Kolibri360 – A Reliable Partner for the Holiday Season / New Systems Boost Fulfillment Capabilities

Erfurt, January 15, 2026. Whilenerves were frayed at many companies in the logistics industry in the run-up to Christmas, Zeitfracht Medien and Kolibri360 maintained a controlled sense of urgency. While online orders and orders from brick-and-mortar retailers poured in by the minute and the flood of packages broke new records, all processes at the logistics centers in Erfurt and Heeslingen ran as precisely as clockwork. For customers, this meant maximum planning reliability, dependable delivery times, and fully stocked shelves during the busiest sales period of the year.

Seasonal business is of great importance to the company, which is why preparations begin early in the year. Kolibri360 combines operational strength with a clear value proposition for retailers and publishers: “We are reliable when it matters most to our partners.” Key factors for the success of the holiday season included forward-looking workforce planning, high employee motivation, the addition of extra shifts, and investments in new equipment—particularly at the Erfurt facility, which added two additional packaging lines. The new equipment resulted in higher throughput, reduced cardboard consumption, and a noticeable reduction in the workload of day-to-day operations.

In the electronics and media sectors, demand picked up significantly starting in mid-November, peaking during Cyber Week around Black Friday. The surge in orders was processed with nearly 100 percent daily updates, giving Kolibri360’s retail partners a strong competitive edge. In the media segment, there was also strong demand for non-book items, which Kolibri360 supported with a broad, highly reliable product range.

The third-party services business was marked by significant volatility, with daily peaks, promotional periods, and short-term campaigns. Thanks to coordinated resource and personnel planning, additional volumes could be processed on a daily basis, ensuring that no order backlogs occurred and that promised cut-off times and delivery commitments were met. In both the B2B and B2C segments, customers expressed high satisfaction with the handling of their orders.

In the print-on-demand sector, a new production record was set in Erfurt in December. This enables Kolibri360 to ensure title availability even when demand rises at short notice and helps publishers and retailers capitalize on opportunities right up until the last day of sales. The combination of holidays and adjusted bookstore delivery cycles continues to make the year-end period operationally challenging; however, thanks to its capabilities, investments, and dedicated employees, Kolibri360 considers itself well-positioned to reliably support future peak periods as well.

Photo: Zeitfracht Medien GmbH. Higher-resolution version available at:
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Grint in Demand. Photo: Zeitfracht Medien GmbH. Higher-resolution version available at:
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Photo: Zeitfracht Medien GmbH. Higher-resolution version available at:
Download link on Flickr