Get Your Logistics Ready Now: The Second Half Won't Wait

The second half of the year in Chile is a logistics marathon. Chile's national independence celebration (Fiestas Patrias) in September, CyberMonday — Chile's biggest online shopping event — in October, Black Friday in November, Christmas in December. Four sales peaks in four consecutive months. And between each one, you barely have time to catch your breath before the next one hits.

I've been running ecommerce logistics for years, and I built Despacha precisely because I saw how many stores collapse in the second half by not preparing ahead. The time to get your logistics ready isn't September — it's now, in July, while you still have the calm to think.

Audit your couriers

When was the last time you evaluated whether your courier is actually delivering? I'm not talking about their marketing — I'm talking about the real data from your operation.

Review the last 3 months:

• First-attempt delivery success rate. If it's below 85%, you have a problem.
• Average delivery time. Compare what you promise on your site with what actually happens.
• Complaints and lost packages. How many "where's my order?" tickets do you get per month?

You have real options out there. In any market, there are couriers with better national coverage, others that are more competitive on pricing for remote areas, and others that excel in urban zones. You don't have to marry one — many stores use two couriers and assign based on zone and weight.

July is the month to test a new courier with trial shipments, not December when every package counts.

Negotiate rates before it's too late

Couriers negotiate volume-based rates. But if you show up asking for a discount in November, they'll tell you the preferred slots are already taken. Negotiation happens during the quiet months.

Prepare your numbers: how many shipments you make per month, how much you project for the second half, average weight, distribution by zone. With that data you can sit down with 2–3 couriers and compare proposals. Even if you decide to stay with your current courier, having a quote from the competition gives you negotiating power.

Organize your warehouse

This sounds basic, but the number of stores that waste time looking for products in their own stockroom is staggering. When you have 5 orders a day, the mess is manageable. When you have 30 on a campaign day, the mess paralyzes you.

Things you can do this week:

• Put your 20 best-selling products in the most accessible spot. Not in the back of the shelf, not in the bottom box.
• Label everything. If you know where every product is but your helper doesn't, you have a bottleneck.
• Stock up on packing materials. Boxes, filler, labels, tape. Calculate how much you use per week and multiply by 3 for peak season. Running out of boxes on a Black Friday is not a hypothetical scenario — it's happened to me.

Define your shipping zones

Many stores offer "shipping nationwide" without actually calculating what it costs to ship to the far ends of the country. And when an order comes in from a remote area, the shipping eats the entire product margin.

Define clear zones:

• Zone 1: Major metro area. Fast delivery, low cost.
• Zone 2: Central regions. 2–3 days, moderate cost.
• Zone 3: Remote regions. 4–7 days, high cost.

Be transparent about the times and costs for each zone. A customer in a remote city would rather know their order takes 4 days than be told "2–3 days" and have it arrive in a week.

Prepare your Plan B

What happens if your courier gets overwhelmed and stops picking up? What do you do if your star product runs out mid-campaign? How do you handle a day with 3 times your normal volume?

You don't need a 20-page contingency plan. You need answers to these three questions:

1. Do I have a second courier set up and tested?
2. Do I have suppliers who can restock in under a week?
3. Do I have a backup person who can help pack if volume spikes?

If all three answers are "yes," you're better prepared than 90% of online stores.

Peak season doesn't forgive improvisation. But if you prepare now, you'll arrive at each sales peak with the calm of someone who already has everything figured out.