UPS Capital SMB pack station feature

UPS Capital Releases AI Tool to Combat Porch Piracy

| Mike O'Brien

UPS Capital, the financial services and insurance arm of the major carrier, has introduced an AI-powered solution to combat the scourge of porch piracy by creating a score indicating the likelihood of a package being stolen from an address, so it can be diverted to a safer pickup or delivery location. It uses AI and ML to assess billion of data points from deliveries, then creates a confidence score.

Shippo logo feature

Shippo First with FedEx Master Platform Account

| Mike O'Brien

Shipping software provider Shippo has become the first company of its kind to have a direct platform account with FedEx through a new agreement, meaning shippers can access discounted FedEx rates directly through Shippo for two of the carrier’s economy offerings.

UPS city delivery

UPS Exceeds Q2 Targets but Sees Lower Volume

| Mike O'Brien

UPS exceeded its Q2 revenue and earnings projections, but lower volume due to consolidation steps, including reducing Amazon packages by contractual agreement, plus the challenged macro picture didn’t resonate well on Wall Street. UPS is also piloting a delivery density program for major retailers through an OMS partnership.

Flat-Rate Shipping Wars Rage On as Carriers Court More SMB Business

| Mike O'Brien

In an effort to attract more business from SMB ecommerce shippers, UPS and FedEx continue to expand their competitive offerings in flat-rate shipping, offering more options, customization and economy. Such programs aren’t as economically attractive to large enterprise shippers with their volume-based discounts.

ShipRush Adds LTL Capability to its SMB Shipping Software

| Mike O'Brien

The growing volume of larger items being ordered online, everything from furniture to gym equipment to home improvement products, has led Descartes unit ShipRush to be the first to add a less than truckload (LTL) capability to its SMB shipping software platform.

UPS city delivery

UPS Adds Sunday Delivery, Doubles Pickup Locations with Retail Partners

| Mike O'Brien

Through new partnerships with Michael’s, CVS and Advance Auto, UPS is more than doubling its network of U.S. Access Point locations and adding Sunday pickup and delivery in January for business and residential customers as it engages in an arms race with FedEx. This gives UPS 63,000 U.S. locations, compared to 62,000 for FedEx.

SMB Ecommerce Shippers Diversifying Carrier Services

| Mike O'Brien

SMB online retailers are using multiple carriers to get better pricing and eliminate the risk of keeping all their eggs in one basket, according to a new study from Accenture. See what carrier capabilities are most critical to them, and what they’re looking for in terms of cross-border services.