Haul Out the Holly — and the Inventory!

Holiday shipping isn’t what it used to be. Like those icicle Christmas lights that used to adorn every rain gutter (remember those?), the days of single-destination parcel shipping are over.  

Now shippers need to send parcel deliveries to stores, homes, offices, regional distribution hubs, dark stores and other locations. And they need to support a range of fulfillment modes, including curbside pickup and buy online, ship to store (BOPIS). They also need to navigate peak-season surcharges from the big carriers that can significantly erode margins.  

Contrary to what we’ve been told, no red-suited hero — accompanied by trusty reindeer — is going to show up at the last minute to save your holiday profits. If you want to achieve a successful, profitable holiday shipping season, you need to start doing the heavy lifting now. 

It’s time to figure out exactly where your parcel shipments need to go — homes? stores? micro-fulfillment centers? — and then figure out how you’re going to deliver them, and when. 

This analysis begins by looking back at historic demand from the 2023 holiday shipping season, your projected holiday sales for this year, and any factors that might significantly influence demand. For example, are you running a Black Friday promotion? Are you featuring certain SKUs on social media? This isn’t an easy task, but it’s essential to have a good sense of the inventory volumes you’ll need to have available.  

Next, you need to plan for distribution. Where is inventory most needed? Can you front-load some high-capacity stores or hub warehouses strategically? Can you implement “zone skipping” strategies that minimize regional surcharges imposed by UPS, FedEx and other carriers? The great thing about planning in advance is that you get to make thoughtful, strategic choices now, instead of scrambling later to get products where they’re most needed. 

Of course, shipment timing is also crucial. It’s easy to focus on Christmas and December 25, but don’t forget that the holiday shipping season also includes Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year’s Eve celebrations. Just as zone skipping helps minimize fees, shipping in advance enables you to minimize peak-season surcharges from the big carriers. You’ll want to ship early, in bigger quantities, instead of expediting a lot of smaller orders later. 

At the risk of adding to your pre-holiday jitters, it’s not only inventory that you need to haul out for the holidays. You’ll also need to make sure you have labor resources in place to ship, receive and curbside-deliver all those parcels across your distribution network. Especially given the labor shortages of the past few years, you need to think hard about staffing now. Again, moving your shipments up may help you secure seasonal labor at better rates. 

Need a Little Christmas Assistance? Turn to Redwood   

If you’re too focused on your current business challenges to even think about a holiday parcel shipping strategy, we have good news. Redwood can help! Like Santa’s elves working behind the scenes all year long, we can provide the hands-on effort required to position you for holiday success. Redwood’s Parcel Advisory experts can guide you through the tough challenges ahead — and help you deliver your inventory on time and cost-effectively.  

These experts — many of whom are former employees of UPS, FedEx and other global  — can work absolute magic by assessing your network design and your carrier mix. They can review your shipping patterns, analyze your current rates and contracts, and identify cost-savings opportunities that won’t negatively impact service levels. Like Rudolph, they can lead your team through successful carrier contract negotiations based on their specialized expertise, as well as their hands-on experience with hundreds of organizations just like yours. 

It's early September, and you still have plenty of time to prepare for a jolly holiday shipping season. But don’t wait — reach out to Redwood today.

Let’s start making a list, and checking it twice, together.