Planning ahead can keep holiday freight moving
Peak season’s coming. Preparation now can help shippers avoid costly disruptions later
Key points:
- Holiday shipping demand can bring tighter capacity and higher transportation costs.
- Early planning for volume, busy lanes and facility schedules can help shippers avoid disruptions.
- Clear communication, shipment visibility and backup plans give shippers more options when delays happen.
By Shannon Russell
Holiday shipping can put pressure on every part of the supply chain – and this year, shippers are heading into the busy season with higher diesel costs and tighter capacity.
The best way to avoid last-minute problems? Know where you may need more time, capacity or flexibility before the rush begins.
Here are a few areas to focus on right now.
Know your holiday volume
Compare your expected holiday volume with last year to see which lanes, facilities or shipping dates are likely to be the busiest. A significant increase in volume is worth sharing with your transportation provider early, giving them more time to plan for the capacity you need.
Plan for your busiest lanes
Look at the lanes that will be most important to your operation and talk with your transportation provider about available capacity, equipment needs and potential alternatives.
Providing as much lead time as possible gives your transportation provider more time to plan ahead and secure the capacity your operation needs during the holiday rush.
If a particular lane is consistently difficult to cover, a backup option can save valuable time later.
Check facility schedules
A change in operating hours can create a problem long before a truck reaches its destination. Confirm operating hours and closures for your facilities, customers and suppliers.
Pay attention to appointment requirements and receiving hours, too. A carrier may have a truck available, but that doesn’t help if the destination is closed when the truck arrives.
Give time-sensitive shipments extra attention
Not every shipment needs the same level of urgency. Identify orders that have firm delivery dates, support a customer promotion or contain products needed for a time-sensitive operation. These shipments may need to be scheduled earlier or monitored more closely.
Look at your normal transit times and add some cushion where possible. Weather, traffic and increased holiday volume can play a role in transit times and delivery dates.
Know where your freight is
When shipping volume picks up, visibility becomes even more important. Make sure your team knows how to monitor shipments and identify potential delays while there is still time to respond.
If a shipment is running behind, knowing about it early gives you more options. You may be able to adjust an appointment, notify the customer or work with your transportation provider on another solution before the problem gets bigger.
Have a plan for delays
Even with careful planning, things can go wrong. What matters is how quickly you can respond. Ask yourself:
- Who needs to know?
- Which shipments should take priority?
- What alternatives are available if a carrier falls through or a delivery is delayed?
Those decisions are much easier to make before you’re dealing with a missed pickup or delivery.
Keep everyone informed
Holiday shipping involves more than the transportation team, so make sure carriers, warehouses, suppliers, customers and internal teams have the same information about schedules, volume and delivery requirements. A quick conversation ahead of time can prevent a lot of scrambling later.
Put your plan in place now
A strong transportation plan doesn’t have to be complicated. Start with expected volume, identify where capacity or scheduling problems are most likely, and make sure your team has a plan for handling delays.
The holidays always bring unexpected challenges, but planning ahead gives you more flexibility to handle them and keep your freight moving.
Have questions about your holiday transportation plan? TQL has solutions. Contact your dedicated Logistics Account Executive today or call 800.580.3101.
