Skip to main content
All Collections2024 Atomix Peak Season
Prepare for the 2024 Holiday Season with Atomix: Key Deadlines, Surcharges, and Shipping Guidelines
Prepare for the 2024 Holiday Season with Atomix: Key Deadlines, Surcharges, and Shipping Guidelines

This FAQ informs Atomix clients about key deadlines, surcharges, and processing times for the 2024 holiday peak season.

Kayla Ford avatar
Written by Kayla Ford
Updated over a month ago

As the holiday season approaches, it's crucial to stay informed about important deadlines, potential surcharges, and shipping cutoffs to ensure smooth operations during this peak period. This guide provides everything you need to know about receiving deadlines, carrier-specific delays, and fulfillment surcharges.

Review these guidelines carefully to avoid unexpected costs and ensure timely deliveries. Select the drop downs below for more information.

For any questions, reach out to our CX team for support.


Atomix Holiday Calendar and Schedule

Q4 of each year is the busiest shipping time of the year. Atomix scales its workforce and reallocates existing labor to ensure complete focus on order fulfillment.

See inside for exact dates of shipping, department working hours and cut off dates

Receiving Deadlines

  • All Q4 receiving shipments will arrive at Atomix in full no later than November 15, 2024.

  • Shipments that arrive past November 15, 2024 will be set aside, and will not be received until after the New Year, and will be charged for monthly storage costs.

  • Shipments that you would like received after Nov 15 will incur an additional fee of $500, and could take up to 12 business days excluding Monday.

  • If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to your account manager no later than November 1.

If receiving guidelines are not followed additional delays and fees will incur.

See below for links to receiving guidelines

Outlines the final date for Q4 shipment arrivals and the consequences of missing this deadline, including additional fees and delayed processing.

Atomix Daily Order Cutoffs

  • Express must be received by 10 AM CST each day, in order to qualify for same day shipment.

  • Orders that are non-express shipments must be received by 1pm CST to ship same day.

Expect delivery delays up to 10 days across all carriers during the peak season.

Peak season can extend from beginning of November to late January.

Specifies the daily cutoff time for express and expedited shipments to qualify for same-day overnight processing.

Carrier-Specific Surcharges

A temporary peak surcharge will be applied to shipping services from 9/30/2024 and will run until 1/18/2025. During this period, the following additional fees will be added to standard shipping rates:

These surcharges will vary based on service type, delivery zone, shipment date, weight, and dimensions:

  • Economy: $0.30 - $6.50 per package

  • Ground: $0.25 - $8.25 per package

  • Expedited: $2.50 - $10.00 per package

Please note that the above surcharges are for base rates only and do not include additional fees that may be applied by carriers for specific circumstances, such as:

  • Additional handling

  • Address changes

  • Delivery instructions

Surcharge amounts may also depend on the individual shipment details, including dimensions and weight, and are subject to change based on carrier policies.

Atomix-Specific Surcharges

  • To plan our workforce and prepare for a higher volume of shipments during the fourth quarter, we require that our brands provide an estimation of their volume increase. Please take care to provide projections that are as accurate as possible.

If order volume falls below 5%, or exceeds 5% of the projection provided, expect to see a 20% increase in the cost of fulfillment.

This supersedes the 10% order volume serge that is listed in the Atomix Client SLA.

For Example:

You’ve projected you’ll receive 1000 orders during this Holiday period. According to our policy:

  • You receive only 900 orders (below the anticipated range), or if you receive 1,100 orders (exceeding the expected range), a 20% surcharge will apply.

  • This surcharge specifically covers the discrepancy between the projected and actual order volumes.

Explains the surcharges Atomix will apply based on the accuracy of clients' order volume projections, providing examples of how these surcharges are calculated if actual order volumes deviate from projections.

Special Projects

Special projects submitted between November 15th until January 2nd will be subjected to the holiday processing rates and time.

  • Project Fee will be increased to $125 per man hour

    • Minimum Fee: Each project will start with a minimum fee of $375, which covers the first 3 hours of labor.

    • Additional Hours: Should a project exceed 3 hours, each additional hour will be billed at $125 per hour.

      *Please note that even for projects estimated to take less than 3 hours, the minimum fee of $375 will apply.

  • Special Project Timeline will be increased to 12 days not including Monday's or Holidays.

Packaging Analysis

Atomix recommends increasing your packaging volume by 40% to ensure you remain stocked and prepared for the high order volume during the peak season.

Based on busy season increased order volumes and past trends, we recommend increasing your packaging inventory.


Important Reminder: Atomix's recommended cutoff dates are carefully determined based on current information from carriers and our internal schedules. While orders placed after these dates may still arrive before December 25th, we've set these cutoffs with a conservative approach, understanding that delivery delays are common during the holiday season. Rest assured, Atomix is committed to working diligently to ensure that your packages arrive on time, providing you and your customers with the best possible experience during this busy period.

Did this answer your question?