While the USPS gets tossed around like a political football and threatens insolvency without more federal aid, the agency continues to report poor results as already lower mail rates have fallen through the floor due to coronavirus. Meantime, Trump ally, donor and fundraiser Louis DeJoy will be the new Postmaster General.
Amazon plans to halt its Amazon Shipping service that competes directly with FedEx and UPS, the Wall Street Journal is reporting, diverting workers to over-maxed fulfillment operations for its own business. Amazon Shipping is only active in a few cities. The company is working with shippers to limit the amount of disruption.
While ecommerce was initially thought to be a boon during the coronavirus crisis, with stores and malls in lockdown, execution is proving to be anything but as a growing chorus of drivers and facility associates complain about the danger of exposure. Workers at Amazon, Instacart and Whole Foods staged protest walkouts.
The impacts of the coronavirus spread are being felt everywhere across retail and ecommerce, with first stores and now ecommerce operations shut down to comply with government orders, and warehouse workers and drivers testing positive, forcing facilities to close so they can be scrubbed and restarted.
Workers at a Target fulfillment center in New Jersey are considering union representation, stirring up labor issues for the retailer as it reworks the supply chain to move inventory closer to customers and better integrate store and online channels, the Wall Street Journal is reporting. Amazon and FedEx are also facing unionization pressures.
Amazon is severing delivery contracts in five states, affecting about 1,300 drivers, eliminating partners it says aren’t meeting delivery standards, according to Bloomberg and other reports. Two years ago, Amazon began a program to help entrepreneurs start up delivery businesses, creating less of a need for the existing contractors.
Innovation around the Internet of Things (IoT) is advancing rapidly, enabling data sharing among millions of devices and tagged items and providing new levels of visibility and traceability. Experts from FedEx and Microsoft will discuss the latest advances in IoT and results within their organizations at Ecommerce Operations Summit.
FedEx is diverting some Express deliveries into its less expensive Ground network to drive efficiency and build ecommerce package density after parting ways with Amazon in 2019, according an internal memo obtained by the WSJ. FedEx will redirect residential Express packages to Ground as they get close to their destination.
The effects of California’s AB5 law are widespread, requiring thousands of gig workers and independent contractors to be reclassified as employees. This means delivery firms doing business in California are updating their operating models to adhere to the law. One such firm is OnTrac, going to a master contractor model.
Consumers have gotten more comfortable ordering bigger, bulkier items online and having them shipped to their homes, covering categories like furniture, home improvement products and housewares. This is now coming at a cost for shippers, especially as the rule has changed for additional handling charges from FedEx and UPS.