Christmas Logistics. The countdown has begun. Ensuring your customers receive their orders on time means preparation and planning now.
UK online Christmas spending reached a record £26.9 billion in 2025.
Planning – is your inventory in hand, are your manufacturers working to your deadlines (bear in mind the upcoming Chinese Golden Week holiday 1-7 October).
Shipping – Avoid hold ups and price hikes, book early and ensure you are updated on the progress of your goods.
Warehousing – Are your goods already in place, or have you got space booked.
Fulfilment – If you are outsourcing, have you contacted your fulfilment partner and agreed terms. If you’re handing this yourself are you ready to scale, have you got your packaging and processes in place.
Returns (Reverse Logistics) – Have you got your process in place for exchanges/refunds, 85% of customers say they will stop buying from a retailer if the returns process is a hassle.
Shipping tips for peak season
- Air freight: Book 6-7 days in advance of the Cargo Ready Date (CRD is the date on which a shipment is ready to be loaded and transported from its origin).
- Sea freight: Book 3-4 weeks in advance of the CRD. LCL Shipping: Note that transit time for LCL shipments will be 7-10 days longer than an FCL shipment. Avoid shipping 45’ HC containers, if possible. These are more likely to be rolled.
- Ports and warehouses will become congested. Expect more time to load/unload at origin and destination.
- Avoid booking multiple containers on a single bill of lading (B/L) try to book 2-4 TEU (1-2 x 40’s) per B/L. If multiple containers are under a single B/L (i.e. 10 x 40’), and that gets rolled, the supply impact would be far greater than a B/L with 1 or 2 containers getting rolled.
What are the challenges during the holiday season?
- Capacity strain: Increased demand often leads to rolled stock, transportation bottlenecks, port congestion and airfreight shortages.
- Inventory management: Keeping track of stock becomes more complex, especially across multiple warehouses, ensure customers are kept up to date with ‘out of stock’ and order cut off dates.
- Delivery delays: The surge in shipments can cause delays in deliveries, especially for international orders or those relying on last-mile logistics.
- Cost increases: Shipping costs rise during peak season, keep an eye on supply chain budgets.
- Staffing issues: Managing increased workloads can be a challenge. There’s often a need for temporary workers and they can be in short supply at this time of year.
Work with your logistics partners to find the best shipping, storage and fulfilment solutions to suit your budget and timescales
How TPS Global Logistics can help
By partnering with an experienced 3PL such as TPS, peak season becomes more manageable. We support retailers by offering flexible logistics solutions, cost-effective shipping, storage, fulfilment and distribution services. Our WMS covers inventory, tracking and reporting. With TPS you can optimise your supply chain to handle the demands of the Christmas holiday season.
As customers expect more from their online shopping experience – free returns, free and fast shipping, packaging surprise and delight experiences – retailers who keep up with their logistics will bring in more customers and keep them coming back.