The holiday season is here, and with it comes soaring e-commerce demand. Warehouses and logistics operations across the globe are under immense pressure to meet customer expectations while avoiding disruptions. With only weeks to go until Christmas, logistics leaders must focus on short-term, actionable strategies to ensure their operations perform at scale and their teams are set up for success.
Peak Season Pressures Demand Leadership and Precision
Global e-commerce growth is driving record order volumes, and warehouses are operating at maximum capacity. For senior logistics leaders, the focus must shift to short-term priorities that safeguard performance and align teams toward operational resilience.
Start with a readiness assessment of your global network. Have your regional warehouse managers evaluated the state of their critical equipment, such as automated systems, material handling tools, and safety measures? Delays caused by equipment failures during this peak period could cascade across supply chains, leading to missed SLAs (Service Level Agreements) and reputational risks.
Staffing agility is also crucial. Confirm that workforce plans across regions can accommodate both demand surges and the unique challenges of post-holiday returns. Encourage regional managers to identify staffing pinch points and cross-train employees where feasible. At this scale, collaboration between sites can help allocate resources more effectively and balance workloads across the network.
Strategic questions for your team:
Have we modeled worst-case demand scenarios for each region, and are backup plans in place to mitigate risks?
Are our top-tier customers protected through prioritization and seamless order handling across all nodes in our network?
What real-time insights do we have into inventory movement, and how are we using this data to preempt disruptions?
Turning Returns Into a Competitive Advantage
Post-holiday returns are a significant challenge, but they also offer an opportunity to enhance customer experience and protect profitability. Warehouses need streamlined systems and proactive workflows to handle this influx efficiently.
Establish clear workflows for reverse logistics that prioritize speed and cost management without compromising quality. Pre-allocating space and resources for returns in high-volume regions is critical. Leaders should also explore strategies like centralized returns processing hubs or regional redistribution to optimize efficiency.
To minimize the operational burden, senior leaders should ask:
What percentage of returns are expected to be high-value, and do we have workflows to manage them with urgency
Are there opportunities to monetize returns through repurposing, resale, or partnerships?
How are we balancing cost-efficiency with customer satisfaction to ensure returns don’t erode loyalty?
Agility Wins the Season
The complexity of global supply chains demands agility over perfection. As demand fluctuates and customer expectations soar, leaders must empower their teams to act swiftly. Ensure that regional teams have clear escalation protocols, robust cross-functional communication, and tools to adapt dynamically to changing conditions.
Regular reporting cycles with key performance metrics—such as order throughput, average delivery times, and bottleneck resolution—should be maintained across regions. These insights will enable informed decision-making at the leadership level, allowing quick pivots when necessary.
Leadership questions to consider:
Are our escalation protocols clear, and how quickly can we respond to unexpected issues
What are the biggest risks facing our regional hubs, and what additional support do they need?
How are we using data and reporting to anticipate and resolve bottlenecks in real time?
Leadership in Action
The holiday season isn’t about overhauls—it’s about fine-tuning what works and proactively addressing risks. Logistics leaders who focus on readiness, empower their teams, and prioritize visibility across their networks will not only meet the demands of the season but position their organizations for long-term operational excellence. With clear communication, actionable insights, and a commitment to agility, this peak season can be an opportunity to showcase the resilience of your supply chain on the global stage.
