It’s the second week of December. Your Black Friday inventory just cleared out, your team is scrambling to prep the Sinterklaas deliveries, and the Christmas rush is already stacking up behind it.
Meanwhile, your transport partner just flagged limited capacity due to holiday schedules and skyrocketing demand.
Sound familiar? This is the seasonal chaos B2B supply chain teams face every Q4. The brands who thrive are the ones who planned their supply chain strategy early on. They come prepared with data, timing, and execution aligned
At Weerts Supply Chain, we help companies in Food & FMCG, electronics and beyond, manage peak season pressure with confidence. Here’s what we’ve learned after supporting hundreds of clients through Q4 madness.
1. When do you start preparing for the holiday season?
Smart supply chain teams start preparing for the holiday season around the end of September, or some even in August when dealing with long lead times. If you’re reading this in October? Well, you’re just in time to prevent disaster!
What should your holiday season planning include?
- Confirming promotional calendars with marketing & sales
- Sharing expected order volumes with your logistics partner
- Forecasting per SKU based on last year’s sales and expected uplift
- Blocking warehouse and transport capacity before the market tightens
Even if you’ve done this before, early alignment helps prevent assumptions and avoids last-minute operational surprises.
2. Translate your campaign needs into warehouse execution
You can’t always control how busy the holiday season gets or how much capacity your logistics partner will have. But you can help them prepare by clearly communicating your campaign needs ahead of time.
Will your holiday campaign require value-added logistics services, such as co-packing, repackaging, bundling, or special display preparation? These tasks affect warehouse planning and should be shared early in the process.
Ask yourself:
- Do any SKUs need bundling, shrink-wrapping, or kitting?
- Are you using special packaging for Christmas or in-store displays?
- Will products ship in bulk or be broken down into mixed orders?
The more details you provide early on, the better your logistics partner can plan for inbound scheduling, storage allocation, and labour availability. Modern warehouse technology, like the Warehouse Management System we developed at WSC, helps translate your campaign complexity into executable workflows, even when volumes spike unexpectedly.
Pro tip: Share mock-ups or display instructions at least 4 weeks before fulfilment begins.
3. Plan your transportation accordingly
Transport planning isn’t just about having trucks available. It’s about ensuring timing, reliability, and backup options are in place when things get busy.
So how can you lock in your delivery options?
- Identify alternative modes early on, such as night deliveries, additional carriers, or backup routes
- Confirm retailer delivery windows and understand penalties for missed or late deliveries
- Distribute shipments more evenly across the week to avoid Friday backlogs and delays
Pro tip: Factor in holiday calendars, shorter delivery windows, and higher market demand. Transport capacity fills up faster than you’d think.
4. Make sure you prioritise your inventory
Not all products are equal, and your inventory strategy should reflect that.
What to focus on?
- ABC analysis: Classify SKUs into A (top sellers), B (steady movers), and C (low-volume or niche)
- Store A-items closer to dispatch zones to speed up fulfilment
- Use sales forecasts to fine-tune stock levels per location and per week
- Provide your logistic partner with sales-based insights (not just order history) to optimize storage and prep
Pro tip: Prioritise operational flow over filling every pallet position. A warehouse that’s too full slows down order picking and increases the risk of errors, including safety incidents.
During peak season, speed matters, but never at the cost of safety. At WSC, we maintain our safety-first approach even during the busiest weeks.
5. Make your logistics partner part of your core team
Your logistics partner is only as good as the information you provide. By involving them early and sharing the right data, they can:
- Schedule labour flexibly for expected peaks
- Reserve capacity for POS handling or kitting
- Adjust warehouse flow and transport timing based on campaign intensity
What does your logistics partner need from you?
- Campaign timelines
- Promo SKUs
- Inbound arrival planning
- Required lead times for co-packing or rework
Our Operations Support team works alongside clients during peak season prep. They help identify bottlenecks before they happen, optimize warehouse flows and ensure Q4 runs as lean as possible.
But here’s the key: The sooner they are involved, and the more information they have the better they can start planning your supply chain needs and avoid unnecessary delays.
Wrapping it up: Holiday logistics take more than good intentions
Preparing for the holiday peak isn’t about guessing demand or reacting faster than your competitors. It’s about giving your logistics partner the information, time, and tools they need to execute at scale.
From warehouse execution and transport planning to POS handling and inventory prioritisation: The more aligned you are, the smoother Q4 becomes.
At Weerts Supply Chain, we’ve been through this before. Let’s make sure your supply chain is ready, too.
Want to make sure you are ready for Q4 madness?
Looking for a smart and well-prepared logistics team to help you survive the end of year madness?
Get in touch and discover how Weerts Supply Chain can strengthen your team during the holidays and beyond.
