Guide

Warehouse peak season planning: an 8-week checklist

A week-by-week plan for independent 3PLs and brands running their own warehouse.

Updated November 2026 · 6 min read

Peak is where small warehouses make or lose their year. The sites that come through it well don't have more people or better kit. They start planning earlier and run a simple routine every day. This is the eight-week plan we use, written for independent 3PLs and brands running their own warehouse.

8 weeks out: get the forecast

• Ask each client, or your own sales team, for a week-by-week order forecast, including promotions and launches.
• Compare it with last year's actuals. Forecasts are usually optimistic early and late in peak.
• Turn orders into hours: orders × lines per order ÷ your real pick rate, plus packing and goods in.

7 weeks out: build the labour plan

• Work out the heads you need for each day and shift, against the carrier cut-offs.
• Decide what comes from overtime, extra shifts and agency. Agree overtime with your team early.
• Book agency numbers now, and agree an induction standard with the agency.

6 weeks out: re-slot for peak

• Identify the products that will move fastest in peak and bring them closest to packing.
• Free up space: clear dead stock, consolidate part-pallets, and plan overflow locations.
• Check location labels and keep look-alike products apart.

5 weeks out: consumables, carriers and kit

• Order packaging, labels and tape for peak volumes plus a buffer.
• Confirm collection times, extra collections and any volume caps with each carrier.
• Service equipment: MHE, printers, scanners and conveyors. Have spares for the things that stop the line.

4 weeks out: induction and standard work

• Prepare a one-page standard work sheet for each role, with photos.
• Plan inductions and buddies for every new starter, and a sign-off before they pick alone.
• Run a refresher on safety, especially traffic routes, MHE and manual handling.

3 weeks out: rehearse

• Run a busy day at peak-level staffing to test the plan, the layout and the handovers.
• Fix the bottlenecks you find: usually packing, printing or replenishment.
• Agree your contingency plan: who covers absence, what you do if a carrier fails, and which orders take priority.

2 weeks out: set up the daily routine

• Put a simple board on the floor for each shift: orders due, heads, units per hour, errors and backlog.
• Hold a 10-minute stand-up at the start of each shift, and a short check two hours before each cut-off.

During peak and after

• Review errors every morning, by cause, and fix them that day.
• Watch your people: rotate tasks, protect breaks, and thank them.
• Within two weeks of peak ending, write down what worked and what didn't. Next year's plan starts there.

For more on running labour efficiently all year, read how to cut warehouse labour costs without automation.