Diamond Logistics warns brands on peak season planning

Diamond Logistics has urged eCommerce brands to prepare their fulfilment and delivery operations for the Black Friday and Christmas trading period, when smaller online retailers can generate about 20% to 25% of their annual revenue.

The warning comes as retailers face shifting consumer spending patterns, freight disruption and pressure on warehouse space. Businesses that delay operational planning risk higher delivery costs and reduced access to carrier and storage capacity during the busiest weeks of the year.

Kate Lester, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Diamond Logistics, said online brands should focus on the operational strain of peak season rather than sales targets alone.

"Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Christmas are the biggest opportunity in the eCommerce calendar. For online brands, specifically SMEs, Black Friday through to Christmas represents around 20-25% of their total revenue for the year. To take advantage of this all-important golden quarter, brands need to understand what their peak season is going to look like operationally, rather than simply focusing on how much they want to sell, especially with the current geopolitical and economic environment still uncertain and hard to predict," said Kate Lester, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Diamond Logistics.

Businesses should already have checked whether their warehouses, internal systems and staffing levels can cope with higher order volumes. Retailers should also set clear delivery cut-off dates, maintain accurate parcel tracking and communicate proactively with customers to reduce complaints and missed expectations.

Operational strain

Peak trading periods often expose weak points in fulfilment processes, particularly among smaller retailers with limited in-house logistics resources. Late preparation can leave businesses competing for scarce warehouse space, accepting higher carrier rates or running out of time to make changes before order volumes rise.

"For an online brand, getting ready for peak is about understanding where the pressure points are before they become a problem. That means looking at your stock, your systems, your carrier arrangements and your fulfilment capacity, and asking whether they are genuinely fit for the season ahead. If those conversations are left too late, options become much more limited. You may find that additional space is harder to secure, that carrier costs have already increased, or that there simply is not enough time to make the operational changes needed. The brands that prepare early will be in a much stronger position to respond to demand, protect their margins and, most importantly, deliver the experience their customers expect," Lester said.

Diamond also pointed to rising shipping charges across major parcel networks serving UK businesses. Those additional fees are expected to increase pressure on margins at a time when retailers are also competing heavily on price and promotions to win seasonal demand.

Royal Mail is applying a peak season surcharge to domestic and international business account products, alongside a fuel and energy surcharge set at 16%. Evri is also introducing temporary peak premiums during the holiday delivery period. DHL Express UK, meanwhile, is adding a flat surcharge of £0.10 per kg for domestic time-definite services during its own peak window.

Carrier options

Those surcharges underline the risk of relying on a single parcel carrier during the busiest part of the year. Networks vary by destination coverage, parcel profile, speed, cost and available capacity, meaning one provider may not be the best fit for every order.

Diamond argued that a multi-carrier setup can give retailers more flexibility if one service becomes more expensive or constrained. That can matter during high-volume periods, when delivery performance affects both customer retention and the cost of handling missed or delayed orders.

"Relying on a single carrier can leave businesses exposed when volumes increase. Different carriers will have different strengths when it comes to destinations, parcel sizes, delivery speeds, costs and capacity, so it is important to understand which options are right for the products being sent and the customers receiving them. For us, a multi-carrier approach gives brands much greater flexibility during peak. It means they can allocate orders based on capacity, service and cost, rather than simply choosing the cheapest advertised rate. Ultimately, in the run-up to peak, it is about looking at the whole fulfilment operation and making sure every part is working together. I think the biggest challenge, alongside once again fighting for a share of sales, will be brands trying to keep their margins as strong as possible while combating rising costs. Planning ahead, and making sure they have the right delivery options in place for the products they are sending, will be a core component in achieving that," Lester said.