Best Buy's Distribution Centers Work 24/7 to Meet Holiday Rush

Best Buy has sent out special delivery trucks of nothing but TVs — hundreds of thousands of TVs — to its stores in recent days to be ready for Black Friday crowds. At the same time, its distribution centers are packed full of thousands more TVs stacked high, ready for the crush of online orders expected to come flying in Thanksgiving morning. In the last week or so, Best Buy's 23 distribution centers have switched to operating 24 hours a day as they send out trucks to replenish store shelves and online orders directly to customers. They'll remain in hyperdrive, a change from 10- to 14-hour days the rest of the year, from now until Christmas and possibly a few weeks longer given the second wave of shopping that gift cards often bring in January.

Total Retail's Take: With more holiday shopping expected to done online this year than ever before, retailers’ distribution centers are being forced to pick up a larger portion of the slack. To account for the growth of e-commerce, retailers have hired 2 percent more seasonal workers for their warehouse and transportation sectors this year vs. 2016, according to a report by Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. Best Buy is just one example of a retailer that's scrambling to ensure its supply chain is ready to handle the influx of holiday shoppers set to visit stores and websites this holiday weekend. Retailers need to capitalize on the busiest season of the year by ensuring their store shelves are full and their online orders are being fulfilled and shipped quickly and on time.