Ep. 22 - How Science Powers Peak-Season Operations - Johannes Kloess

In this episode of Chain Reaction, host Michael Ostroumov sits down with Johannes Kloess, Head of Operations at Thortful, the UK-based online greeting cards and gifts marketplace. With a background in microbiology and vaccine research, Johannes brings a scientist’s mindset to the complex world of seasonal logistics, where Valentine's and Mother’s Day can transform daily operations overnight.Johannes shares how Thortful balances the precision of automation with the agility of human adaptability. From forecasting demand spikes to managing fulfilment partners and scaling for intense seasonal peaks, he unpacks the science behind operational excellence. The conversation explores forecasting accuracy, sustainable scaling, and the surprising parallels between laboratory discipline and supply chain resilience.GUEST BIOJohannes Kloess is the Head of Operations at Thortful, the UK’s leading online marketplace for greeting cards and gifts. Trained as a microbiologist with a background in virology and vaccine research, Johannes transitioned into operations leadership, bringing data-driven thinking and experimentation to the logistics and fulfilment space. Today, he oversees Thortful’s operational performance, supply partnerships, and strategic planning across high-demand retail peaks such as Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, and Father’s Day.KEY TAKEAWAYSThortful operates as a marketplace with 4,000–5,000 creators and up to 70,000 live cards.Peak seasons (Valentine’s, Mother’s, Father’s Day) drive up to 15× demand spikes.100% of cards are printed on demand — no stock held.Gifts now make up over 10% of revenue, growing faster than any other segment.Forecasting and pre-packing are critical to manage manual fulfilment efficiently.Automation handles card-only orders, while hybrid processes support gift bundles.Data from 10 years of operations drives continuous process optimization.Strong partnerships with print and fulfilment specialists ensure scalable resilience.Sustainability and collaboration across the supply chain are key future priorities.International sales remain niche but highlight the appeal of uniquely British humour.CHAPTERS 00:00 Welcome & Guest Introduction 01:00 Johannes’s Journey from Science to Operations 04:00 The Thortful Business Model Explained 05:30 Managing Seasonal Peaks: Valentine’s & Mother’s Day 08:30 How On-Demand Printing Works 10:30 Forecasting Demand & Capacity Planning 12:20 When Automation Fails: Building Resilience 15:00 Integrating Gifts: Manual Complexity & Optimization 18:20 Data-Driven Process Improvement 20:30 Balancing Automation & Human Workflows 23:20 Scaling Through Partnerships 27:00 Co-Location and Operational Efficiency 29:00 International Orders & British Humour 32:30 Collaboration & Sustainability in Supply Chains 34:50 Closing ThoughtsPeak season performance is a system design problem: forecasting, capacity buffers, cut-offs, and exception handling. This episode focuses on how to engineer resilience.FLOX angle: If you’re patching together spreadsheets and emails, start with end-to-end visibility: https://www.flox.is/services/buyers/e2e-visibility/ Explore FLOX (Supply Chain & Logistics Orchestration): https://www.flox.is/#SupplyChain#Logistics#SupplyChainManagement#LogisticsOperations#SupplyChainStrategy#LogisticsTechnology#SupplyChainVisibility#LogisticsMarketplace#SupplyChainLeadership#FLOX