24th July 2026

Q4 – time to plan ahead

As businesses prepare for the final quarter of the year, ensuring an adequate supply of corrugated packaging should be a key priority. For many industries, Q4 represents the busiest trading period, driven by seasonal demand, holiday shopping, promotional campaigns, and year-end order fulfilment. Without proper planning, companies can face packaging shortages that disrupt operations, delay shipments, and negatively impact customer satisfaction. Taking a proactive approach to corrugated packaging procurement can help businesses navigate the busy season with confidence.

Our team shares some top tips to ensure you are well prepared and how we can support businesses from a wide variety of industry sectors.

Planning ahead

One of the most important things is to simply plan ahead for Q4. During peak periods, businesses across retail, e-commerce, manufacturing, food and beverage, and logistics sectors all require larger volumes of packaging materials. This surge in demand can place pressure on supply chains, resulting in longer lead times. Companies that wait until the last minute to order packaging may find themselves competing with other organisations for stock, potentially paying higher prices or facing delivery delays. By talking to our team in advance, we can work with you to ensure a strategic supply is agreed.

Accurate forecasting

Accurate forecasting is the foundation of successful packaging planning. Together with our customers we review historical sales data, previous peak-season trends, and projected growth figures to estimate packaging requirements. By understanding expected order volumes, we can more accurately determine how many boxes and packaging components will be required. It is also important to consider any planned promotions, product launches, or seasonal campaigns that may increase demand beyond normal levels. The more accurate the forecast, the easier it becomes to secure the right packaging quantities before demand reaches its peak.

Talk to us

Having early and open communication with our team oftens alleviates many of the challenges our customers face as demand increases. It helps us to understand your expected requirements, confirm production schedules and understand how our packaging integrates into your supply chain, reducing the risk of shortages and helping us to help you.

Seasonal design

Packaging design and specification reviews should also be completed well before Q4. If businesses are planning to introduce new products, perhaps undertake seasonal campaigns or simply increase their product range, these plans should be done and finalised many weeks prior to the start of Q4. Design approvals, testing, and production can take longer than anticipated, particularly during busy periods when our customers are managing increased workloads. Completing these projects ahead of time ensures that packaging is ready when products need to be shipped.

Sustainable and efficient

Sustainability continues to play an increasingly important role in packaging decisions and businesses can often need sustainable packaging in a short time scale often as a result of third-party involvement. Sustainable packaging options may experience particularly high demand during peak seasons as more organisations pursue environmental goals. Planning ahead allows businesses to secure eco-friendly packaging materials without compromising availability or performance.

Operational efficiency should also be part of the planning process. Reviewing packaging sizes and formats can help reduce waste, lower shipping costs, and improve fulfilment speeds and we work with our customers to ensure their packaging supply is maximised.

Ultimately, planning ahead for quarter four is about ensuring business continuity and delivering a positive customer experience. Corrugated packaging plays a vital role in protecting products, supporting brand presentation, and enabling efficient distribution.

Early preparation not only reduces operational risks but also positions organisations to capitalise on increased demand and maximise growth opportunities during Q4.