FedEx surprised to the upside in Q4, its laser focus on ecommerce capabilities in recent years paying off in terms of responsiveness to massive online buying, even as service stumbles were reported in a couple states. It seemed none the worse for having parted ways with Amazon in 2019 to seek more profitable customer relationships.
On-the-way delivery app Roadie has partnered with Delta Cargo to enable the first cross-country, same-day delivery service for critical items such as medical devices and machine parts using air cargo and last-mile drivers in tandem. While critical-need items are the most natural use case, ecommerce deliveries are not far behind.
FedEx announced its annual general rate increase (GRI) for 2020. Effective Jan. 6, FedEx Express, FedEx Ground and FedEx Home Delivery will increase an average of 4.9%, while FedEx Freight will increase rates by an average of 5.9%. How will this affect individual shippers? Here’s a breakdown of the areas likely to have the greatest impact.
Despite public pronouncements from FedEx Chairman and CEO Fred Smith that he is unconcerned about Amazon as a logistics competitor, the company used that term in its recently released annual report for the first time in connection with the ecommerce giant. Further actions by Amazon will “reduce our revenue” FedEx stated.
Same-day delivery services startup Dolly has raised $7.5 million in new capital to fund expansion and increase its operational and technical teams, raising its venture funding total to $20 million. An Amazon executive is one of the new investors. Dolly plans to expand to 15-20 new markets this year and uses independent contractors.
The ecommerce delivery battleground is increasingly focused on who can best meet growing consumer expectations for experiences that are simple, fast, reliable and convenient. So how can you best satisfy their delivery wants? Here are 6 key insights from recent research to help you drive a positive delivery experience.
Delivery fleet operations eat up a huge chunk of transportation costs, whether owned, leased or outsourced. In spite of this cost they have a huge role to play in overall customer service. How can you tell if delivery route planning software is the solution? These 6 questions will help you diagnose your situation.
FedEx Ground announced it is boosting capacity to expand service in the U.S. to six days per week, gearing up to meet ecommerce demand and the looming peak holiday season crush in November and December.
Less than a year into a pilot program that had employees making local deliveries of online orders, Walmart in January all but quashed the program quietly as associate buy-in wasn’t happening. See how it’s still happening at one Georgia store, and other ways Walmart is working to figure out local fulfillment of ecommerce orders.
Following similar moves by FedEx, Amazon and Jet.com, UPS is piloting deliveries to multi-unit New York dwellings when residents are absent, in partnership with smart lock maker Latch. Preliminary tests began in Manhattan earlier this year and have now expanded to Brooklyn.