The strategy behind inventory management in ecommerce and retail, difficult in the best of times, has gotten even trickier as inflation continues to dog the economy in the latter stages of Q2, supply chain issues linger and costs rise. Until the bigger picture begins to brighten, finding every avenue of cost savings is the order of the day.
Rather than trashing merchandise or selling it to a liquidator, where you can’t control brand identity, consider donating your ecommerce returns. The resulting tax break may be quite handsome, and it may even be more financially beneficial than reselling the merchandise at a cut-rate price.
FedEx is expanding its pilot program with Aurora Innovation, creating a new autonomous linehaul route between Aurora’s terminals in Fort Worth and El Paso, TX, making the 1,200-mile round trips weekly with a monitoring driver on board. The two companies began the runs in March, adding to another between Houston and Dallas.
U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy outlined plans to streamline facilities and delivery networks to make them more efficient by significantly reducing the number of processing plants and delivery units, eliminating redundancies in an effort to improve performance.
Home improvement shopping season is in full swing. Unfortunately, spring is also a sign that retailers are entering one of the most logistically challenging and costly returns seasons of the year. Here is a review of major returns issues following home improvement season, and what retailers can do to mitigate the fallout.
While U.S. parcel volume rose nearly 6% to 21.5B pieces in 2021, it was the slowest growth in five years, and considerably less than the massive 31.5% gain in a pandemic-driven 2020, according to Pitney Bowes’ annual index. It also showed smaller carriers growing rapidly but still holding a tiny percentage of the overall pie.
Some say shrinkflation is a sneaky strategy because businesses use the same packaging but give customers less, arguing it’s an attempt to deceive them. But many are making sure changes are available for consumers to see in some format. It’s the consumer’s responsibility to check the pack, but communication with buyers is key.
FloorFound, an Austin-based startup that provides the means for retailers to resell large, bulky returns, has raised $10.5 million in a new funding round to help drive its expansion both geographically and in terms of the categories it handles as it rides the recommerce wave.
A pilot program creating smart loading zones for last-mile deliveries in Pittsburgh is seeing progress in terms of easing congestion from double-parked vehicles, and will expand next to Omaha, with four other sites being selected for launch later this year.
Ryder System Inc. has become the target of a takeover bid by Miami-based private equity firm HG Vora Capital Management, at a proposed price of $86 per share, a 28.4% premium to its 30-day average, according to an SEC filing. Ryder, whose stock surged in response, has itself has been acquiring 3PL assets and investing in technology.