Prepare Now for Peak-Season Parcel Success

The snowflakes aren’t flying yet, but all the signs are there. UPS, FedEx, DHL, USPS, and other carriers have announced their holiday shipping schedules and surcharges. Redwood has published its annual peak-season shipping guide. That means, like an elite winter-sports athlete, it’s time for your business to prepare rigorously for parcel-shipping success during the upcoming 2025 peak season.  

At Redwood, we think of those 34 days between Black Friday and New Year’s Day as the Winter Olympics of parcel shipping—and we know how to get you on the podium, thrilling executives, investors, and customers with your performance. 

What makes Redwood a trusted resource for coaching and consultation? We’ve helped shippers just like you achieve gold-medal results in over 20 peak shipping seasons. We’ve helped them cut costs by an average of 23%, as well as negotiate better carrier contracts in just 43 days.  

As Redwood’s annual guide emphasizes, there are three steps to emerging as a winner during the upcoming peak season: 

• Prepare by forecasting demand, planning distribution, and lining up resources now.
• Perform when it matters most, using advanced tech, real-time visibility, and agile replanning.
• Perfect in the post-season as you audit costs, analyze results, and train for 2026. 

In this blog post, first in a three-part series, let’s take a closer look at how you should be prepping. What exactly should you be doing, right now, to set up your championship run? 

Maximize Your Shipping Health and Fitness, Starting Today  

If you haven’t already started gearing up for the holiday peak season, there’s still time. But you need to ramp up your preparations quickly. Make sure you’re in peak condition in November and December by looking objectively at these four critical performance aspects:

• Demand planning accuracy. Following a volatile year, what will peak-season demand look like? Predictions abound, but you know your customers and demand levels best. Look at historical data from the 2024 peak season and your current sales projections, as well as planned promotions, new product launches, and social media campaigns. 
• Innovation in distribution. Redwood helps customers achieve big savings by placing inventory strategically, front-loading stores and warehouses, and using zone-skipping and other tactics to minimize carrier surcharges. As the major carriers aggressively roll out surcharges and chase higher margins, you need to push back with new best practices and innovations that maximize your own profits. 
• Smart scheduling. You need to remember that Christmas, while important, isn’t the only event on your schedule. Winners also plan for Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and New Year’s celebrations. Study your carriers’ effective days for volume-related rate increases and get out in front of the pack by shipping early, at scale.  
• The right labor resources. All those parcels aren’t going to ship, receive, and curbside-deliver themselves. While automation is playing a bigger role, you still need bench strength in the form of labor. Peak-season champions minimize the impact of higher seasonal rates and employee overtime by shipping as early as possible. 

Parcel Shipping Is a Team Sport. Choose Your Partners Wisely.  

It’s easy to rely on the incumbent carriers who have gotten you through previous peak seasons. But your goal shouldn’t be to simply make it through the November-December volume spike. You want to win, consistently, with gold-medal cost and service results. That means assessing and updating your roster of partners every year.   

Take an objective look at how well your incumbents fit your needs in terms of rate schedules, services, deadlines, capacities, and openness to negotiation. Then look beyond the veterans and consider rookie carriers who might be a better fit. UPS and FedEx are shifting their focus to larger, higher-margin accounts, creating a chance for smaller carriers to flex their muscle. 

When drafting new partners, make sure they’re using advanced technologies. The big carriers have pioneered real-time connectivity and visibility tools that let you and your customers track shipments at every step. Don’t compromise on this crucial service, which has become a market expectation.  

Perhaps the most important decision factor? Your carriers’ win-loss record. How well did they perform during the 2024 peak season? Look closely at their past cost and service results, as well as how much they value your business. Carriers are key to your peak-season success. Don’t be afraid to shake up the roster this year. Redwood saves parcel customers an average of $1.1 million year-round, in large part by perfecting the carrier mix and coaching customers through rate negotiations. 

Level Up Your Readiness with Redwood 

Every champion needs an experienced, qualified support team. If you don’t have the internal resources to manage peak-season planning and preparation, why not rely on Redwood?  

Our Parcel Advisory team, made up of former professionals from FedEx, UPS, and other carriers, is ready to help you plan accurately, leverage innovative practices, schedule intelligently, and build a winning team. They can optimize your carrier mix and coach you on contract negotiations. 

When it comes to the critical peak season, every minute counts. Reach out to Redwood and ramp up your readiness. 

Get Your 2025 Parcel Peak Shipping Guide

Want a deeper playbook to navigate the season? Download Redwood’s 2025 Parcel Peak Shipping Guide for detailed strategies, timelines, and tips to keep your business ahead of the curve.