Adding a cubic pricing option for users of USPS Parcel Select Ground product will be a boon for shippers with small, dense and heavy packages but not so much for others, experts said ahead of the July 10 live date for the change. In general, packages must be under 20 lbs. and there’s a 50,000 package a year minimum.
Amazon has quietly been recruiting local businesses in rural areas across 10 states as part of its fulfillment network, earning cash on the side for making deliveries of ecommerce orders in hard-to-reach places for contract couriers, according to Recode. They can earn up to $2,000 a week with the side hustle but assume liability.
E-grocery sales in April fell 3.8% to $8.1 billion, while order volume was down 5.8% as nagging inflation and the ongoing return to stores hit both order frequency and the number of active online users, according Brick Meets Click and Mercatus. The sector has been giving back some of the the healthy gains it saw in 2020 and 2021.
There’s just no going back to the “before” supply chain. Future generations will likely forget the lessons of the early 2020’s and make the same mistakes, but for now we’ll contend with the “new normal.” This dynamic state of affairs is going be with us for the foreseeable future. Here are 5 trends to look out for as we move forward.
Consumer purchasing power is only a click away, bringing significant pressure on ecommerce sellers. Shippers need innovative ways to efficiently track and transport orders. To do so, they should consider a third-party logistics (3PL) provider to gain more flexible freight options, increasing operational efficiency and visibility.
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said the U.S. Postal Service will be forced to initiate “uncomfortable” price increases for market dominant USPS products such as first-class mail, marketing mail and periodicals, while shippers using Parcel Select Ground can benefit from use of cubic pricing.
Standards body GS1 US has published a new guideline retailers can use to leverage its Electronic Product Code (EPC)-based RFID technology. It supports claims compliance and is designed to improve inventory accuracy and supply chain visibility. Jonathan Gregory, director of community engagement with GS1 US, explains.
Shopify is acquiring asset-light last-mile startup Deliverr for $2.1B, further building out its fulfillment infrastructure and giving it a counter-move to Amazon’s new Buy With Prime that extends the Prime experience to other retailers. But the question is, will it be enough to enable Shopify to gain ground on its much larger competitor?
It’s increasingly difficult to keep your workforce staffed up. Automation is often the answer, but what if you could swap in solutions as needed? In this webinar, experts at Kenco Logistics talk about the power of the “as-a-service model,” and how an automation innovation lab environment is a triple win for tech provider, 3PL and retailer.
The founders DynoSafe, maker of a patented refrigerated smart safe for porch deliveries that won a “Shark Tank” investment deal with Robert Herjavec, is in discussion with manufacturers and prepping its go-to-market plan. Fellow Shark Mark Cuban is also on the board of the husband-and-wife-led company.