US peak-season stock and dispatch: build one plan before the promotion

Make one plan for promotions and physical work

A peak-season plan should connect the products you intend to promote with the work required to deliver them. Start with a dated campaign list: channel, SKU, offer, expected orders, units per order and the commercial owner. Mark estimates separately from confirmed commitments, then prepare lower, expected and higher-demand scenarios using your own evidence. Give operations the intended launch and review dates before the offer reaches customers.

Separate US-stock orders from China direct dispatch in this plan. US inventory needs a replenishment and receiving schedule before local picking begins; direct dispatch needs its own supplier preparation, international movement and delivery review. Do not apply the US warehouse release schedule to goods still overseas. The publisher references below describe peak-season planning pressures. The working records here are our recommendations, and the dates, capacity and costs for your operation need confirmation with the responsible teams.

Work backward from releasable stock to supplier readiness

For each replenishment batch, record the supplier order, final quantity, goods-ready estimate, transport reference and expected US receiving location. Put international departure, arrival, customs work, address delivery, warehouse receipt and putaway on separate lines. Name the contact checking each stage and the evidence needed to confirm it. Work backward from when stock must be ready for picking, keeping any uncertain stage visible instead of converting a transport estimate into a campaign promise.

Confirm the actual warehouse receiving arrangements for cartons or pallets: appointment where required, address, unloading scope, package identifiers and checks requested. Share the inbound list with the receiving team and flag arrivals that compete with a busy dispatch period. If a batch changes or arrives short, revise the affected SKU plan and ask the commercial owner which offers should change. An inbound booking reserves a receiving arrangement only as agreed; it does not establish that goods have arrived or passed their release checks.

Allocate only stock that has passed the agreed checks

Prepare a launch balance by SKU and location showing physical units, units held for review, existing order allocations, campaign reservations and the quantity available for new orders. Keep expected replenishment outside that available balance until the agreed receiving checks are complete. For products shared across channels, identify the stock decision owner and the limits each channel may use. A forecast of a popular product is not an instruction to allocate the same units to every storefront.

Set a review trigger for your own plan, such as a balance falling below an agreed reserve or an inbound batch missing its planning milestone. Record the action, owner and affected offer: adjust the campaign quantity, pause the relevant listing, approve replenishment or obtain another reviewed instruction. Use confirmed quantities for that decision. Avoid making the physical count match a sales forecast, or treating returned units as available before their condition and authorised destination have been checked.

Check packaging and handling against the expected sales mix

List the packing work for the promoted products, including inserts, protective materials, kits and any presentation requirements. Record approved packing versions and materials needed per order. Compare the higher-demand scenario with actual supplies and the work the warehouse team has agreed to handle. Ask what additional preparation needs approval, who orders missing materials and which tasks could delay the final release. Capacity should be discussed by activity, not only as a daily order total.

Prepare representative finished parcels before committing the offer. Include a mixed basket or a promotional bundle if those will be sold. Record the pack contents, dimensions, gross weight and proposed service, and confirm goods-specific acceptance separately. If a last-minute promotional insert or carton changes the measurements, update the booking data and packing instruction together. Keep optional presentation work distinct from protection and required documents, so a material shortage leads to a deliberate merchant decision rather than an improvised packing change.

Agree the release queue, collection plan and cancellation handover

Write the priority rules the dispatch team will use when there is more approved work than the current release slot can handle. Consider order age, customer promise, stock readiness, channel requirements and any booked retail delivery. Identify who may change a priority and how that change reaches the packing team. Keep orders awaiting an address, stock or payment decision outside the releasable queue, with a reason and an owner. Priority should not disguise a missing approval.

Confirm collection arrangements and the applicable service information for the actual dates. Record warehouse cutoffs separately from carrier and platform requirements. Rehearse a missed collection and an order cancelled while picking: locate the goods, stop the affected release when instructed and reconcile the allocation before restoring stock. Preserve label, warehouse-release and physical-handover records separately. Ask for a reviewed alternative when a collection or service is unavailable, including any changed charge or customer message, before moving the order into that alternative workflow.

Reserve work and space for returns while outbound orders continue

Plan returns as another incoming workload within the same operating calendar. Use your own expected quantities and review dates; record the receiving address, return reference, identification checks, inspection work and authorised stock outcomes. Confirm who handles unmatched parcels and who supplies the next instruction. Allocate the agreed receiving and holding space alongside replenishment arrivals, so a customer return does not become an unidentified carton occupying a dispatch area.

Discuss the processing work that competes with picking: opening parcels, counting accessories, photographing condition, repacking or repair assessment. Keep each task within its approved scope and record the person deciding resale, further work or another destination. Include outstanding returns in the stock review without counting them as new available units. The retailer’s refund or other customer decision remains a separate process with its applicable requirements; a warehouse capacity plan does not extend those requirements or establish a refund outcome.

Rehearse three exceptions before opening the promotion

Use a normal-day order sample and a promotion-day sample with the same SKU map. Change the promotion sample to include a short inbound batch, an address change after picking starts and a missed collection. For this internal rehearsal, give each team only the information it would receive in practice, then ask it to show the next instruction and the record used to support that decision.

Complete the exercise when the merchant and warehouse can agree what remains available, what is held, which parcel can leave and which customer message needs updating. Record the unresolved step and its owner before repeating the sample. Confirm warehouse capacity, release cutoffs and the selected carrier service for your own plan before publishing customer delivery messages.

• Short receipt: show the counted quantity, campaign allocation to revise and the person authorised to reduce the offer.
• Changed order: identify the picked units and packing status, retain the previous address version and wait for the approved replacement instruction.
• Missed collection: retain the parcels in the confirmed location, review the next accepted service and agree any changed customer message before release.
• Incoming return during the same shift: reserve a holding location and inspection owner without adding the goods to campaign availability.

Use a daily decision record to control exceptions

At an agreed review point, compare expected and actual arrivals, releasable stock, open orders, completed handovers and returns awaiting work. For each gap, record the affected references, quantity, last confirmed event, next action and decision owner. Add a next review time for unresolved items. If the backlog grows, the decision may concern campaign volume, stock allocation, packing work or transport scope; identify the constraint before asking every team to simply work faster.

Keep changes in one versioned plan and notify the people whose instructions changed. Review actual handling and transport charges against the approved scope, and record customer promises that need a merchant update. After the campaign, use observed results to revise the next plan rather than claiming the trial proves unlimited capacity. For Jeton Express, bring the SKU forecast, inbound batches, packing work, US destinations and returns plan. Guangzhou preparation, US partner warehouse handling and dispatch can then be discussed as specific activities with agreed responsibilities.