The summer period brings its fair share of challenges for businesses: reduced staff, fluctuating demand, longer supplier lead times… all factors that can easily disrupt your logistics operations. But what if, instead, summer became the perfect opportunity to pinpoint areas for improvement and optimise your processes? Let’s explore how summer logistics truly reveals your weaknesses.
Why is summer a test for your logistics?
Unpredictable volumes to manage
Summer often means significant fluctuations in activity. Depending on your sector, you may see a slowdown (typical for industrial B2B), or conversely, a surge (as in food, tourism, or seasonal retail).
These sudden shifts can put serious pressure on your storage capacity, workforce and transport resources.
The impact of holidays and smaller teams
July and August are synonymous with holidays. Fewer employees to prepare orders, fewer drivers to make deliveries.
👉 The result? Longer lead times and a higher risk of errors.
What does the summer period really say about your supply chain?
An agile or rigid organisation?
Summer logistics highlights your ability to handle the unexpected.
- Do you have flexible processes that let you adjust delivery rounds or reconfigure your warehouse layout?
- Can your WMS (warehouse management system) recalculate priorities in real time?
Telling KPIs
During this time, keep a close eye on your key indicators:
- Stockout rates
- Average shipping times
- Return rates due to picking errors
These KPIs often worsen over summer and clearly reveal your strengths – or weaknesses.
How can you strengthen your logistics for summer?
Banking on anticipation
A strong logistics plan is all about preparation. In summer, this means:
- anticipating peaks and troughs using historical data and forecasts,
- boosting stock levels of critical SKUs.
Digitising for better control
A WMS like Satelix WMS helps you to:
- prioritise orders based on deadlines,
- optimise picking routes in the warehouse,
- minimise errors even with leaner teams.
In conclusion
Summer is an excellent stress-test for your logistics. Rather than simply enduring it, seize the chance to audit your processes, stock levels and organisation. You’ll be far better equipped for the busy end-of-year season.
Discover how to optimise your logistics
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Sources: INSEE, Logistics Management, Supply Chain Dive.
