Winning the Rush: Best Tips for Smooth Seasonal Delivery Execution

Ever felt the last-minute delivery rush during festivals? Most businesses, small or large-scale, struggle to ship and deliver orders on time during peak seasons or holidays. Jammed ports, overwhelmed workers, and overloaded fulfillment systems become a common problem during seasonal delivery.  

eCommerce brands usually experience high demand and an increase in their average order volume during these peaks. For instance, eCommerce order volumes went up by 19% between 11th and 15th July 2025, with appliances, electronics, and fashion items being most in demand. Online stores saw a sales jump of up to 8 times, sparking festive season preparations.   

The highest seasonal peaks are seen between August and December every year. This is when the festival prep and delivery rush starts, and you need proper arrangements to execute perfect deliveries. This article will offer you some pro tips to strategise these seasonal deliveries.

Strategic Warehousing for Efficient Seasonal Delivery

Your first hurdle would be gauging your seasonal delivery capacity for estimated order volumes. A gap might naturally be created between the volumes you expect and the number of orders you can deliver in a specific period. 

But how would you know your real delivery capacity? There’s often a challenge with your drivers running late and missing deliveries. It’s because of the unpredictability of the time that each delivery will take. That’s where you need route optimisation, which is AI-driven route planning.

It gives you impeccably accurate ETAs to ensure on-time seasonal deliveries by:

• Cutting travel time for drivers by suggesting the shortest routes between stops.

Optimising routes, for example, can save up to 20% of your fuel costs.

• Assigning the right vehicles by judging their capability and the right people by assessing drivers’ skills, for each stop.
• Precisely estimating the time required at every stop. 

This means no more guesswork when you feel like adding a fleet of vehicles to handle peak season demand. AI-based route optimisation lets you predict logistics needs in advance. A survey by McKinsey has shown that companies using AI in their supply chain mechanisms reduced logistics expenses by 15% and saw 35% and 65% improvement in inventory and service levels, respectively. 

You can increase your current delivery capacity by either adding more trucks or partnering with hyperlocal delivery experts, like Shiprocket Quick. 

Early Appointment Scheduling: A Must for Peak Delivery Efficiency

Your First Attempt Delivery Rate (FADR) is important for maintaining your cost. This rate matters even more in seasonal delivery. When you’re unable to deliver the order in the first go, a reattempt is needed (which isn’t free of cost). Along with paying double for the same delivery, you waste the chance of making a new one. 

What’s the solution? You must schedule your deliveries after confirming the availability with your customer. A message informing that the order is out for delivery, followed up by a phone call, is an efficient way to make a successful attempt. 

For instance, you can use more than one medium to inform the customer prior to delivery; drop in a WhatsApp message, SMS, and an email about the expected arrival of the package. The delivery agent can make a call early in the delivery day to confirm a suitable window with the customer. It saves everyone the cost of failed attempts. 

However, the rush in peak seasons can be maddening, and it can get difficult for you to follow up with each customer before delivery. The best option to loosen your burden during the festive demand is outsourcing your requirements. A 3PL like Shiprocket Quick can help you efficiently manage seasonal deliveries with its AI-powered last-mile delivery systems. 

Future-Proof Delivery with Scalable, Smart Solutions

High-volume seasonal deliveries are bound to put pressure on your existing system. What will the extra weight look like? You’ll have to:

• Send more order status updates
• Set routes for more stops
• Manage more vehicles and drivers
• Track a larger number of orders
• Tie up with more carriers or courier partners

This kind of scaling will take a toll on you if you lack the right tools and systems. You’ll face delivery delays, failed attempts, and additional expenses. A system or third-party logistics partner that can grow with you and handle any number of order volumes is what you need here. 

Smart technology like AI-powered shipping platforms, real-time tracking with constant order updates, and route and rider optimisation helps you scale smoothly. 

Track Everything: Visibility for a Smoother Delivery Season

Order tracking is one of the most prominent needs of customers as well as businesses. They need high and real-time visibility to know the whereabouts of the package. For you, it’s important to fix any issues in the shipment’s journey immediately. The customer wants it to tackle their anxiety and be aware of when the order will arrive. In fact, they also want real-time notifications for when their orders are shipped or are on the way for delivery. They even like to be notified about any delays early on. 

A Bringg Barometer survey has shown how big a problem visibility is. About 61% of retailers are unable to scale their last-mile delivery operations due to a lack of real-time tracking insights. Another 44% suffer because they struggle to manage multiple fulfillment channels with disconnected systems. 

An advanced real-time tracking system with live updates is exactly what you need. That’s how you’d know where and what the mid-journey shipment issues (if any) are, and can fix them accordingly.  

The Sooner You Start, the Smoother the Season

The Festive season happens to be India’s highest consumption period, responsible for nearly 30-40% annual sales for some categories. So, you must start planning for your seasonal delivery surges early on, about 3-6 months before the holiday season. It gives you ample time to do these things before the peak season hits:

• Fine-tune or optimise routes
• Identify any potential roadblocks (like fulfillment or tech gaps)
• Onboard extra delivery partners
• Train your team to handle the festive rush
• Implement and test new systems or software 

The earlier you begin preparations, the better your chances for timely deliveries and avoiding end-moment chaos. It keeps your customers happy and profits shining. 

Shiprocket Quick: Your Hyperlocal Solution for Last-Minute Rakhi Gifts

With August kicking in, Rakhabanshan is soon approaching, and so are urgent customer orders. The peaking demand and delivery rush can get the best of you. Shiprocket Quick has your back in such testing times. 

Our strengths:

• Ultra-fast same-day delivery service 
• Well-managed, vast hyperlocal delivery network 
• Real-time tracking with instant updates for you and your customers
• Affordable, possibly the lowest, delivery charges
• Rider allocation within seconds 
• Multiple courier partners to choose from
• Quick deliveries available 24/7 

Conclusion

Managing the fulfillment and delivery process efficiently is already a challenging task. It gets even more difficult during the festive seasons each year. The seasonal deliveries require more resources than usual and expertise to handle the rush. Order volumes are soaring for brands at this time due to exceptionally high demand. With strategic warehousing and the right technology and tools, you can manage deliveries smoothly. You can also partner up with hyperlocal delivery experts, like Shiprocket Quick, to manage the rush without any stress or spending too much.