How Do You Choose the Best Warehouse Location? (2026)

Peak season has a way of arriving slowly, and then all at once. One minute, teams are finalizing promotions and reviewing forecasts; the next, order volumes are climbing, inventory is moving faster, and customers are expecting their purchases to arrive without a hitch.  For brands, September is an important point in that transition. There is still time to prepare, but the decisions being made now can influence how smoothly the busiest months of the year unfold. Peak season tends to magnify what is already happening within a supply chain. Processes that work comfortably during an average week may feel very different under holiday volume, while small gaps in communication, capacity, or planning can quickly become much harder to manage. Being ready, then, isn't simply about having enough inventory in the warehouse. It's about understanding how your entire fulfillment operation will respond when there's more pressure on it—and having the right conversations before that pressure arrives. Here are five questions worth asking while there's still time to act on the answers. 1. How Well Do You Really Understand the Demand Ahead? No forecast can predict exactly what customers will do, especially during a season shaped by promotions, changing buying habits, and unexpected spikes in demand. But there's an enormous difference between entering peak season without certainty and entering it without a plan. Historical order patterns are a good place to begin, but they shouldn't be the only consideration. Upcoming promotions, new product launches, retail commitments, marketing campaigns, inventory arrivals, and anticipated changes in order profiles can all influence what your fulfillment operation will need to handle. More importantly, that information needs to make its way beyond your internal planning meetings. Your 3PL can't prepare for a promotion it doesn't know about, just as it can't anticipate a sudden change in order volume without visibility into what's ahead. The earlier those conversations happen, the more opportunity there is to think through labor, space, inventory positioning, and potential contingencies together. Barrett's Vice President of Customer Solutions, Scott Wilkins, spoke about the value of understanding the bigger picture during a recent Inside Barrett conversation: “The more you are able to uncover from what their pain points are, what direction they want to go, what their business plan looks like, not only leads to a better solution, but it leads to more cost certainty.” Peak planning is really an extension of that philosophy. The more both sides understand about what's coming, the better prepared they can be for it. 2. Can Your Operation Absorb More Volume Without Losing What Customers Value? Handling more orders is only one measure of peak-season readiness. The more meaningful question is whether your operation can absorb that additional volume while maintaining the experience your customers have come to expect. A fulfillment process may run beautifully under normal conditions, but peak season puts every part of it under greater strain. More inventory is moving through the building, more orders are entering the system, labor requirements shift, carrier schedules tighten, and there is less room for small inefficiencies to hide. That's why capacity conversations should go beyond, “How many orders can we ship?” Can you maintain accuracy at that volume? Can orders still meet expected service levels? Is there enough flexibility if demand exceeds the forecast? What happens if a promotion performs significantly better than anticipated? Those questions aren't meant to create anxiety around peak season. They're meant to uncover vulnerabilities while there's still time to strengthen them. 3. Are You Talking to Your 3PL Enough? Some of the most productive peak-season planning doesn't happen in a spreadsheet. It happens in conversations. Your logistics partner should know what's changing within your business, just as you should understand what's happening within your fulfillment operation. Forecasts will change. Promotions will evolve. Inventory may arrive earlier or later than anticipated. None of that is unusual—the challenge comes when those changes aren't communicated until they become urgent. Mark Healy spoke about this during his appearance on The New Warehouse Podcast, emphasizing that peak planning shouldn't suddenly begin when the holiday rush is already approaching: “If we're doing a good job, we should be doing this year-round. Peak is peak, but we shouldn't just be popping our heads up.” That perspective takes some of the drama out of peak season. When customers and their 3PL are already accustomed to sharing forecasts, discussing changes, reviewing performance, and planning ahead together, the busiest months don't require an entirely new relationship. They're simply a more demanding period within an established one. And when something unexpected inevitably happens, both teams already know how to communicate and solve it together. 4. Have You Thought About What Happens After the Order Leaves the Shelf? Peak season conversations naturally revolve around volume, labor, and shipping deadlines, but customers experience something much more personal. They experience their order. For someone purchasing a holiday gift, the package arriving at their door may be the only physical interaction they ever have with your brand. How it arrives, how it's packaged, whether the right item is inside, and how easy it is to return all contribute to the impression that customer carries forward. For brands that incorporate personalization, gift messaging, branded inserts, special packaging, or kitting into the experience, those details can become even more meaningful during the holidays. They also introduce additional operational considerations that need to be planned for before volumes accelerate. Peak season success shouldn't be defined solely by how many packages leave the warehouse. It should also be measured by whether the experience inside those packages still feels like your brand. 5. Is Your 3PL Preparing With You—or Simply Waiting for the Volume? Perhaps the most revealing peak-season question isn't about inventory, labor, or forecasts. It's about the relationship you have with the people responsible for helping you manage all three. A strong logistics partner shouldn't disappear between operational reviews and reappear when something goes wrong. They should be paying attention to where your business is headed, asking questions about what's changing, and helping identify challenges before they reach your customers. Mark described that responsibility particularly well when he said: “We should be in a position as the professionals to look around corners for our customers.” That's an important distinction during peak season. There will always be circumstances no one can predict, but proactive planning creates more room to respond when they happen. A 3PL that understands your business can help you think through those possibilities before they become emergencies, rather than simply reacting once the pressure is already there. The best partnerships make peak season feel less like your problem and their problem and more like a challenge everyone is prepared to navigate together. Peak Season Readiness Starts Before Peak Season There will always be an element of unpredictability in logistics, and perhaps nowhere is that more apparent than during the busiest months of the year. A promotion may outperform expectations, consumer demand may shift, or an unforeseen disruption may require everyone to adjust quickly. Being prepared doesn't mean eliminating every surprise. It means creating an operation—and a partnership—that can respond when surprises happen. That's why the conversations taking place in September matter. This is the opportunity to look closely at forecasts, question assumptions, address potential constraints, and make sure everyone understands what's ahead. It may not be the most visible part of peak season, but it's often the work that determines how everything else unfolds. At Barrett, we believe the strongest peak seasons are built through preparation long before the busiest orders begin arriving. When customers and their logistics teams communicate openly, plan thoughtfully, and trust one another enough to have difficult conversations early, there's less time spent reacting when the pressure rises—and more time focused on what matters most: delivering an experience customers can count on.

It's often the smallest moments that leave the biggest impression. Not the major milestones or company-wide announcements, but the everyday acts of teamwork that happen without expectation of recognition. A teammate stepping in to help. Someone taking ownership of a challenge before it affects anyone else. An employee going out of their way to support a coworker simply because they know it's needed. These moments rarely come with applause, yet they shape the culture of a workplace in ways that are impossible to measure. They create trust, strengthen relationships, and remind us that behind every successful operation are people who care about the work they do—and about each other. The Moments That Matter Most Are Often the Ones No One Sees Recognition has a way of changing how people feel about the work they do—not because they're looking for praise, but because everyone wants to know their efforts make a difference. In fast-paced environments like logistics, it's easy to move from one task to the next without pausing to acknowledge the people making those tasks possible. The work doesn't stop, deadlines don't wait, and there's always another order to fulfill. Yet it's often in the middle of that fast pace that the strongest examples of teamwork emerge. A coworker notices a potential issue before it reaches a customer. Someone steps in to help a teammate who's fallen behind. An employee takes ownership of a challenge without being asked because they know the success of the team depends on everyone pulling together. None of those moments may seem extraordinary on their own, but together they create something much bigger. They build trust between teammates, reinforce a culture of collaboration, and remind people that their contributions—no matter how big or small—have an impact. Those are the moments that shape an organization long after the workday is over, and they're exactly the kind of moments that deserve to be recognized. A Strong Culture Is Built One Moment at a Time Culture is often described as something organizations create, but in reality, it's something people build together every day. It's reflected in the way teammates support one another, the pride they take in their work, and the willingness to step in when someone needs help. Those interactions may seem ordinary in the moment, but over time they become the foundation of a workplace where people feel respected, valued, and connected to a shared purpose. Creating that kind of environment doesn't always require sweeping initiatives or formal recognition ceremonies. More often, it's the simple gestures that leave the greatest impression—a genuine thank you after a challenging day, a manager taking the time to recognize someone's effort, or a coworker acknowledging a job well done. Those moments remind people that their work is seen, their contributions matter, and the effort they put in each day has an impact beyond the task in front of them. Recognition has a way of creating momentum. When appreciation becomes part of the culture, people are more likely to encourage one another, celebrate each other's successes, and look for opportunities to lift those around them. Over time, that spirit of collaboration becomes contagious, strengthening not only individual teams but the organization as a whole. Creating a Culture Where Appreciation Is Part of the Everyday Earlier this year, Barrett introduced BRAVO, an employee recognition program built around a simple idea: appreciation shouldn't be reserved for annual reviews or major milestones. The program encourages teammates to recognize one another in real time for demonstrating Barrett's core values, stepping up to help others, solving problems, or simply making a positive impact on the people around them. While BRAVO is represented by a recognition card, it's really about something much bigger. It's about creating an environment where people notice the good happening around them and take the time to acknowledge it. Because when appreciation becomes part of the culture, recognition stops feeling like an event and starts becoming a habit. Why It Matters Beyond Our Walls Employee recognition is often viewed as an internal initiative, but its impact extends far beyond the people receiving the recognition. The way employees feel about their workplace inevitably influences the way they approach their work, their teammates, and ultimately the customers they serve. When people feel appreciated, they're more likely to take ownership of the details that matter. They communicate openly, collaborate naturally, and step in when challenges arise because they know they're part of something bigger than themselves. That sense of pride can't be manufactured—it's cultivated over time through a culture where people feel seen, respected, and empowered to make a difference. For our customers, those moments may never be visible, but their impact certainly is. It's reflected in the care that goes into preparing every order, the commitment to getting things right, and the teamwork that happens behind the scenes to deliver the level of service our customers have come to expect. At Barrett, we believe exceptional customer experiences begin long before a package leaves the warehouse. They begin with people who care about the work they do, the teammates they work alongside, and the customers who depend on them. That's why recognizing those everyday contributions isn't just about celebrating our employees—it's about reinforcing the culture that helps us serve our customers better every single day. Celebrating the People Behind Every Success  As I thought about what BRAVO represents, I realized it's about much more than recognition. It's about paying attention. It's about noticing the teammate who stayed late to lend a hand, the employee who found a better way to do something, or the person who made someone else's day just a little easier. Those moments may seem ordinary in the moment, but over time they become the foundation of something much bigger. They become culture. At Barrett, BRAVO is one way we celebrate those everyday moments and the people behind them. Because while logistics is built on systems, strategy, and operational excellence, it's people who bring those things to life. And that's always worth recognizing.