Five months after it was initially scheduled to go into effect, the U.S. Postal Service will change how it calculates dimensional weight pricing while expanding DIM pricing to all zones across its Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail and Parcel Select products. The USPS is also lowering its DIM divisor from 194 to 166, increasing the cost.
There are many opportunities to make your SCM more efficient, reduce costs and provide higher service levels to customers, including in sourcing, storage, fulfillment, distribution, IT and transportation. Here are four major ecommerce supply chain areas that you can streamline to reduce your overall fulfillment costs.
Five months after investing in two-day ecommerce delivery and returns service ShopRunner, UPS is partnering with the company, offering a year’s free subscription to the 47 million U.S. members of its My Choice program. ShopRunner’s 100+ retail partners include Ann Taylor, Bloomingdale’s, Chico’s and Kate Spade New York.
FedEx has decided not to renew its air shipping contract with Amazon, which expires June 30, in a seeming reaction to Amazon’s growing delivery prowess, including construction of a new air hub outside Cincinnati. Amazon’s ground and international business with the carrier remains intact for now.
In a saturated industry, subscription box companies need a differentiator to succeed. From Blue Apron’s first-ever experiential retail popup shop to Birchbox’s partnership with Walgreens, they’re looking for ways to grow their business and meet consumer demands. Shipping excellence is one way to set yourself apart from the pack.
Starting in January, FedEx will make deliveries seven days a week to meet increasing demand from ecommerce shippers, while diverting about 2 million packages per year from the U.S. Postal Service’s last-mile service to build necessary density and shave costs.
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of a lower court ruling, which denied UPS’s legal claim that the U.S. Postal Service’s pricing model gave it an unfair advantage over parcel shipping competitors. In 2018, a U.S. Appellate Court in Washington, DC upheld the pricing methodology. Amazon backed the USPS in the case.
If Amazon owns nearly half of the U.S. ecommerce market, why the need to offer one-day delivery? The reason: Its singular obsession with customer centricity. Insights abound for those able to get past the headlines. Here are three of the most important takeaways that were either overlooked or under-covered in the media frenzy.
More retailers are shipping products directly to consumers. Packages often arrive in standard shipping boxes or other utilitarian protective materials, but why? Companies are missing opportunities to increase sales when they fail to see packaging as a shippable billboard.
The 9th annual Ecommerce Operations Summit will be held April 14-16, 2020 at the Marriott Orlando World Center in Orlando, FL, and the call for speakers is now open! If you are an industry professional with your finger on the pulse and have a great story to share with your peers, we want to hear from you!