The holidays are quickly approaching, which means retailers and e-commerce sellers are busy ramping up the entire supply chain to ensure gifts arrive in time and customers young and old aren’t disappointed. Forecasters estimate this year’s holiday spend will top $1.1 trillion, a 5% bump from 2017. This unprecedented spend will require surge capacity from packers and shippers to merchandisers and cashiers to get presents into buyers’ hands.To build this capacity, retailers plan to hire over 700,000 seasonal workers this year. Target, for example, plans to hire 120,00 retail team members and an additional 7,500 in their e-commerce fulfillment centers. Kohl’s plans to hire 90,000 workers. The two shipping giants plan to add over 150,000 seasonal workers. UPS plans to hire 100,000 while FedEx will hire 55,000. And Amazon is likely to hire at least 120,000 for its distribution centers.This surge in seasonal hiring begs the question: are there enough temporary workers to fill all these positions?Temporary Labor AlternativesSurge capacity is part of Productiv’s DNA. For almost a decade, we have worked with clients in myriad industries to add kitting, assembly, packaging and fulfillment capacity when they need it. We’re able to leverage our dedicated and trained workforce using several flexible labor models:
- Embedding our workers in a client site to build capacity
- Fulfilling orders in one of our nine fully-staffed warehouse locations
- Handling reverse logistics either on-site (embed) or in one of our locations
A client-embed solution works best in contract manufacturing facilities or sophisticated kitting, assembly and fulfillment operations where it makes sense to bring the workers to an established operation. We can deploy entire teams for any shift to meet throughput demands.We also can take in kitting, assembly and fulfillment or reverse logistics projects in our nine locations in major hubs like Dallas, Kansas City, Chicago, Charlotte, and Richmond. Our locations are lean-engineered and agile, so we can go from P.O. to shipping in a matter of hours once goods are received and inspected.If you are looking for surge capacity for contract packaging, kitting, fulfillment or returns this holiday season, don’t compete with a dwindling pool of available temps. Give yourself a gift this year: Peace of mind. Consider Productiv’s flexible alternative staffing solutions that are established, reliable and effective.
