The Holiday Shipping Survival Guide for Businesses
The holidays are coming. And for businesses that ship products, that means one thing—it’s about to get busy. Really busy.
It also means more orders. More boxes. More labels. More tape. More everything because it always moves through the warehouse at a much faster pace than it does the rest of the year.
The good news? A little preparation now can prevent a lot of holiday shipping headaches later.
Before peak season hits full speed, use this holiday shipping checklist to make sure your warehouse, packing stations, and shipping supplies are ready for what’s coming.
- Take Inventory of the Supplies You Actually Use
This sounds obvious, but don’t just glance at a shelf and think, “We have plenty of tape.” Count it.
Review your current inventory of boxes, poly mailers, tape, labels, stretch wrap, packing list envelopes, and other frequently used supplies. Then compare those numbers with what you typically use during a normal week, and what you expect to use when holiday volume increases.
Pay particular attention to the items you go through fastest. Running out of an odd-size box is inconvenient. Running out of shipping labels on the busiest day of December can bring your entire operation to a screeching halt.
- Check Your Box and Mailer Mix
Holiday orders don’t always look like your everyday orders.
Customers may purchase multiple products at once, businesses may ship gift bundles, and promotional offers can change the size and shape of outgoing packages.
Take a look at your box inventory and make sure you have the right range of sizes for the orders you expect. The same goes for poly mailers. Using packaging that fits the product also helps reduce wasted material, keeps packing efficient, and can help control shipping costs.
And remember, the “close enough” box is rarely the most efficient box.
- Stock the Small Stuff
Boxes get most of the attention, but the smaller supplies are often the things that cause the biggest headaches when they run out.
Add tape, shipping labels, and packing list envelopes to your shipping supplies list and make sure each packing station is well stocked. If your team has to stop packing to hunt down another roll of tape or walk across the warehouse for labels, those minutes add up quickly when you’re processing hundreds of orders.
During peak season, convenience matters.
- Make Sure Palletized Shipments Are Ready to Roll
If your holiday rush includes palletized shipments, don’t forget about stretch wrap.
You’ll need enough on hand to secure increased outgoing volume, and now is a good time to check dispensers and other equipment your team uses with it.
Nobody wants to discover a broken dispenser when there are 14 pallets waiting to be wrapped.
Holiday warehouse prep isn’t only about having supplies. It’s about making sure your team can use them efficiently.
- Set Up Packing Stations for Speed
Take a walk through your packing area as if you were filling an order yourself.
Are the most-used supplies within easy reach? Are box sizes clearly organized? Can employees quickly find labels, tape and packing list envelopes? Are there unnecessary steps slowing down the process?
Think of each packing station like a kitchen during the dinner rush. If everything you need is within reach, things move. If somebody has to go searching for the tape every five minutes, you’ve got a problem.
A few small changes to your packaging workflow can make a noticeable difference when order volume climbs.
- Create a Reorder Plan Before You Need It
Don’t wait until someone opens the last case of tape to decide it’s time to order more.
Determine which supplies are critical to your operation and establish reorder points for peak season. Check inventory regularly and replenish before stock gets uncomfortably low.
Your packaging supplier can also help you anticipate needs, identify alternatives, and plan orders based on expected volume.
That’s where working with an experienced packaging partner really pays off. At Pinnacle Packaging, we don’t just sell boxes and tape. We help businesses figure out what they need, how much they need, and how to keep their shipping operations moving.
Don’t Let a Roll of Tape Ruin Your Holiday Spirit
The holiday rush is stressful enough without discovering you’re down to your last box, label or roll of tape when orders are piling up.
Pinnacle Packaging can help you stock up on the shipping supplies you need before “we’re almost out” becomes a crisis.
Check your list twice, then give us a call. Pinnacle Packaging is ready to help make sure your warehouse is ready for the holiday rush—no reindeer, elves, or emergency supply runs required.