The Climate Wake-Up Call for Ecommerce Warehousing

Heat Waves and Fulfillment: What Summer 2025 Taught Ecommerce Brands About Supply Chain Resilience

The summer of 2025 shattered heat records across the United States, bringing prolonged triple-digit temperatures to major population and shipping centers. For ecommerce brands and third-party logistics (3PL) providers, the impact of these extreme conditions was unavoidable. Fulfillment operations faced temperature-sensitive inventory failures, labor slowdowns, and shipping disruptions—prompting urgent conversations about climate resilience and long-term supply chain strategy.

As ecommerce continues to scale, the logistics challenges caused by extreme heat events are no longer niche—they are core business risks. Here's what Summer 2025 revealed about the vulnerabilities in ecommerce fulfillment, and how forward-thinking brands are responding with smarter storage, fulfillment network design, and packaging strategies.

The Heat Wave’s Impact on Ecommerce Fulfillment in 2025

The Summer 2025 heat wave was the longest and most intense in U.S. history. States like Arizona, Texas, and parts of California recorded weeks of sustained temperatures over 110°F. Even traditionally milder climates like the Northeast saw prolonged stretches of 90°F+ weather. These conditions significantly disrupted ecommerce operations in five key areas:

1. Heat-Damaged Inventory

Products stored in non-climate-controlled warehouses suffered irreversible damage. Items most affected included:

• Skincare and beauty products (melting, separation, leakage)
• Dietary supplements and gummies (softening, clumping, reduced shelf life)
• Perishable and semi-perishable foods (even under standard ambient storage)
• Electronics and lithium-ion batteries (overheating, swelling, short-circuiting)
• Adhesives, labels, and shrink wraps (failure due to high humidity and heat)

These failures led to higher return rates, reputational damage, and lost revenue for brands unprepared for heat-sensitive fulfillment challenges.

2. Decreased Warehouse Productivity

Many warehouses operating without adequate cooling infrastructure saw operational slowdowns. OSHA guidelines require breaks and cooling periods in high-heat environments, reducing available labor hours. Facilities without proper airflow or with poor insulation experienced:

• Picking and packing delays
• Machine downtime due to overheating (e.g., conveyor belts, forklifts)
• Emergency facility closures due to heat advisories
• Increased heat-related illnesses among staff

3. Carrier Delays and Last-Mile Disruptions

Parcel carriers modified delivery windows in multiple metro areas. UPS, FedEx, and regional couriers adjusted routes to avoid delivering in peak heat hours, especially in high-risk zones. This directly impacted ecommerce delivery SLAs and led to thousands of late shipments, customer complaints, and WISMO ("Where is my order?") inquiries.

4. Higher Cooling and Energy Costs

For temperature-controlled facilities, energy consumption skyrocketed. 3PLs and fulfillment centers saw up to 40% higher cooling bills during the peak summer months. Facilities that were not designed with energy-efficient HVAC systems or warehouse zoning struggled to keep costs down without sacrificing performance.

5. Increased Labor Turnover

Extreme heat amplified existing labor shortages across the logistics sector. Warehouses in the South and Southwest reported elevated absenteeism and attrition due to unsafe working conditions. This created a compounding effect: fewer workers available, slower fulfillment, and a higher reliance on costly temp labor.

Key Takeaways for Ecommerce Brands After Summer 2025

Invest in Climate-Controlled Fulfillment for Sensitive Goods

If your products are susceptible to heat degradation, ambient storage is no longer sufficient during summer months. Ecommerce brands in categories like skincare, beverage, food, health & wellness, or electronics must prioritize fulfillment partners that offer:

• Temperature-zoned or refrigerated storage
• Real-time warehouse temperature monitoring
• Heat-sensitive handling SOPs
• Climate-aware routing and delivery protocols

Even short exposure to high heat during transit or staging can render products unsellable, increasing both direct losses and long-term customer dissatisfaction.

Rethink Fulfillment Network Geography

Brands relying on 3PLs in heat-prone states like Arizona, Texas, Nevada, and Florida faced more severe disruptions. A growing number of ecommerce companies are shifting their primary fulfillment to facilities in the Northeast and Midwest, where summer temperatures are more stable and infrastructure is better prepared to withstand spikes.

3PLs in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Illinois saw increased demand in Summer 2025 for their cooler climates and access to major ports and airports. Brands distributing nationally may benefit from multi-node fulfillment models that include facilities in both cool and warm zones to better mitigate climate risk.

Upgrade Packaging for Heat Protection

Even when warehousing is climate-controlled, last-mile delivery exposes packages to outdoor conditions that may exceed 130°F in the back of delivery trucks. Brands that invested in heat-resistant packaging saw fewer complaints and higher product integrity.

Recommended packaging improvements include:

• Thermal mailers and liners for cosmetics, chocolate, and perishables
• Phase-change cold packs for short-duration transit cooling
• Adhesive and label upgrades to prevent peeling or melting
• Opaque or UV-resistant exterior packaging for outdoor drop-offs

Packaging tests under simulated summer conditions should become part of every product launch and logistics planning cycle.

Build Seasonal Flexibility Into SLAs

Fulfillment SLAs should account for longer processing and delivery times during peak heat periods. Brands that adjusted customer expectations through proactive communication experienced lower dissatisfaction levels than those who promised 2-day delivery during major heat advisories.

Recommended adjustments:

• Seasonal cutoff windows for expedited delivery
• Automated customer alerts during weather events
• Flexible delivery scheduling for customers (opt-in cooling delivery windows)
• Contingency plans with backup carriers or micro-fulfillment nodes

How 3PLs Are Responding to Climate Challenges

At Snapl, we’ve implemented a climate resilience strategy across our bonded and non-bonded facilities to ensure continuous, safe fulfillment operations year-round.

Our key initiatives include:

• Temperature-zoned warehousing in South Hadley, MA and Gloucester City, NJ
• Night-shift and early morning labor scheduling during summer months to avoid peak heat hours
• HVAC upgrades and airflow redesign to regulate warehouse temperatures efficiently
• Climate-ready packaging consultation with ecommerce clients
• Carrier contingency protocols to reroute shipments during heat-related service interruptions

As a result, Snapl maintained 98.7% on-time performance during the July 2025 heat wave while protecting product integrity and prioritizing warehouse team safety.

The Future: A Hotter, More Volatile Fulfillment Landscape

Heat waves like Summer 2025 are no longer anomalies—they are forecasts. Climate models predict even more frequent extreme weather events in the years ahead, and ecommerce fulfillment operations must evolve accordingly.

Brands that proactively adapt their logistics, storage, and packaging strategies will be better positioned to deliver a consistent customer experience—regardless of the temperature outside.