Lara GuevaraSupply Chain expert (Product and Service)

Your Launch Timeline Is Missing This

31 Mar 2026 · 1 min

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1:04

Lara Guevara shows why product launches fail even with perfect production timelines. Between when goods ship and when they're sellable, customs, tracking, and receiving can take 7-10 days normally or 18-25 days when ports are congested. One brand missed launch by three weeks despite nailing production, wasting ad spend. Add a 21-day buffer after shipment before you commit to a launch date.

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Every new product launch has a timeline gap nobody puts in the plan, and it's where launches go to die. Because between production complete and ready to sell, there are steps most founders forget to time, and right now those steps are taking longer. The hidden gap is customs clearance plus domestic tracking plus 3PL receiving and check-in. In a normal market, that's maybe 7 to 10 days. In disrupted market with port congestion and reduced staffing, it could be 18 to 25 days. I watched a brand plan a launch for a specific date. They back-calculated their production deadline perfectly, and then they got caught in 19-day custom and receiving delay they never built into the timeline. They launched 3 weeks late. They had already run pre-launch ads. The damage was real. And 21 days of buffer after goods shipped. On every launch timeline, build it in now before you commit to a go-live date.