Ready for the Holiday Rush? Why 3PLs Need to Prepare Early to Meet Retail Delivery Expectations

Demand for and pressure on third-party logistics companies has been ramping up for years. At no time is that demand and pressure higher than at the end of the year when organizations are desperate to live up to modern retail delivery expectations.

Consumer expectations have reached an all-time high. Every missed delivery and every inventory delay can result in empty shelves, lost sales, and, ultimately, frustrated customers. Early preparation is critical if 3PLs want to meet these heightened demands and maximize their end-of-year opportunity. Even minor disruptions can create a domino effect, derailing operations at a time when they need to be hitting on all cylinders. Proactive steps taken right now can help 3PLs provide service that lives up to consumer expectations and delights their retail customers.

This article explores why early preparation is the key to success, common challenges faced during the holiday rush, and how partnering with on-demand delivery partners like FRAYT can make all the difference. Interested in meeting retail delivery expectations this holiday season? Start shipping with FRAYT.

The Holiday Rush: Why Early Preparation is Essential

It’s no secret that consumer spending surges in November and December. Every year, billions of dollars are spent across a short time period. This year, experts predict consumers will spend even more across what is a compressed holiday calendar.

To keep up with high order volume across a short timeline, retailers and e-commerce businesses rely heavily on logistics partners to keep shelves stocked, prevent stockouts on e-commerce sites, and meet retail delivery expectations. Any single disruption can ripple through a company’s supply chain, resulting in lost revenue and dissatisfied customers.

That’s why 3PLs need to start preparing right now. By the time late November arrives, capacity is already stretched to the limit, and there’s little flexibility to bring on new partners or hire additional drivers at the last hour. Onboarding logistics partners and expanding delivery capacity are tasks that must happen early. There’s no time to scramble when peak demand arrives.

Early onboarding of logistics partners means plenty of time to:

• Build strong partnerships.
• Establish expectations.
• Train new drivers.
• Create a foundation for success.

These logistics partners don’t necessarily need exclusivity when making deliveries. They can fill gaps in your in-house capacity, ensuring that every delivery window is met as demand fluctuates. When you start the process early, you’re poised to meet customer expectations, minimize disruptions, and maximize profitability during the holiday rush.

Key Challenges Facing 3PLs During Peak Season

Dealing with a surge in peak season demand is one thing. But other dynamics at play make 3PL operations even more difficult at the end of the year as they try to deliver for retailers. Those dynamics include:

• Consumers expect fast delivery: Amazon has conditioned consumers to expect fast delivery — even same-day and one-day deliveries. For 3PLs, any delay in the middle mile can have a cascading effect, disrupting the last mile and resulting in unfulfilled delivery promises and revenue loss.
• It’s hard to find drivers: Driver quality (plus a diverse fleet) is pivotal in last mile delivery for 3PLs. An ongoing labor shortage makes it difficult to find good drivers — and this is especially true in November and December. As 3PLs scramble to manage large-scale shipments for major retailers, working with a logistics partner and its existing network of drivers makes it easy to ramp up capacity.
• Inventory management and visibility are key: Advanced inventory management and visibility are essential in this omnichannel retail landscape. 3PLs without visibility risk losing sight of shipments, leading to missed delivery windows and frustrated customers. A lack of visibility creates supply chain-wide chaos during peak season, making it even harder to deliver on promises retailers have made to consumers.

A reliable logistics partner answers almost all peak-season delivery questions. The right delivery partner can offer fast delivery times, provide access to high-quality drivers, and connect 3PLs with the advanced technology needed for inventory management and visibility.

Create Flexibility By Partnering With an On-Demand Delivery Provider

Flexibility means everything at the end of the season. When a 3PL builds flexibility into its delivery network, it can say “yes” to retailer requests, keep promises made to consumers, and offer the highest level of service to customers.

A delivery partner like FRAYT can be the key to establishing that flexibility.

FRAYT offers a scalable, on-demand network that allows 3PLs to ramp up or down based on real-time demand. This provides the flexibility needed when traditional capacity is maxed out. With a vetted network of drivers, FRAYT can step in to fill gaps caused by labor shortages, ensuring that critical delivery windows are met even when in-house resources are stretched thin.

We also offer an advanced platform that empowers real-time tracking, route optimization, and inventory visibility, enabling 3PLs to maintain transparency and control throughout the supply chain. These capabilities reduce the risk of miscommunication and ensure disruption-free handoffs from the middle mile to the last mile, minimizing delays and improving service reliability.

Now is the time to prepare for end-of-year demand at your 3PL. If you’re looking for a reliable delivery partner that provides ROI in the last mile, ship with us.