Planning your fulfillment during public holidays | Portless Help Center
Planning your fulfillment during public holidays
Public holidays in fulfillment regions can impact how quickly orders are processed and shipped. During these periods, fulfillment centers and carriers may pause operations, reduce capacity, or operate on limited schedules.
This article explains what changes during public holidays, why those changes matter to your fulfillment Service Level Agreements (SLAs), and what we recommend you do to plan ahead.
Things to keep in mind
Holiday impacts are not limited to the holiday dates themselves. Backlogs and carrier congestion before and after holidays can delay order processing and delivery. What this means for you: avoid placing urgent orders immediately before or after major holidays.
Recovery periods after major holidays can take several days or weeks.
Different fulfillment centers and carriers may operate on different schedules. Check holiday schedules and cutoff dates by location, and avoid assuming that all orders follow the same timeline.
For a complete list of official China and Vietnam public holidays, click here.
Impacts during public holidays
Public holidays often impact fulfillment and shipping in the following ways:
Fulfillment centers may close for multiple days or operate with reduced staffing.
Carrier pickups may pause or run on limited schedules.
Order backlogs can build up before and after the holiday period.
Processing times and transit times may extend beyond normal SLAs.
These impacts are most noticeable during multi-day national holidays, especially those tied to Lunar New Year celebrations or week-long observances.
Fulfillment SLAs are based on normal operating conditions. During public holidays:
Orders may be queued but not processed until operations resume.
SLAs may pause, extend, or shift to best-effort timelines.
Transit delays can occur even after fulfillment resumes due to carrier congestion.
Reduce fulfillment risk during holiday periods
To reduce risk during public holiday periods, we recommend the following:
Plan inventory and order placement early. Avoid placing time-sensitive orders close to known holiday windows.
Build buffer time into delivery expectations. Assume longer processing and transit times before and after major holidays.
Monitor cutoff dates and operational notices. Fulfillment centers and carriers may publish last-pickup dates and restart timelines.
Set realistic expectations with your customers. Adjust storefront delivery estimates when approaching high-impact holidays.
Reference holiday calendars. Use the detailed holiday calendars to understand exact dates and expected impact by region.