Last updated: September 10, 2021
Are you ready for the peak shipping season? During the fall and winter months, businesses need to prepare for back-to-school and holiday shopping when they will experience increased strains on their supply chain. If freight transport logistics start to break down when orders take off, customers will feel the impacts. This could damage the reputation of your business. Don’t let bottlenecks and unexpected delays keep you from missing out on big revenue opportunities. Read on to learn five expert tips to help you prepare for peak shipping season like a pro.
The holiday shipping season can represent 30% of annual sales.
When is peak shipping season?
From August to December, you can expect a continuous series of shopping “seasons” that you’ll want to be stocked and ready for. And this year, it’s more important than ever for your supply chain to be nimble and flexible. With the pandemic significantly accelerating e-commerce growth, businesses selling online and offline must have the proper plans in place to handle increased order demand and prevent freight shipping pitfalls.
When are the big shopping events in 2021?
- Back to school – Aug. to Sept.
- Canadian Thanksgiving – Oct. 11
- Halloween – Oct. 31
- U.S. Thanksgiving – Nov. 25
- Black Friday/Cyber Monday – Nov. 26 to 29
- Super Saturday – Dec. 18
- Christmas – Dec. 25
- Boxing week – Dec. 26 to Dec. 31
5 need-to-know tips for mastering the peak shipping season
1. Get acquainted: Understand your receivers’ requirements
Storage space is a source of challenges for peak shipping season. Once your shipment reaches a warehouse or distribution centre, a warehouse manager or receiver inspects, sorts and stores your freight. For the receiving process to run smoothly, you’ll want to ensure your freight is presented in a way that is quick and easy to process. Here are a few actions you can take:
- Talk to your receiver and confirm requirements such as label position, label information, pallet requirements, number of packages per pallet and acceptable package sizes and weights.
- Communicate the exact date and time that you need your shipment stored and delivered.
- Confirm ahead of time if the receiver has space for your shipment in their warehouse.
By learning your receiver’s requirements and clearly communicating them to all parties involved, you avoid freight shipping hold ups and keep your customers satisfied.
2. The early bird gets the worm: Hold promotions ahead of the busy season
With holiday demand putting massive strains on every aspect of your supply chain, it’s important to be prepared for the myriad of roadblocks that could occur, whether at ports, docks, warehouses or while your goods are in transit. Shipping products as early in the season as possible will let you rest easy knowing your goods will reach your customers on time. Below we’ve identified a few ways to promote your products earlier in the season to spread out the high holiday demand.
Tips to spread out holiday demand
- Promote early-bird specials: Offer early-bird discounts to incentivize customers to buy before a set date.
- Host a pre-season event: Generate customer excitement by hosting or sponsoring an event before the busy season.
- Offer discounts earlier in the season: Consider launching a flash sale or sales event before the busy shopping season.
3. Keep things moving: Consolidate your shipments
When under pressure to get orders out to customers on time during peak season, shippers might only fill up half or two-thirds of a trailer. By consolidating loads and leveraging a less-than-truckload (LTL) shipping strategy, businesses can reduce congestion at the loading dock, and effectively bring down shipping costs.
Case study:A freight consolidation success story
4. Give a heads up: Special requirements and product launches
It’s important to include any details about special requirements or dedicated appointment dates and times well in advance so your distributor can accommodate your needs. When using Purolator, take advantage of our Advance Delivery Notification service, and be sure to include any special requirements or dedicated appointment times.
5. Packaging do’s: Getting it there in one piece
Get ahead of the rush and pick up the majority of your packing materials now. With all your packing and shipping materials on-site in advance, you’ll save time and avoid delays in fulfilling orders, especially if they start coming in earlier than you thought. Properly packaging every piece of your shipment helps with ease of loading and unloading, while minimizing the risk of freight transport delays due to damaged packages. Here’s a simple mini checklist to ensure your shipments get to their final destination:
Pallet packaging do’s:
- Choose strong boxes that can withstand stacking
- Fill all empty space in your boxes with filler material
- Seal each box to be palletized using the H-style taping method
- Select a damage-free pallet that’s at least standard industry size (48” x 40”)
- When loading your pallet, place the heaviest boxes on the bottom and ensure you meet maximum weight limitations
- Wrap your pallet with high-quality shrink wrap
- Ensure your packaging label is visibly located on the side of the pallet
Access our full pallet packaging guidelines and learn how to prepare your pallets like a pro.
Be ready for the peak season rush
When it comes to shipping during the holiday season, preparing early is the key to success. E-commerce sales continue to soar from the lasting impacts of the pandemic and shoppers are planning to start earlier this year. Businesses need to be ahead of the game to cash in on the holiday season.
At Purolator, we can streamline the demands of the seasonal rush with our suite of freight shipping tools and flexible delivery options.
Be ready for the peak season rush
When it comes to shipping during the holiday season, preparing early is the key to success. E-commerce sales continue to soar from the lasting impacts of the pandemic and shoppers are planning to start earlier this year. Businesses need to be ahead of the game to cash in on the holiday season.
At Purolator, we can streamline the demands of the seasonal rush with our suite of freight shipping tools and flexible delivery options.