If you feel like you’ve just finally caught your breath after the Q4 holiday madness and the January return cycle, you aren’t alone. For many e-commerce brands and retailers, February feels like a hard-earned plateau. But as we near into the second week of February, that “quiet” is a bit deceptive.
In the logistics world, February is the “sweet spot.” It’s the eye of the storm. Behind the scenes, consumer behavior is already shifting. People are looking toward spring breaks, warmer weather, Valentine’s Day, and the start of the outdoor season.
If you wait until the orders start spiking in March or April to look at your processes, you’re already behind. At Medallion Fulfillment & Logistics, we’ve seen it time and again: success in Q1 isn’t won in March—it’s engineered right now.
Here is how to stress-test your supply chain this month to ensure you don’t just survive the Q2 surge, but actually thrive through it.
- The Marketing-Logistics “Handshake”
As a Marketing Director, you know better than anyone that a brilliant campaign is only as good as the customer’s unboxing experience. You can spend thousands on customer acquisition, but if the product arrives late—or worse, not at all—that customer is gone for good.
February is the time for the “Great Alignment.” Often, the marketing department is running a mile a minute planning “Spring Fling” promos, while the operations team is just trying to keep the shelves organized.
The Stress Test: Sit down with your fulfillment partner (that’s us!) and walk through your promotional calendar for planning for April, May, and June.
Flash Sales: Are you planning a 24-hour “blowout”? We need to staff up for that 48-hour window following the launch.
New Product Launches: Are there kits or bundles involved? These require different picking logic and potentially extra assembly time.
Expectation Management: When marketing and logistics talk, you can set realistic shipping expectations on your website before the customer hits “buy.”
- Inventory Hygiene: Clearing the “Zombie” Stock
Inventory isn’t just products on a shelf; it’s capital tied up in a physical form. During the Q2 surge, warehouse “real estate” becomes incredibly valuable. You want your high-velocity spring items in the most accessible “pick zones,” not tucked away behind boxes of leftover winter gear.
The Stress Test: Perform an inventory “Velocity Audit.”
Look for the “Zombies”—the SKUs that haven’t moved in 60 to 90 days. They are eating your margins in storage fees and physically slowing down the fulfillment of your winners.
The March Solution: Run a “End of Season” clearance in mid-March. Liquidate the laggards to make room for the Q2 heroes. This injects cash back into your business right when you need it for spring ad spend.
- The “Fragile” Link: Supplier and Inbound Health
Even if your warehouse is running like a Swiss watch, you’re still at the mercy of your upstream suppliers. We’ve all seen how a single port delay or a raw material shortage can derail an entire season.
The Stress Test: Don’t just check your current stock; check your inbound pipeline.
Buffer Stock: If you’re expecting a 20% jump in sales for Q2, do you have a 30% buffer?
Diversification: If all your eggs are in one supplier’s basket, March is the time to identify a “Plan B.”
Communication: Reach out to your manufacturers now. Ask them about their lead times. If they are seeing delays, you can adjust your marketing spend in March to avoid promoting items that won’t arrive until June.
- Digital Infrastructure: Is Your Tech Stack Talking?
In a low-volume month, a manual error—like an order not syncing or a tracking number failing to upload—is a minor nuisance. In a high-volume Q2 surge, that same error can snowball into hundreds of customer service tickets.
The Stress Test: Review your tech integrations.
At Medallion, we use sophisticated Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) that talk to your Shopify, Amazon, or BigCommerce stores. But “set it and forget it” is a dangerous mantra.
Data Sync Check: Are your inventory levels matching up across all platforms?
Shipping Rules: Have you updated your shipping carriers or methods for the new season?
Automated Emails: Are your “Order Shipped” notifications providing the right tracking links? Small digital tweaks in March prevent massive headaches in May.
- The Human Element: Customer Experience is the New Marketing
In the age of instant gratification, shipping is no longer a back-end cost; it’s a front-facing marketing feature. People don’t just buy a product; they buy the confidence that it will arrive in time for their vacation or their Mother’s Day brunch.
The Stress Test: Evaluate your packaging and “unboxing” experience.
Sustainability: Spring is a great time to pivot to more eco-friendly packaging. Does your current dunnage reflect your brand values?
The “Wow” Factor: Can you include a simple spring-themed pack-in or a discount code for their next Q3 purchase?
Final Thoughts: Don’t Wait for the Heat
The Q2 surge is coming. The brands that win are the ones that use the quiet weeks of March to tighten their laces, audit their shelves, and talk to their partners.
At Medallion Fulfillment & Logistics, we don’t just want to ship your boxes; we want to help you scale your brand. Our infrastructure is built to handle your growth, but the best results happen when we plan that growth together.
Let’s make sure your supply chain is a springboard, not a bottleneck for your ecommerce fulfillment.
Are you ready for the climb? Reach out to your account manager this week to discuss your Q1 and Q2 projections, and let’s get ahead of the curve together.
What types of businesses do you work with? Restaurants have a different financial agenda than contractors, who in turn are different from graphic artists. It helps to find an accountant who’s familiar with the type of business you’ll be operating.
