Mike O'Brien
Mike O’Brien has worked in journalism, marketing and public relations for … well, quite a while. At Multichannel Merchant he focuses on the world of direct-to-customer operations and fulfillment, editing MCM’s weekly O+F Advisor newsletter, and programs the annual Ecommerce Operations Summit conference. Previously Mike was a senior account executive for Marx Communications, a boutique public relations firm working with marketing and advertising technology companies. Other past work includes stints as a media relations consultant for a concert promoter, a marketing communications specialist for a pharma software firm, a research analyst covering corporate e-learning and a daily newspaper reporter on every beat imaginable – except sports.
Target is expanding its same-day delivery service via acquired unit Shipt, opening it up to all major categories of product in 2019 and continuing its efforts to keep customers from fleeing to Amazon Prime, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
FedEx has created a new program to address demand for faster fulfillment of online orders by offering later pickup. Extra Hours lets retailers expand their pickup cutoff by up to eight hours to more easily offer next-day local delivery or two-day delivery anywhere in the continental U.S. via FedEx Express.
Retailers lowered the bar for Christmas season fulfillment, then easily cleared it, according to Kurt Salmon. Ninety-three percent of retailers tracked were able to process and deliver customer orders by the last guaranteed delivery date. But 33% of them ditched their last order promise date as Christmas approached.
A growth in intermodal transportation by rail from coastal ports is leading to increased development of distribution facilities near so-called inland ports in locations like Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, Salt Lake City, eastern Pennsylvania and Kansas City, according to a new report from commercial real estate firm JLL.
Consumer confidence and fatter paychecks steamrolled right over stock market woes and a partial government shutdown, with overall peak holiday season sales excluding automobiles increasing 5.1% to $850 billion between Nov. 1 and Dec. 24, according to data from Mastercard SpendingPulse.
Forget Black Friday – Super Saturday is going to leave it in the dust in terms of holiday sales, according to figures from Customer Growth Partners quoted by Bloomberg, projected to reach $26 billion compared to $24 billion for the day after Thanksgiving.
The big three domestic parcel carriers – UPS, FedEx and the U.S. Postal Service – continued to perform admirably in the midst of the torrent of holiday peak season packages, delivering ecommerce orders on time at a rate of 97% or higher, according to data from Shipmatrix.
Somerville, MA-based RightHand Robotics has raised $23 million in a Series B funding round led by Menlo Ventures, joined by GV (formerly Google Ventures) and existing investors Dream Incubator, Matrix Partners and Playground Global. The company, founded in 2014, has raised $34.2 million to date.
Vacancy rates for industrial and logistics space, including ecommerce fulfillment, is now at a historic low of 4.3% and new construction is constrained, leading to limited expansion options for warehouse occupants and higher rents, according to a Q3 report from brokerage CBRE. This has led to an increase in multistory developments.
Multichannel Merchant has published its fourth annual MCM Top 3PL listing for 2019, a searchable directory of leading third-party logistics (3PL) providers in ecommerce and direct-to-customer operations. This key resource lists the capabilities and experience of over 50 top 3PL providers, helping you select the right one for your needs.