Inside Butterball’s Turkey Super Bowl: The High-Stakes Logistics Behind Every Thanksgiving Bird

Long before leftovers disappear, Butterball’s logistics team is already gearing up for the next Thanksgiving. Dan Bohlman, Butterball’s Director of Logistics, says planning starts almost immediately after the holiday ends: cold-storage allocations as early as January and serious transportation planning by the third quarter.

Year‑round planning for a predictable peak

What looks like a single, predictable spike each fall is actually the result of year‑round work. Forecasting balances the certainty of seasonal demand with constantly shifting customer requirements. Historical sales patterns provide a baseline, but experienced sales and operations teams add the context and judgment needed to translate those patterns into reliable supply plans.

Fresh vs. frozen: two very different challenges

Turkey planning hinges on one key divide: frozen birds versus fresh whole birds. Frozen product offers flexibility thanks to longer shelf life and more forgiving production windows. Fresh turkeys compress planning into a narrow timeframe—short shelf life, tight production schedules and limited retail cooler space make fresh product the far more challenging side of the business.

"Fresh product demand is more challenging due to shelf life and a shorter time frame to produce,"

—Dan Bohlman, Director of Logistics, Butterball.

The October–November surge

When October arrives, the operation shifts into high gear. Thousands of truckloads move in a matter of weeks as the fresh season peaks, turning the industry into a nationwide refrigerated rush hour.

Keeping the cold chain airtight

To protect product quality during that surge, Butterball uses rigorous monitoring and recordkeeping: temperature probes throughout cold storage, product temperature checks at each handling step, and portable data loggers on trucks that continuously record conditions. These measures help ensure cold-chain integrity from processing to store shelves.

"We use various industry-leading methods to ensure cold-chain integrity from start to finish,"

—Dan Bohlman.

Contingencies for anything that can go wrong

Because weather, labor shortages and transportation disruptions don’t pause for holidays, Butterball maintains a robust contingency playbook. Tactics include pre-positioning inventory closer to customers, tapping partner facilities for extra labor, padding transit windows, using team drivers, and relaying loads between drivers when necessary to keep deliveries on schedule.

"Our goal is always to minimize the impact of disruptions, no matter where they come from,"

—Dan Bohlman.

All hands on deck

By mid‑October the company changes tempo: daily customer-service and production calls, twice‑daily tracking reports, extended shifts across plants and warehouses, and staff dispatched to key distribution points to resolve issues in real time. By November, nearly every resource is mobilized.

"The Thanksgiving busy season is an all-hands-on-deck effort; it is our Super Bowl,"

—Dan Bohlman.

It starts on the farm

Reliability begins long before processing: flock health and strict biosecurity practices are essential to maintaining supply consistency. Butterball reports that these prevention measures helped minimize disruptions this season, keeping retailers well stocked.

Looking ahead

Butterball is evaluating new technologies to sharpen planning and execution. Artificial intelligence draws particular interest for potential gains in routing, forecasting and operational efficiency—tools that could turn the annual scramble into a smoother, more predictable process.

For now, the annual sprint continues: planning that begins before winter ends, intensive execution in the fall and a final nationwide refrigerated relay in November. Behind every turkey on a consumer’s table sits months of preparation, coordinated logistics and a team treating Thanksgiving as their championship event.