Amazon is aggressively expanding same-day delivery capabilities after a major pullback in planned fulfillment facilities which overshot demand when the pandemic boom receded. Feeling the competitive heat, Amazon is redirecting its investments toward smaller hubs closer to customers, making fast delivery a higher priority in 2023.
American Eagle Outfitters and Gap, who both launched B2B outsourcing units in 2022 to monetize their large shipping and fulfillment networks, have been adding partners lately to expand their capabilities, providing SMB and omnichannel retailers access to capacity and optimization they wouldn’t have otherwise.
Domestic imports logged a 7.2% month-on-month increase in January, much higher than expected based on figures from the past six years, according to U.S. Census data as analyzed by global logistics and supply chain firm Descartes, yet still lagged behind pre-pandemic levels by a small margin. The NRF near-term outlook was less rosy.
AxleHire, a startup last-mile logistics provider, has partnered with major 3PL and freight forwarder Seko Logistics to enable next-day deliveries directly from Seko facilities, eliminating middle-mile linehauls between hubs, saving time and money for shippers.
UPS reported fourth-quarter revenue that fell short of expectations but earnings ahead of the consensus, while the outlook for 2023 appears challenged and the company is in margin protection mode against falling volumes and other volatility. And CEO Carol Tome optimistically predicted a “win, win, win” outcome with the Teamsters.
Shipping software provider Shippo has become the first company of its kind to have a direct platform account with FedEx through a new agreement, meaning shippers can access discounted FedEx rates directly through Shippo for two of the carrier’s economy offerings.
Five executives who departed Rakuten Super Logistics after the Japanese parent company sold the assets in 2022 to FirstMile owner Devin Johnson have now found a home at Speed Commerce, which finds itself in expansion mode, with a focus on mid-market ecommerce firms.
Activist investor Hestia Capital has proposed a majority slate of seven directors to replace current board members at Pitney Bowes, citing poor performance and what it termed strategic missteps over the past decade, with the company responding that Hestia is not interested in a good faith discussion.
With Chinese New Year starting Sunday, and manufacturing and logistics operations virtually shut down there for two weeks, experts say retail inventory levels are in a good place given recent gluts and proactive restocks, but the weeks following will bear watching and might bring issues.
Shipium co-founder Jason Murray is all about replicating an Amazon-like experience for shippers, having spent 20 years there helping shape its logistics and fulfillment technology, and now uses stochastic data science and predictive modeling to deliver better SLAs and cost savings.