Every year, it happens the same way. Business picks up faster than expected in spring, and unprepared operations spend the first two weeks of the busy season scrambling for supplies, improvising with the wrong materials, and watching orders go out later than they should.
Spring is one of the most consistently active shipping periods across industries. Retail restocking accelerates ahead of summer, e-commerce order volumes climb, construction and facility work kick back into gear, and businesses that spent the winter slowing down start pushing volume again. If your warehouse is not ready when that shift happens, you are already behind.
The good news is that preparation does not require a major overhaul. It requires a clear-eyed look at what your operation needs, what you have, and what gaps need to be filled before things get busy. This walkthrough covers the key areas to audit and address before spring volume picks up.
Start With a Supply Inventory Audit
The first step is simple: know what you have. Many operations run low on core packaging supplies at the end of slow seasons because consumption is gradual and nobody flags the decline until a critical item runs out mid-shift.
Walk your supply area and note current quantities of every consumable your team uses. The categories that most commonly run short in high-volume periods include:
- Corrugated boxes across the sizes your team packs most frequently
- Carton sealing tape and backup rolls at every packing station
- Stretch film for pallet wrapping
- Void fill and cushioning materials
- Strapping for heavier loads
- Labels and packing list envelopes
The goal is not just to confirm you have stock on hand. This is to confirm that you have enough stock to cover an uptick in volume without a reorder gap creating a midweek shortage.
Evaluate Whether Your Current Materials Are Still the Right Fit
Busy season is not the time to discover that the box size you have been using is wrong for the products you are currently shipping, or that your tape is not holding up on the corrugated you switched to three months ago.
Take a few minutes to review whether your current packaging materials are actually doing the job. Common issues that surface at higher volumes include:
Boxes that are too large for the products being shipped. Oversized boxes use more void fill, cost more to ship, and are more prone to collapse under stack weight. If your team has been stuffing boxes with excess dunnage to fill space, it is worth revisiting your box assortment.
The tape is not holding on to the recycled corrugated. As more corrugated material is made from recycled content, standard acrylic tape sometimes struggles to bond properly. If you are seeing tape failures on sealed boxes, your tape specification may need an upgrade before volume increases.
Stretch film that requires too many passes to secure a load. If workers are making four or five passes with thin film to get a stable pallet, you are using more film per pallet than necessary and slowing down the wrap station. A heavier gauge film that holds in fewer passes can be more economical at higher volumes.
Set Up Your Packing Stations for Speed and Consistency
Disorganized packing stations slow everything down. When workers have to search for tape, dig for the right box size, or leave the station to restock supplies mid-task, you lose time on every single order.
Before the season picks up, walk each packing station and make sure:
- The most commonly used box sizes are within arm’s reach
- Tape dispensers are loaded, and backup rolls are accessible without leaving the station
- Void fill dispensers or materials are positioned for one-handed access
- Labels and packing slips are stocked and within reach
- Trash bins or corrugated recycling are positioned close enough that workers do not accumulate waste at the station itself
Small adjustments to station layout can meaningfully reduce per-order handling time, and those seconds add up across hundreds or thousands of orders during a busy period.
Review Your Receiving and Inbound Process
Spring volume increases inbound as well as outbound. More products arriving means more time spent receiving, inspecting, and putting away inventory. If your receiving dock is not set up to handle an increase in inbound freight efficiently, a backup on the receiving end can cascade into delays on the outbound side.
A few things to check before the season starts:
Pallet jack and cart availability. Are there enough carts and jacks to move inbound freight without crews waiting on equipment?
Staging space for incoming product. If receiving and putaway cannot keep pace, inbound freight backs up on the dock and eventually starts blocking outbound operations.
Shrink and stretch film for received pallets. If your team re-wraps or re-secures pallets during receiving, confirm that film is stocked and accessible at the receiving dock, not just at the outbound wrap station.
Train New Seasonal Staff Before Volume Peaks
Many operations bring on additional warehouse staff for the busy season. Staff who are trained before volume hits are significantly more productive than those trained while orders are piling up.
Priority training areas for seasonal staff include:
- Packing station procedures and quality standards
- Box selection and sizing guidelines
- Sealing and labeling requirements
- Pallet wrap procedures and load stability expectations
A few hours of structured onboarding before the rush pays off substantially over the course of a busy quarter.
Common Mistakes Operations Make Heading Into Busy Season
Waiting until supplies run low to reorder. Lead times that work fine in slow periods can create gaps when order volumes are higher. Add buffer stock to your reorder quantities during busy months.
Not communicating increased volume expectations to supply vendors. If you anticipate a significant increase in shipping volume, let your key suppliers know. It gives them the chance to ensure availability and can sometimes unlock better pricing on higher quantity orders.
Optimizing for cost per unit without accounting for labor time. The cheapest tape roll is not always the best value if it requires more passes per box, tears more frequently, or slows down packing station throughput. The total cost of packaging includes the labor time required to use it.
Frequently Asked Questions
When should I start preparing my warehouse for the spring shipping season?
Ideally, four to six weeks before you expect volume to increase. This gives time to receive reorders, address any supply gaps, and make station adjustments before things get busy.
How do I know how much extra stock to order for a busy season?
Review your shipment data for the same period in prior years and calculate the increase relative to your current baseline. Add a 15 to 20 percent buffer on your highest-consumption items to account for unexpected volume spikes.
What packaging supplies run out most often during busy seasons?
Carton sealing tape, void fill materials, and commonly used box sizes are the most frequent culprits. These are often ordered reactively rather than proactively and tend to run short first when volume increases.
Should I change my packaging materials before a busy season?
If your current materials have known issues, address them before volume increases rather than during. Changes made mid-season require retraining and can introduce inconsistency into the packing process at exactly the wrong time.
Where can I stock up on packaging supplies for spring?
National Everything Wholesale carries a full range of warehouse and packaging supplies at wholesale pricing, with bulk availability on high-consumption items that matter most during busy periods.
Get Ready Before the Season Gets Busy
The warehouses that handle spring volume increases smoothly are not the ones that react the fastest when things get busy. They are the ones who did the preparation work before it started. An audit of your current supplies, a review of your packing stations, and a few targeted restocks can be the difference between a smooth Q2 and a stressful one.
Explore the full range of warehouse and packaging supplies at nationalew.com and get your operation ready before the rush.