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.
UPS is projecting a 26% increase on “national returns day” on Jan. 2, when 1.9 million inbound packages are expected to hit its network as Q4 ecommerce continues to balloon. Another somewhat smaller returns peak of 1.6 million packages/day will hit the week of Dec. 16; the daily average that month will be 1 million, UPS said.
Amazon waited an entire month to swing back at Walmart’s new same-day grocery delivery program, making delivery from Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods free for Prime members by eliminating the $14.99/month charge on $35 and up orders. It’s available in 2,000 cities and towns, mostly through Amazon’s 480 Whole Foods stores.
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.
Warehouse and fulfillment center giant Prologis will acquire rival Liberty Property Trust in an all-stock merger valued at $12.68 billion, the companies announced, greatly expanding Prologis’ U.S. logistics holdings as demand continues to ramp up. This is in addition to Prologis’ 2018 acquisition of DCT Industrial Trust for $8.4 billion.
Israeli automation startup Fabric, formerly known as CommonSense Robotics, has raised $110 million in a Series B round with plans to accelerate growth in the U.S. including plans to build 14 on-site micro fulfillment centers to enable same-day delivery. The first FC will open in New York in Q1, with several other cities following.
Best Buy is getting into the holiday spirit early and pushing back on major competitors, offering free next-day delivery on thousands of items from Thanksgiving through Christmas, and free standard shipping in the few areas where next day isn’t available. The company says it’s available in 42 U.S. markets, covering 99% of its customers.
Stamps.com, which had been struggling since ending its long-term partnership with the U.S. Parcel Service in February, has been buoyed by a new deal with UPS. As part of the deal, Stamps.com’s 740,000 shipper customers can get discounts up to 55% off standard UPS rates and relief from surcharges.
Multiple factors are driving continued greater demand for smaller warehouse facilities vs. big-box fulfillment centers, as companies scramble to position inventory closer to customers and trim ecommerce supply chain costs, according to a new report from CBRE. Vacancy rates are dropping further and rents growing faster for smaller FCs.
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is opting for an 18-month phased implementation of the Secure Customer Authentication rules for ecommerce transactions, instead of an action date of Sept. 14. Eric Christensen of Digital River provides some context in this latest MCM CommerceChat podcast.
Pitney Bowes was hit by a ransomware attack that affected its postage systems and impacted customers globally. The company said systems were up and running although high volumes could still cause issues, and no personal customer or employee data was compromised. The same attack hit Florida cities and a newspaper in 2018.