Logistics companies are preparing for a more complex festive season this year, with rising e-commerce, quick commerce, D2C and cross-border shipments forcing them to go beyond simply adding capacity. Firms are expanding processing and storage infrastructure, hiring more frontline workers and using artificial intelligence (AI) and data to anticipate demand, optimise routes and resolve delivery exceptions.
The shift reflects how the festive peak has changed. Demand is increasingly spread across Tier 2 and 3 markets and comes in smaller, faster-moving shipments, while customers expect tighter delivery windows, real-time visibility and reliable returns. Logistics firms are, therefore, building greater flexibility into their networks to absorb sudden spikes without disrupting service. DTDC Express, for instance, has introduced solutions aimed at specific local delivery constraints. Its DTDC Vallam Express in Kerala uses waterways for last-mile deliveries to communities where road access is limited and is expected to facilitate more than 5,000 deliveries over the coming year.
The company expects festive cargo movement to be substantially higher than last year, with volumes during key festive periods typically reaching around 30% above the monthly average. The increase is being driven by festive gifting, consumer shipments, essentials and higher business activity across markets, CEO Abhishek Chakraborty told FE.
For Delhivery, peak-season preparation is a year-round exercise, but technology is playing a larger role this year. Its Delhivery Maps is aimed at improving address accuracy and routing, while TransportOne uses AI agents to automate parts of freight procurement, planning and execution. The company has also expanded support for its frontline workforce, including access to rest facilities.
Cold-chain logistics provider ColdStar Logistics is expanding storage and throughput across more than 45 distribution centres, particularly in markets that typically see sharp festive surges in FMCG, dairy and quick-commerce categories. It has also added buffer capacity, alternative routes and redundancy to guard against disruptions.
The company expects to hire 15% more gig workers than last year in high-demand corridors. It has also inspected reefer vehicles and cold-storage facilities as festive demand increasingly includes temperature-sensitive products such as dairy, chocolates and ready-to-eat foods.
Blue Dart is seeing strong momentum from e-commerce, particularly D2C brands, social commerce and businesses expanding into smaller cities. It expects to add frontline roles across delivery operations, sorting centres, hubs, gateways and last-mile logistics, resulting in a double-digit percentage increase in festive hiring over last year.
The emphasis is also shifting towards managing disruptions before they affect customers. Logistics providers are increasingly using personalised tracking updates, clearer delivery commitments and faster exception resolution to keep customers informed when shipments face delays.
The complexity extends to cross-border commerce. Hexalog Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer Utkarsh Tripathi said brands were planning earlier for freight capacity, customs documentation, warehouse coordination and last-mile handoffs, with route diversification becoming increasingly important amid potential port congestion and capacity constraints.
Logistics technology platforms are also embedding AI deeper into operations. Shipsy said nearly 94% of routine operational decisions across its networks, including rerouting, re-windowing, allocation and address corrections, are now handled by AI agents. The platform can also shift rider capacity between nearby zones when shortages emerge and contact customers in local languages to resolve address issues.
The result is a festive logistics playbook that is increasingly built around flexibility and real-time decision-making, rather than capacity alone.