Athletic Apparel Distribution
How an athletic apparel retailer hit peak without doubling headcount.
Nordstrom’s Elizabethtown and Cedar Rapids sites are still hiring for peak. Here’s how one retailer solved that gap without adding headcount.
Facing the same multi-site peak-season staffing gap, an athletic apparel retailer took its baseline rate from 210 to 516 units per hour without adding headcount.
Here is what changed.
Applicants Screened
Lift After Training
Baseline to Full Tenure
Customer + Engagement Overview
Customer:
Athletic Apparel Retailer
Operation:
Multi-Site DC Operations & Fulfillment
Scope:
Peak-Season Scale
Baseline Rate:
210 UPH
Final Rate:
516 UPH
Hiring Funnel:
7,247 Applicants → 1,569 Starts
The Multi-Site Peak-Season Staffing Gap
Peak volume was coming across multiple distribution sites, and the operation needed far more output from the floor.
The usual answer is to hire more. Doubling headcount for peak was the option this retailer needed to avoid.
Core Constraints:
Multi-site DC operations and fulfillment at peak-season scale- Baseline rate of 210 units per hour
- Throughput had to rise without doubling headcount
Hiring Volume Was Never the Gap. Fit Was.
Array’s model ran in three moves: Identify, Amplify, Coordinate.
Identify
7,247 applicants entered the funnel; 1,569 started. Screened hires ran 23% faster than unscreened ones, before a single hour of training.
+23% speed of screened vs. unscreened hires, pre-training.
Amplify
A four-week curriculum took the screened rate from 259 to 452 UPH, a 115% lift over baseline. Most of the gain landed in week one and held for three quarters.
259 → 452 UPH across a four-week curriculum.
Coordinate
A dedicated on-site lead roughly doubled a floor’s output. Associates at 13+ weeks ran 19% faster than in their first month.
+19% speed at 13+ weeks tenure vs. month one.
Results Delivered
Applicants Screened
7,247
Starts
1,569
Screened vs. Unscreened Speed
+23%
Four-Week Training Curve
259 → 452 UPH
Lift Over Baseline
+115%
Speed at 13+ Weeks vs. Month One
+19%
Operational Outcomes
- Baseline rate went from 210 to 516 UPH without adding headcount
- Training gains held across three quarters
- A dedicated on-site lead roughly doubled a floor’s output
- +145.8% total gain, baseline to full tenure
What This Proves
This athletic apparel distribution floor demonstrates that:
Screened hires outperform before training starts
Structured training gains hold for quarters, not weeks
Dedicated on-site leadership multiplies floor output
Peak throughput came from fit, training and coordination, not added headcount.
See exactly how an athletic apparel retailer took a distribution floor from 210 to 516 units per hour.
The complete case study: the screening funnel, the week-by-week training curve held across three quarters, and the leadership and tenure data behind the final number.
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Built for Nordstrom fulfillment operators evaluating peak-season staffing. Figures reflect the athletic apparel retailer’s distribution center cohorts as reported in the case study; results vary by customer and circumstances, and no particular outcome is guaranteed.