieved with Everstream,” said Mrs. Claus. “Keeping everyone well-fed and healthy is a priority for us at North Pole Toys. Plus, our CEO and Founder, Mr. Santa Claus, requires substantial calories from late November onwards. Otherwise, he would not be able to do his very special job.” 

Figure 3: North Pole Toys uses Everstream Analytics to monitor crop quality and yield for alfalfa hay, wheat, cacao beans and apples.

What’s Next for North Pole Toys? 

Mrs. Claus and her team have kicked off a project to strategically map their sub-tier suppliers for their most important product lines. Once this is completed, they will be able to monitor sub-tier suppliers for potential disruptions. This project is scheduled to go-live in mid-2026. 

Mrs. Claus was very impressed with how Everstream Analytics can help global companies manage outbound logistics risk. However, this proved to be the one area where Everstream could not provide enough extra value for North Pole Toys. North Pole prides itself on its perfect OTIF (on-time, in-full) delivery record, and customer service is critical. 

“Our Special Logistics & Expedited Item Gift Handling – SLEIGH – team has been successfully delivering presents to girls and boys for as long as I can remember. We have never had any disruptions there, and we never will. Don’t you worry about that!” 

*Happy holidays and best wishes for the New Year! Our blog will be back with more supply chain insights in January.