Preparing for Peak: Distribution and Contingency Planning for Christmas & Summer
The Summer and Christmas trading period is the most critical window in the Australian retail calendar.
Across our Distribution Centres (DCs), activity surges as millions of customers prepare to celebrate. During Christmas week alone, Primary Connect moves an average of 28% more pallets across our network.
Because all supplier freight flows into the Primary Connect network – moving over 30 million cartons weekly through automated and manual facilities like the Moorebank National Distribution Centre (NDC), Moorebank Regional Distribution Centre (RDC), and Auburn Automated Customer Fulfillment Centre (CFC) – getting stock onto shelves depends on early preparation, strict compliance, and robust contingency planning.
Here’s our tips on ensuring a hassle-free festive season, supporting seamless operations, and avoiding costly delays or rejections.
Packaging, presentation, and performance
From the iconic, meticulously wrapped necklace scene in Love Actually to the presents under the tree on Christmas morning – we know presentation changes everything. In our network, presentation is just as critical, but it’s measured in pallet integrity and barcode accuracy.
A significant portion of DC receiving bottlenecks during peak trading stem from avoidable non-compliance issues with pallets, wrapping, and cartons. With automated facilities operating at maximum capacity, meeting Woolworths Group Supply Standards helps ensure your stock moves through our network smoothly, protecting your deliveries from rejections, manual holding, or receiving delays.
Key focus areas:
- Physical product & pallet compliance
DC infeeds – particularly automated systems – require strict physical consistency. Ensure pallets are structurally sound, stretch-wrapping is tight without trailing edges, cartons maintain structural integrity, and barcode labels are printed crisply and placed accurately for seamless scanning. - Master Data accuracy on Partner Hub
Inaccurate dimensions, weights, or barcode details on Partner Hub cause immediate system errors at automated DC infeeds. Audit and update master data early. - Pre-despatch quality checks
Implement a standardised pre-despatch checklist at your outbound docks to verify physical compliance and order accuracy before trucks depart your site. Review performance metrics regularly via SCoRe/Partner Hub to catch trends early.
To help your team spot potential issues early, we’ve put together a short video showing the most frequent DC infeed errors and how to resolve them before heading into the busiest trading weeks.
Contact Primary Connect
The fastest way to resolve any issues with receiving or transport, is to contact your Supply Planner or Supply Planning Manager as early as possible.
Alternatively, find contact information for all DC locations here.
Primary Connect+
Priority Support
During peak trading, email channels experience high traffic volumes. For urgent operational or delivery queries, Primary Connect+ customers can call 1800 PRIMARY directly for faster resolution.
Holiday Trading Hours
Share any planned holiday shutdowns, reduced shifts, or updated site hours with your Replenishment Supply Planner right away, sharing this early helps us avoid delivery failures and help to align our delivery schedules.
Scaling up with demand: Additional support via Primary Connect+
Managing peak volume isn’t just about getting stock to the shelf – it’s about having the flexibility to handle unexpected supply chain friction when national networks are stretched.
At Primary Connect+, our Christmas peak priorities are completely aligned with yours: getting your products onto the shelf seamlessly to maximise seasonal sales.
While many suppliers manage their own logistics, partnering with our commercial arm, Primary Connect+ (PC+), offers a powerful opportunity to secure your supply chain and scale up your business. Whether you are looking to secure primary transport, expand your warehousing footprint, or establish a resilient contingency plan, our network provides the scale and flexibility to support your growth.
Tapping into our established network can provide key backup capabilities, with:
Guaranteed capacity on key lanes
We leverage our enormous scale, established carrier relationships, and high productivity and specialised equipment to secure transport on critical routes.
Flexible contingency planning
Supply chain disruptions are a reality. Because our network spans road, rail, and ocean, we can dynamically shift your freight to keep it moving. This includes our newly established, comprehensive ambient direct rail offering established in July 2026.
Strategic co-location and cold chain
For temperature-sensitive goods, our state-of-the-art network ensures freshness. Our DC co-location solutions store your products directly inside our retail distribution footprint, simplifying your workload and dramatically improving replenishment times.
End-to-end visibility
Managing your logistics is effortless with the MyPC platform. We provide complete transparency, simple booking processes, and easy access to your invoices and Proof of Delivery (PODs).
Industry-leading safety
We hold ourselves to safety standards that are higher than what is required by industry or law, ensuring you meet Chain of Responsibility requirements every step of the way.
Dedicated event support
PC+ partners gain exclusive access to our event planning team. Their core focus is to connect our Replenishment teams, DCs, and customers, ensuring every moving part of the supply chain works together to deliver a successful Christmas.
If you foresee a need for additional storage, transport capacity, or contingency support to manage peak volume requirements, explore available PC+ options and reach our team at primaryconnect.com.au/contact-us.
Up next in our Peak Preparation Series
This article is the first in a three-part series to help you navigate the upcoming festive season. Now that distribution is covered, keep an eye out for Part 2, where we sit down with the Commercial team to share key insights and takeaways now that their peak planning is locked in.
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