Even though it feels early to be thinking about peak season, it’s coming fast. Companies need to be prepared for what is, for most, a make-or-break time of year. And we all know that making meaningful improvements to any parcel operation takes time.

Here are five recommendations every small parcel shipper can put into action to prepare for the 2024 peak season. Each is a concrete step you can take to make this your most successful holiday season ever. And at the end, there’s a bonus recommendation plus four additional ideas.

Recommendation Number One: Get Your Data Organized

It’s probably no surprise, but you can guess that the place to start is with your shipping data. Your data is almost always what should be driving shipping decisions in your day-to-day parcel operations and at the strategic level, because there’s always something to be learned from it.

Recommendation Number Two: Understand Your Present Costs, Fees, and Surcharges

Parcel carriers, especially FedEx and UPS, are masters at keeping rates and costs opaque for their customers. Many, if not most, companies are unable to track, much less calculate, the impact of the common carriers’ rate changes at any point in the year. Don’t go into 2024’s peak season operating blind. Make sure you understand all your rates and the surcharges impacting your costs.

Recommendation Number Three: Get Ready For, and Be Able To Adjust To, Peak Season Surcharges

There are only a few things we can be certain parcel carriers will do with consistency when it comes to rates — and that is their Peak Season (a.k.a. Demand) Surcharges. These additional seasonal costs can be complex and hit your shipping budget hard. The most effective way to deal with this challenge is to model your costs. This will guide your approach and identify actions you can take to avoid the full impact of the surcharges. If you have a parcel data platform, that should be easy. If you do not, now might be the time to find one.

Recommendation Number Four: Use Your Newfound Clarity

This recommendation is about bringing together everything we’ve talked about. At this point, you’ve identified some areas to improve (Recommendation #1), have a handle on the current fees and surcharges (Recommendation #2), and have started to formulate a data-based plan of action for this year (Recommendation #3).

The good news is that if you’ve gotten this far, you’ve done the hard part and have set your parcel operation up for success this peak season and beyond. So, what’s one action you can take this week to move in that direction?

Recommendation Number Five: Offer Customers More Shipping Options

An interesting dynamic of peak shipping season has to do with customer expectations of what “fast” actually means when it comes to delivery. The good news is that customers’ definitions of fast delivery differ. So, if you’re not offering a variety of shipping options, you may be paying extra for delivery speed the customer doesn’t notice or care about.

BONUS Recommendation: Refresh Your Rates

Your rates are controlled by your contracts. When was the last time you renegotiated yours? Right now — even leaving aside peak season surcharges — is the best time IN A LONG TIME to renegotiate your parcel contacts. The carriers are desperate for parcel volume, and the pricing they’re offering shows that. There is no reason NOT to renegotiate as soon as possible.

Get, and Stay, Ready

Confidence is the key to a successful peak shipping season! Understanding the rate landscape and taking control of your parcel operation through data provide the foundation for your confidence.

To get a more in-depth explanation of all six of these recommendations plus four additional ideas on how to prepare for peak season, click here.