Logistics operators are under constant pressure to keep goods moving in an unpredictable environment. Seasonal surges, last-minute demand spikes, and compliance requirements often collide with labour shortages, leaving managers scrambling to cover shifts across multiple sites.
Traditional staffing models, reliant on fixed headcounts or agency contracts, often fall short – resulting in costly overtime, worker burnout, or unfulfilled orders.
Across the industry, some operators are beginning to approach staffing differently: treating flexible labour not as a stopgap, but as a core part of operational strategy.
Coople, the flexible work platform that helps companies plan, manage, and scale their workforce, has shared three recent peak-season examples that highlight how this shift is taking shape.
Case 1: Managing daily schedule changes during peak
One fulfilment provider faced a seven-week Christmas peak where staff schedules shifted on a daily basis. Their challenge was to secure experienced warehouse assistants at short notice, across four sites, while also meeting strict uniform and training requirements.
By building a vetted pool of more than 30 flexible workers in advance, the operator achieved consistent coverage of up to 15 trained workers per day. Managers could tap into the same reliable staff for regular shifts, which reduced churn, enabled cross-site deployment, and gave them the confidence to amend schedules at short notice without disruption.
Case 2: Securing reliable cover for Black Friday
A leading consumer goods company entered Black Friday with insufficient warehouse staff and a history of no-shows from agency workers. The risk was clear: unmet orders during one of the year’s most critical trading periods.
In just two weeks, the company built a trusted pool of nine local workers who proved consistently reliable. This pool became an insurance policy against cancellations and absences, enabling the business to exceed fulfilment targets while avoiding excessive overtime costs.
Case 3: Compliance and resilience in regulated logistics
An air-cargo operator required staff with civil aviation clearance and full background checks – a high bar that many agencies could not consistently meet. With shipments at risk from delays and last-minute disruptions, they needed a workforce that could flex to changing conditions while remaining fully compliant.
By creating a dedicated pool of screened, trained workers, over 30% of the company’s shifts were covered by flexible staff who could adapt to irregular hours, stay beyond scheduled shifts, and move seamlessly across roles. This reduced reliance on inconsistent agency workers, improved KPI performance, and built long-term workforce stability.
What these examples show
Taken together, these cases highlight three lessons for logistics operators:
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Build ahead of peak: A pre-vetted, flexible pool allows businesses to scale up without scrambling for last-minute cover.
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Prioritise reliability over volume: A smaller pool of consistent, trained workers can outperform a revolving door of agency staff.
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Make compliance part of flexibility: Even in regulated environments, adaptable staffing models can meet strict security and safety requirements while improving resilience.
A growing trend
Flexible staffing is not new in logistics. What’s changing is how it is being used: not only to plug gaps, but to improve efficiency, reduce churn, and future-proof operations.
For an industry under pressure to deliver with fewer resources and greater unpredictability, rethinking staffing strategies could prove just as vital as investing in new automation or transport capacity.
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