Peak season doesn’t have to mean chaos for 3PLs. With the right systems in place, you can do more with the team you have while scaling quickly, protecting product integrity and keeping every line moving. Here’s how to make it happen.
Managing Peak Season Surge Without Slowing the Line
In the warehouse, you can hear peak season before you see it. The pace quickens, tape guns echo and the floor hums with urgency. As orders rise and hiring can’t quite keep up, 3PL teams rely on temporary workers to fill the gaps. That mix of new and seasoned staff can slow throughput and lead to costly mistakes.
Peak season doesn’t have to mean chaos. With the right systems in place, you can do more with the team you have while scaling quickly, protecting product integrity and keeping every line moving. Here’s how to make it happen.
Step 1: Streamline Training for Faster Ramp-Up
New hires shouldn’t need extensive training just to be productive. Complex or outdated systems slow everything down, requiring manual tweaks and insider know-how that most temporary workers don’t have.
To solve this, you need packaging systems that anyone can learn in minutes. Here are two Pregis solutions designed exactly for that:
You can create foam cushioning on demand with the Pregis IntelliPack® SmartBagger. Operators can follow visual instructions to dispense single bags of foam or scan a barcode to run programmed sequences to dispense the exact amount of protective material needed for each order, streamlining training and setup.
For paper packaging solutions, Pregis EasyPack® systems have consumable presets that automatically controls how much material is dispensed, eliminating guesswork and human error. The result is a system that’s easy to learn and hard to get wrong, so new team members can start contributing within hours, and experienced staff can focus on throughput instead of troubleshooting.
Action: Evaluate your current equipment and identify where manual adjustments or custom training eat up time. If it can’t be learned in a shift, it’s slowing you down.
Step 2: Scale Throughput Without Scaling Labor
When demand spikes, adding more people isn’t always an available solution. Labor is one of the most volatile and costly resources in any 3PL operation.
Automated and on-demand packaging systems expand capacity without expanding headcount. They allow your team to meet higher volumes with the same (or fewer) packers by keeping workstations organized and eliminating slowdowns caused by manual tasks.
A single operator using the Pregis Sharp™ MaxPro Series, an automated bagging machine that can produce the same output as four manual packers, allowing fulfillment teams to handle peak volumes even when labor is tight. These machines can run seamlessly with both paper and poly mailers, giving 3PLs flexibility to balance performance and sustainability goals.
Action: Audit peak season overtime and temporary labor costs. Where automation can take over repetitive packaging tasks, those hours and dollars can be reinvested in higher-value work.
Step 3: Measure the Total Cost Advantage
The true value of intuitive packaging systems shows up in your total cost of ownership (TCO)–the full picture of every cost tied to your packaging operation, from materials and labor to freight, storage and return. Faster training, fewer errors, less material waste and higher worker satisfaction all contribute to meaningful, measurable savings and happier customers.
Pregis solutions are engineered with that full equation in mind. Features like batch presets and automated adjustments reduce waste and rework, while on-demand systems save storage space and lower inventory costs. Over time, these efficiencies compound, giving operations leaders measurable improvements in both productivity and profitability.
Action: Evaluate your packaging costs holistically. Factor in labor, training, freight and returns to uncover where smarter systems could deliver measurable ROI.
Turning Pressure Into Performance
For 3PLs managing multiple clients and unpredictable volumes, peak season pressure is constant, but the right packaging strategy turns that pressure into performance. Pregis solutions are built for adaptability—from intuitive UX that shortens the learning curve to automated systems that can scale up or down as volume changes.
As fulfillment models evolve and client expectations rise, operations that embed intelligence and simplicity into every packaging decision will stay ahead. Peak season isn’t just a test of speed; it’s a test of design. With Pregis, you’re ready for both.
Explore how Pregis can help your 3PL scale smarter by boosting productivity, protecting profits and turning peak performance into your new normal.
