Are you ready for the understatement of the year? Tariffs have been a major disruptor. Small businesses and big box stores alike have felt the pain of the market’s volatility and increased unpredictability. And while tariffs are now at 30% instead of 145% on products from China, these are still record-high rates. As conversations turn toward normalization, companies must develop a clear plan to navigate the transition.
In this post, we’ll explore how to handle the shift from slow inbound shipments to a sudden inbound surge.
The Calm Before the Storm—Why Volume Could Surge Quickly
Over the past year, many companies have delayed imports or reduced purchasing to avoid the financial burden of elevated tariffs. This pause in activity has led to backlogged orders across multiple industries. But with the recent 90-day reduction in tariffs in place, a surge in inbound freight shipments is likely, as companies will race to bring in goods before tariffs go up again.
What does this mean for operations nationwide?
- Strained Capacity: The sudden influx of shipments is expected to stretch inbound capacity thin, leading to potential bottlenecks at ports and distribution centers.
- Urgent Replenishments: Companies will need to fulfill backlogged orders and replenish inventories quickly, putting additional pressure on logistics operations.
- Peak Season Challenges: With the inbound surge coinciding with peak season preparations, organizations may face challenges in managing increased volumes with shorter lead times.
One thing is for certain: operations will need to prioritize agile supply chain strategies to navigate the incoming influx to ensure seamless operations during this critical period.
Inbound Logistics and Distribution Centers—Preparing for Impact
Knowing there’s a major influx of freight on the horizon means there’s time to plan. That starts with taking a close look at your operation’s readiness, examining everything from labor and space to dock scheduling and systems. The most important areas to evaluate are:
Labor Readiness: Can your team scale fast enough? Whether it’s onboarding temporary labor or increasing hours for existing staff, now’s the time to plan. Consider how automation can help relieve pressure on your workforce and boost throughput. Automation can:
- Reduce manual workload with the use of automation tools like conveyor sortation systems, automated palletizers, or robotic putaway.
- Accelerate onboarding for temporary workers through the use of automated systems that employ user-friendly interfaces and guided workflows.
- Improve throughput and accuracy with barcode scanning, voice picking, or automated receiving.
- Extend operational hours without exhausting staff by using automated check-in/check-out at the yard or dock, allowing for unattended or extended shifts.
- Enhance visibility with real-time data being fed to your WMS, providing insight into bottlenecks, labor performance, and inbound scheduling, so managers can quickly adapt staffing plans and dock allocations.
WMS and Yard Management: A sudden increase in inbound volume will test your systems. Review your WMS and yard management tools to ensure they can handle the added complexity. If your systems can’t support inbound visibility and efficient task execution, the entire operation could bottleneck.
Space and Dock Scheduling: More inbound volume means more pressure on dock doors and staging space. Get ahead of the crunch by:
- Adding a second inbound shift to spread out the workload, which allows you to:
- Distribute receiving activities over a longer window, reducing pressure on docks, staging areas, and available labor.
- Ease labor pressure without overworking a single team. Scheduling work across two crews provides greater flexibility in leveraging part-time, temporary, or staggered labor pools.
- Buy time for inventory processing by giving teams more time to receive, inspect, put away, and update systems.
- Optimizing dock schedules to avoid congestion
- Securing short-term storage options for overflow inventory
Start by physically preparing your space, clearing aisles, re-slotting receiving zones, and mapping out where excess inventory can go. As volumes spike, proactively addressing labor, space, and system performance will help keep your inbound flow under control and your outbound commitments on time.
The Backorder Backlog—Meeting Urgent Demand
First things first. The temporary tariff pause will likely prompt a flood of inbound surge of freight, meaning many companies will feel immense pressure to fulfill long-standing backorders quickly. But speed without a clear strategy can lead to chaos. Here’s one way to approach it effectively.
Start with what matters most
Develop or revisit your fulfillment prioritization strategy. Consider:
- High-margin or high-demand SKUs that drive profitability
- Customer-tier prioritization, fulfilling key accounts or strategic partners first
- Urgent use cases or time-sensitive commitments tied to contractual SLAs
Your WMS should support rules-based allocation to help route incoming inventory to the right orders as quickly as possible.
Communicate, communicate, communicate!
Ease tension through transparency. Communicate early with:
- Customers, setting expectations about shipping windows and fulfillment orders
- Suppliers and logistics partners, so they understand how product prioritization may affect shipping or dock times
Remember, even a brief status update will go a long way in building trust.
Plan for Inventory Prioritization
Not all freight should be treated equally. Identify high-priority containers in advance and flag them for immediate processing and unloading. Make sure critical SKUs aren’t buried in the queue behind less urgent items.
Keep an Eye on Fees
Rushed inbound volume can trigger unexpected costs like demurrage and detention. To avoid these, pre-schedule inbound appointments and coordinate closely with carriers, consider temporary increases in yard or off-site storage capacity if dock space is a bottleneck, and assign responsibility for container tracking and fast turnarounds internally.
A Compressed Peak Season—How to Prep With Less Time
Now is the time to prepare for a chaotic Q4. With the tariff reprieve flooding ports and pushing backorders into overdrive, many operations are losing time usually reserved for preparing for traditional Q4 peaks. The overlap of these freight surges poses a risk, but there’s still time to act tactically.
- Lock in transportation early: Carrier capacity will likely tighten quickly. Secure contracts or agreements now to guarantee space and avoid inflated spot rates later. If you can, build in flexibility for fluctuations in volume or destination.
- Secure warehouse space flexibility: A surge in inbound inventory could exceed your current footprint. Don’t get caught by surprise! Explore overflow warehousing or short-term space rentals near key demand zones. Flex space can help reduce congestion at your main DCs.
- Pre-stage inventory: Move your most critical inventory closer to end consumers. This reduces transit time, minimizes disruptions, and gives your teams a head start on fulfillment before the next spike.
- Rely on data: Use historical performance data and forecasting tools to refine your SKU strategy. Data can be used to:
- Prioritize SKUs that are high-margin, high-velocity, or critical to key customers
- Deprioritize or phase out underperforming SKUs that eat up space and labor but don’t drive value
- Optimize inventory placement based on regional demand signals
We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again. Data is critical to operational success. Taking a data-driven approach to SKU rationalization not only prepares you for Q4 under tariff uncertainty, it positions your business for greater profitability and agility long-term.
Rerouting and Alternative Port Strategies
Port congestion could resurface, so what needs to happen to containers? While major ports have largely stabilized, it only takes one disruption, such as labor strikes, geopolitical flare-ups, or weather-related shutdowns, for congestion to return with a vengeance. The smartest companies are already developing contingency plans. Inland ports, alternative distribution centers, and flexible transportation plans are now essential to maintaining momentum when primary routes hit a snag. Shifting container destinations mid-route demands infrastructure, strategic partnerships, and a nimble mindset.
That’s where real-time visibility tools become indispensable. When you can see where your freight is, what’s delayed, and what’s en route, you can reroute with confidence instead of reacting in the dark. It’s not just about getting product to market—it’s about getting it there on your terms.
Use the Transition as a Strategic Advantage
The inbound surge is coming. Some companies will scramble. Others will lead. The difference is planning.
Businesses that assess their vulnerabilities, model out disruptions, and build adaptable frameworks will outperform the rest. At Cornerstone Edge, we help businesses do more than brace for impact—we help them move forward with clarity and confidence. Whether it’s rerouting freight, adjusting DC operations, or upgrading visibility tools, we’ll work with you to assess, prepare, and adapt your supply chain for whatever comes next.
Let’s turn disruption into your next competitive advantage. Give us a call.