Black Friday without hiring more staff: which adjustments really work.
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Every year, as Black Friday approaches, many warehouses have the same conversation. Forecasts are reviewed, an order spike is anticipated, and someone eventually says the team will need reinforcing, shifts extended, or that for a few days the warehouse will simply run worse than usual.
When the spike is over, the conversation disappears. The warehouse returns to its normal pace and the problems that surfaced during those days are put aside until the next Black Friday.
The mistake is thinking that Black Friday is a one-off problem. In reality, it is a stress test that very clearly reveals which parts of the system are not ready to absorb pressure.
Black Friday doesn’t create problems, it makes them visible
In most warehouses, Black Friday does not introduce new failures. It amplifies unnecessary travel, unclear processes and improvised decisions that go unnoticed the rest of the year because volume allows it.
When orders multiply over a few days, all of that stops being invisible. The system does not suddenly break: it reaches its operational limit.
That is why the first lesson is not “we need more people”, but identifying where time is being lost when there is no margin left.
Adjustment 1: reduce travel before thinking about speed
One of the most common mistakes is trying to pick more orders by walking faster. During Black Friday, that only accelerates fatigue.
Warehouses that perform best do the opposite: they reduce travel.
In practice, this usually involves:
- Relocating high-rotation SKUs closer to the picking area.
- Avoiding having the same operator walk the same aisle multiple times in one shift.
- Grouping orders with shared SKUs into a single route.
This adjustment does not require advanced technology. It requires observing for a few days which aisles are constantly being walked and acting accordingly.
Adjustment 2: stop picking order by order when volume explodes
Order-by-order picking can work well for much of the year. During Black Friday, it is often one of the main bottlenecks.
When volume rises, picking orders one by one multiplies travel and unnecessary decisions. Warehouses that absorb the spike better usually temporarily change the way they pick:
- They group compatible orders.
- They prepare several orders in a single route.
- They clearly separate picking and closing.
It is not about changing the entire system, but about adapting the method during the spike to avoid the warehouse slipping into reactive mode.
Adjustment 3: limit operator decisions during peak pressure
During Black Friday, every extra decision is costly. Choosing routes, deciding where to place an order or improvising how to separate cartons consumes time and generates errors.
Warehouses that perform best are those that decide beforehand, not during the spike.
Some practical examples:
- Picking carts with clearly defined locations per order.
- Predefined picking routes.
- Consolidation areas with simple, visible rules.
The fewer decisions operators have to make under pressure, the more stable the system will be when volume tightens.
Adjustment 4: protect orderliness as if it were productive capacity
During Black Friday, disorder appears quickly. And once it appears, it is very difficult to reverse.
Half-picked orders, saturated areas or uncertainty about what is ready and what is not slow the warehouse down more than a lack of hands.
Warehouses that withstand the spike best usually have a clear obsession: do not mix phases.
- What is being picked is not mixed with what is pending closing.
- Returns do not invade picking areas.
- Every order has a clear status.
That order is not improvised during the spike. It is built beforehand and protected during critical days.
Adjustment 5: accept that Black Friday is not the time to experiment
Another common mistake is trying major changes just as volume explodes. New methods, new tools or new ways of working introduce uncertainty at the worst possible moment.
Adjustments that work during Black Friday are usually tested beforehand, on a small scale:
- New routes tested under normal volume.
- Changes in carts or order grouping already familiar to the team.
- Workflows that do not surprise anyone.
Black Friday is not for innovating, it is for confirming whether what already works can withstand pressure.
Looking at Black Friday 2026 with operational criteria
Thinking about Black Friday in advance is not a luxury. It is the only way to arrive with enough margin to observe, adjust and validate changes without pressure.
Warehouses that get through Black Friday without hiring more staff are not the ones that work faster during those days. They are the ones that eliminated friction beforehand, when there was still time to do things properly.
If every year the feeling is the same — stress, improvisation and survival — the problem is probably not a lack of staff, but the operational adjustments that have been postponed.
Black Friday is not just a sales spike. It is a very precise X-ray of how the warehouse really works when there is no longer any margin to hide inefficiencies.