Preparing for the Three Peak Seasons: DIY, Mother’s Day, and Black Friday
Experienced warehouse managers know that there’s no such thing as starting preparations “too early” for peak season. Achieving and maintaining a state of readiness is a year-round pursuit, and your logistics partner should be providing the proactive guidance and assistance you need to continue meeting and exceeding your goals—even as they fluctuate. Comprehensive maintenance services are vital to the health of any automated warehouse, not only addressing any potential issues before they wreak havoc but also guaranteeing that your facility and material flow are in peak shape to service your customers during periods of high demand.
Anticipating seasonal spikes driven by well-known consumer patterns prevents warehouses from being overloaded and experiencing easily predicted bottlenecks as demand swings upward. All it takes is some future-proofing and strategic planning to make sure that equipment is in working order, processes are ready to be ramped up, and resources are allocated effectively for each peak. The bottom line is that proactive logistics, not reactive repair and maintenance, drives peak performance.
As the year progresses, facilities in the DIY, grocery, and consumer goods industries are (or should be!) bracing for seasonal surges. Read on to learn how logistics planning equips warehouses to weather and even embrace these busy periods, avoiding stressful slowdowns, costly mistakes, and unsatisfied customers.
Tailoring Logistics Planning for April DIY Surges
In many parts of the country, as winter begins to thaw and days start to get a little longer, homeowners and even renters start to think about those big and small improvement projects that they put off during the cold weather. Facilities that supply do-it-yourselfers with tools, materials, and furniture will experience an increase in demand as hobbyists and professionals return to their to-do lists. If these are your customers, don’t let DIY season catch you unprepared.
Implementing goods-to-person systems has helped countless facilities achieve supply chain optimization. The automation of the goods retrieval and re-storage process is especially useful in the DIY sector, where picking is complicated by a wide range of SKUs, a broad variety of similar (but different) parts, and products varying in size from screws and nails to bulky tools and furniture pieces. TGW Logistics’ GTP systems utilize automated load carriers to retrieve cartons or totes from storage shelves and transport them directly to stationary picker workstations, where employees leverage integrated picking screens and warning lights to select the correct goods for each order. The receptacles are then returned to their origin point, all without workers having to expend walking time, risk injury, or potentially damage breakable product.
With automation like GTP systems, thorough industrial logistics planning makes all the difference in maintaining a constant state of preparedness, rather than necessitating a chaotic scramble to facilitate a ramp-up. A good logistics partner will help you perform equipment readiness checks to audit technology and make certain that your load carriers can accommodate higher volumes without creating gridlock.
Part of the preparation process may also involve workforce adjustments. Many facilities hire temporary staff or shift workers to fill various positions during peak periods. To maintain suitable service levels, maintenance services include staff training and reskilling, as well as real-time virtual testing, guaranteeing that workers are comfortable in their roles and with the systems they’re using before demand spikes and the need for speed increases.
Meeting Mother’s Day Food Logistics Demands Through Precision Planning
According to the National Restaurant Association, Mother’s Day is one of the busiest days of the year for eateries. Many families choose to dine out to celebrate their matriarchs, while others may have a party catered or opt for a homemade brunch. However, families decide to mark the occasion, food is almost always involved, making the period around Mother’s Day a major challenge for cold storage facilities.
When freshness is of the utmost concern, proper storage and handling techniques are essential. The risk of costly spoilage may increase as facilities ship in extra product to have on hand for holiday planners and bustling restaurants. Therefore, your cold storage facility must be optimized to store and move perishable goods safely, no matter what volume you’re expecting to process or the temperature zone in which they need to be kept.
Cold storage advancements in warehouse automation have revolutionized the field of food logistics, increasing food safety, and decreasing the risk of product damage. Manually operated forklifts can lead to crushed goods and unsafe temperatures. TGW Logistics’ fully automated robotics solutions move goods in and out of storage without direct human intervention. This equipment can operate in cold storage with temperatures as low as -25°C, eliminating the need for workers to don heavy protective gear and risk injury by laboring in these storage areas themselves.
As your facility prepares for this peak season, TGW Logistics can help you explore effective perishable inventory strategies, such as just-in-time delivery, to maintain product freshness and avoid waste. Just-in-time delivery is just what it sounds like: goods are timed to arrive at warehouses exactly when needed, triggered by demand. This streamlining provides facilities with the inventory they need—and only the inventory they need—precisely when they need it. It’s the most efficient, cost-effective way to process perishable items.
Scaling Retail Logistics Capacity to Meet Black Friday Order Spikes
Black Friday remains the biggest shopping day of the year, and has been extended by many retailers into an entire long weekend of unprecedented deals. The National Retail Federation reports that 197 million shoppers purchased products between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday in 2024.
Black Friday and the surrounding days are reliably a major peak for most retailers. However, that doesn’t mean every facility hit hard during that period is always prepared. Exploring potential problems and areas of improvement through retail logistics planning fortifies retail and consumer goods warehouses for the end-of-year surge in demand.
Not sure where to start? TGW Logistics experts can recommend smart adjustments to your existing automation solutions to speed up throughput during short-term surges. We can also help you onboard and train temporary staff to maximize picking and packing lines, meet consumer expectations, and outperform the competition.
Cross-Industry Lessons for Building Flexible, Peak-Ready Logistics Plans
TGW Logistics clients are experiencing the positive impact of logistics planning, thorough maintenance services, and easily scalable automation systems. In the realm of cold storage, German poultry processing company Wiesenhof partnered with TGW Logistics to implement automated material handling in two separate temperature zones: one for refrigerated goods and one for frozen goods. Upgrading their processes led to greater efficiency and the ability to handle a higher volume of products while still meeting safety standards.
Meanwhile, TGW Logistics assisted the world’s largest specialty intimates retailer, Victoria’s Secret & Co., in implementing a fully automated fulfillment center in Columbus, Ohio. By including a high-performance pick-to-light area, the iconic brand is able to dominate the ecommerce space in intimates, loungewear, body care, and more, processing 1 million picks per day during peak periods.
Partner With TGW for Logistics Planning That Outperforms Peaks
Are you ready to optimize your warehouse for the next spike in demand? Contact TGW Logistics today to discover how logistics planning and support services can empower your facility to navigate peak periods without experiencing growing pains.
TGW Logistics is a foundation-owned company headquartered in Austria and a global leader in warehouse automation and warehouse logistics. As a trusted systems integrator with more than 50 years of experience, we deliver end-to-end services: designing, implementing, and maintaining fulfillment centers powered by mechatronics, robotics, and advanced software solutions. With over 4,500 employees spanning Europe, Asia, and North America, we combine expertise, innovation, and a customer-centric dedication to help keep your business growing. With TGW Logistics, it's possible to transform your warehouse logistics into a competitive advantage.
