In this article, learn about:
Why generic peak season briefing advice misses what supplier operations teams face
Which 2026 Target and Walmart changes need to reach the warehouse floor
Who owns what when an advance ship notice (ASN) fails or a chargeback lands
Peak season brings plenty of challenges for suppliers, even when preparations are well underway. Retailers are likely to adjust pickup dates, seasonal employees may be unfamiliar with compliance requirements, and increased shipment volumes can make it more difficult to catch errors before they affect an order.
A well-organized team briefing can help suppliers prepare for the anticipated challenges before order volumes increase. By bringing warehouse supervisors, transportation teams, electronic data interchange (EDI) coordinators, and seasonal employees together, suppliers can clarify expectations and establish a plan for handling exceptions.
Why Do Supplier Operations Teams Need a Peak Season Briefing?
Many peak season preparation resources focus on retail stores, customer service teams, and staffing needs. For supplier operations teams, preparation often comes down to understanding retailer requirements and making sure the people responsible for fulfilling orders have the information they need.
Consider Amazon’s ASN requirements, which expect suppliers to transmit an ASN within 30 minutes of a shipment leaving the vendor facility or at least six hours before arrival. Meeting these expectations requires coordination between warehouse employees, shipping teams, and the people responsible for EDI transactions.
If a shipment leaves the facility without the appropriate information reaching the EDI team, the supplier may miss an important transmission window.
A pre-peak briefing gives suppliers an opportunity to review requirements like these, identify potential gaps, and make sure everyone understands their responsibilities. It also helps establish a consistent approach to handling exceptions, particularly when temporary employees, additional shifts, or third-party logistics (3PL) providers are involved.
Related Reading: The Role of ASNs in the Amazon Fulfillment Process
Which Retailer Requirements Should Teams Review Before Peak Season?
Retailer compliance requirements can change throughout the year, making it important to revisit current policies before holiday shipments begin. Walmart and Target each have specific expectations that suppliers should review before peak season to help prevent shipping delays, compliance violations, and costly deductions.
The following table highlights several considerations and the teams most likely to be affected.
Retailer | Requirement or Update | Teams to Brief |
Target | Physical Case Pack Accuracy metric | Warehouse and receiving teams |
Target | Item Attribute Audit (DC) metric | Item data and EDI teams |
Target | Updated denial codes D38, D39, D41, and D42 | Finance and compliance teams |
Walmart | Carrier Pickup Date may differ from the date shown at routing confirmation | Transportation and dock teams |
Understanding Target's 2026 Compliance Updates
Target's updated supplier performance management (SPM) program introduces additional considerations for suppliers managing case quantities and item information.
The physical case pack accuracy metric evaluates whether the quantity received matches the approved item record and purchase order (PO). The item attribute audit metric focuses on the accuracy of item information, including dimensions, quantities, and other attributes. These measurements reinforce the importance of keeping item data accurate and ensuring warehouse employees understand the quantities and packaging configurations expected by the retailer.
Receipt dates also play a role in compliance reporting. Suppliers should be mindful of shipments that arrive across reporting periods and verify which requirements apply when the merchandise is received.
What to cover in the briefing:
Case pack configurations
Item data accuracy
Receiving expectations
Process for identifying potential compliance issues
Process for addressing potential compliance issues
Related Reading: Target Dispute Denial Codes
Understanding Walmart Routing and Pickup Dates
Walmart suppliers using the Stride TMS platform should pay particular attention to the distinction between an estimated ship on date and the carrier pickup date assigned through routing.
After a supplier confirms a PO into routing, Walmart's load optimization process assigns a carrier pickup date. That assigned date may differ from the estimated shipping date originally displayed. For example, a supplier may confirm an order with an estimated ship on date of November 19, only to receive a carrier pickup date of November 17.
If the warehouse continues preparing freight for November 19, the shipment may not be ready when the carrier arrives.
Walmart's shipment tracking guidance recommends reviewing Routing Status twice daily. The routing status function is in Walmart's Transportation Supply Chain Portal (TSCP 2.0), can be accessed through Retail Link. Although this is a recommended practice rather than a formal requirement, it can help transportation teams identify scheduling changes before they affect fulfillment.
What to cover in the briefing:
Confirm where employees can find the latest routing information
Confirm who is responsible for monitoring pickup dates
Review how changes are communicated to warehouse and dock teams
Related Reading: Walmart’s Shipping and Routing Transportation Guide Glossary
How Can Suppliers Prepare Seasonal Employees for EDI and Compliance Requirements?
NRF expects retailers to hire between 325,000 and 375,000 seasonal workers this holiday season. Seasonal employees provide valuable support during busy shipping periods, but they may join the operation after permanent staff have already received retailer updates and compliance updates.
A temporary warehouse associate starting in early November, for example, may be unfamiliar with retailer-specific labeling requirements, ASN timing expectations, or procedures for reporting discrepancies. Even experienced seasonal workers may need additional guidance when handling orders for unfamiliar retailers.
Providing this information early can help employees recognize potential issues and understand when to involve a supervisor.
Seasonal training should cover three essential areas:
Retailer requirements: Explain the shipping, labeling, case-count, and ASN expectations relevant to the orders employees will handle.
Exception reporting: Identify whom employees should notify when quantities, labels, shipment information, or pickup instructions don't match.
Access to current instructions: Show employees where to find approved retailer routing guides, warehouse procedures, and other operational resources.
Supervisors should also make sure new employees know they can raise questions when something doesn't look right. Identifying a discrepancy before freight leaves the facility is typically much easier than resolving it after a retailer receives the shipment.
Who Should Handle Shipping and Compliance Exceptions During Peak Season?
Even with careful preparation, exceptions are inevitable. However, when responsibilities aren't clearly defined, an exception may move between departments without anyone taking ownership. During peak season, those delays can create additional work. Establishing an escalation plan before volume increases can help prevent confusion.
Sample Peak Season Escalation Plan
Role | Primary Responsibilities | Escalation Contact |
Warehouse lead | Verify physical counts, case packs, labels, and shipment readiness | EDI coordinator for discrepancies; operations director for missed pickups |
EDI or compliance coordinator | Monitor ASN transmissions, resolve rejected transactions, and review compliance reports | Operations director |
Operations director | Coordinate retailer escalations and make decisions on operational exceptions | Retailer or trading partner contact |
3PL liaison, when applicable | Coordinate pickup scheduling, labeling, and shipment information with the 3PL | Operations director |
Suppliers can adjust this structure based on the size of their organization and the resources available. Smaller teams may have one person managing several responsibilities, while larger operations may divide these tasks among multiple departments. In either case, every critical activity should have a designated owner and backup.
It's also worth reviewing how shipment information moves between systems and teams. As seasonal employees, additional shifts, and increased 3PL partners become involved, manual data entry and disconnected processes are opportunities for errors.
What Should Suppliers Include in a Pre-Peak Team Briefing?
The goal is to give employees a clear understanding of current requirements, their responsibilities, and the procedures they'll follow throughout the season. A one-page agenda can help keep the conversation focused and provide a useful reference after the meeting.
Who should attend the pre-peak briefing?
Include representatives from the teams responsible for:
Order fulfillment
Shipment documentation
Transportation
Compliance
Depending on the organization, attendees may include warehouse leads, receiving supervisors, EDI coordinators, compliance managers, trading partner managers, seasonal staffing supervisors, and 3PL contacts.
The briefing is most useful when the people responsible for carrying out the work have an opportunity to ask questions and clarify expectations.
When should the briefing take place?
Ideally, suppliers should schedule their briefing approximately three weeks before Black Friday. Teams that have already completed their initial preparation may still benefit from a shorter refresher as peak season approaches.
Peak season operations briefing checklist
Use the following checklist to guide the conversation and document any follow-up responsibilities.
Readiness task | Action required |
Review retailer requirements | Review current policies, routing procedures, labeling expectations, and compliance updates. |
Confirm team responsibilities | Assign primary owners and backups for shipping exceptions, EDI errors, retailer communications, and compliance issues. |
Establish routing checks | For Walmart Collect suppliers using Stride TMS, assign responsibility for reviewing Routing Status twice daily. |
Schedule employee training | Identify seasonal employees requiring additional guidance, assign trainers, and schedule training. |
Set an exception review schedule | Review shipment exceptions, routing changes, and failed EDI transactions daily. Review retailer compliance reports weekly. |
Create a shared exception tracker | Document issues, assigned owners, next steps, and resolution deadlines in a shared location. |
Once the briefing is complete, distribute a refined checklist and escalation contacts so employees can refer to them throughout the season.
Should Suppliers Review Performance After Peak Season?
A post-peak review gives suppliers an opportunity to understand which processes worked well, where challenges occurred, and what improvements could make the following season easier to manage. Consider bringing the original briefing participants back together to review shipment exceptions, compliance reports, retailer deductions, and recurring operational issues.
The conversation can focus on a few practical questions:
Which shipping or compliance issues occurred most frequently?
Were employees able to identify and escalate problems quickly?
Did seasonal workers have the training and resources they needed?
Were there recurring issues that could be addressed through process improvements or automation?
Documenting these findings while they're still fresh can help suppliers refine training materials, improve workflows, and build a stronger preparation plan for the next peak season. It can also reveal opportunities to improve everyday operations, particularly when recurring exceptions aren't limited to the holidays.
Frequently Asked Questions
When should suppliers brief their operations teams before Black Friday?
Suppliers should aim to hold their initial peak season briefing approximately three to four weeks before Black Friday. This gives teams time to review retailer requirements, train seasonal employees, assign responsibilities, and address potential issues before shipping volumes increase.
Can smaller suppliers prepare for peak season without a dedicated EDI coordinator?
Yes. Smaller suppliers can assign EDI monitoring, ASN accuracy, and compliance responsibilities to employees who manage other operational functions. The priority is to establish clear ownership, identify a backup contact, and make sure someone regularly reviews failed transactions and shipment exceptions.
Does Walmart require suppliers to check Routing Status twice daily?
Walmart recommends reviewing Routing Status twice daily as a best practice, although it is not a formal requirement. Suppliers can access this function through Walmart’s Transportation Supply Chain Portal (TSCP 2.0), available via Retail Link.3
Keep Your Operations Team Prepared Throughout Peak Season
Even the most thorough preparation will be tested when peak season gets underway. Orders change, shipping windows tighten, and unexpected challenges can put additional pressure on teams already working at capacity.
The difference typically comes down to how well (and how quickly) your team can respond. Clear communication, dependable processes, and access to accurate information help suppliers navigate disruptions, maintain retailer compliance, and keep shipments moving when it matters most. And because peak season rarely goes exactly as planned, having the right resources within reach matters.
Explore The Supply Chain Source for practical guidance, retailer compliance updates, and expert insights to help your team make informed decisions throughout the season and beyond.