When a new year starts, most label contracts quietly roll forward without much attention. Pricing has not changed, labels are still arriving, and there is always something more urgent to focus on.

At LSP, we often see brands assume that revisiting a label contract means a full renegotiation or a disruptive transition, when it does not have to. Our structured onboarding process makes it easy to refresh and reexamine an existing label program without interrupting production.

The bigger issue is that label contracts rarely fail loudly. They drift. Small misalignments between what is written and how a business operates build up over time. Those issues tend to surface as longer lead times, excess inventory, or surprise costs when production ramps up.

Using the new year as a natural checkpoint, supported by a clear onboarding and review process, allows brands to identify and correct those gaps before they become problems.

1. Lead Times That No Longer Reflect Reality

Many contracts still reference lead times that made sense several years ago. Since then, operations have changed.

More SKUs are running on shared press capacity. Production schedules are tighter.

If your agreement states three to four weeks but your team plans around six to eight, you are already absorbing risk. That gap usually shows up during promotions, seasonal spikes, or new launches when labels suddenly become the constraint.

What to review
Do contracted lead times align with how quickly you need labels today, not how quickly you needed them when the contract was signed?

2. Volume Commitments That Do Not Match Ordering Behavior

Annual volume commitments often look reasonable on paper but rarely match how brands truly order.

Common issues include uneven demand, minimum quantities that no longer align with production runs, and new SKUs pulling volume away from core items.

When this happens, brands either miss pricing tiers or overproduce labels simply to meet committed volumes.

What to review
Do your volume assumptions reflect real ordering behavior or forecasts that are no longer accurate?

3. Pricing Breaks You Are No Longer Hitting Consistently

Label pricing is usually built around clean quantity thresholds. In practice, many brands land just under those breakpoints.

As SKU counts increase, volume gets fragmented across more runs. Without reviewing pricing structure, brands often pay more per thousand without looking for opportunities to reduce cost.

What to review
Would adjusting breakpoints, consolidating volume across SKUs, or changing how volume is counted reduce cost without increasing inventory risk?

4. Material and Specification Assumptions That Have Drifted

Adhesives, liners, coatings, and finishes evolve over time, but contracts often lock specifications in place.

This is especially important for refrigerated, frozen, and high moisture environments where material mismatches can create downstream problems. Often times, material is chosen and applied across multiple items without considering that processes and environments change by product.

What to review
Do current specifications still match real world use or are you paying for performance that doesn’t apply?

5. Inventory Assumptions and Carrying Risk

Many label contracts focus heavily on unit price and say little about where labels are stored or who carries the risk.

As brands grow, holding months of label inventory can quietly tie up cash, consume warehouse space, and increase the risk of obsolescence when artwork changes.

Alternatives like staged releases, min and max programs, or supplier held inventory are rarely discussed unless someone raises the topic.

What to review
Does your agreement support inventory flexibility, or does it quietly push risk back onto your operation?

Final Thought

Letting a label contract roll forward without review may feel efficient, but it is often leaving time and money on the table. The most effective brands treat the new year as an opportunity to reset and realign their label programs with how their business operates today.

A structured onboarding and review process makes this easier than many teams expect. It provides a straightforward way to revisit lead times, pricing structure, material specs, inventory assumptions, and accountability without disrupting day-to-day operations.

A short review at the beginning of the year, guided by a clear onboarding framework, can prevent months of reactive problem solving later and help ensure your label program is supporting your goals rather than quietly working against them.