Once again raising the specter of cutting out more business to UPS and FedEx, Amazon is reportedly testing a program that involves making local deliveries from the warehouses of retailers selling on its marketplace. See what the move entails, and what else Amazon has been doing to beef up its logistics and delivery capabilities.
FedEx Corp. announced it will increase shipping rates on FedEx Express, FedEx Ground and FedEx Freight by an average of 4.9%, effective Jan. 1. See how the numbers break down and how they will impact various FedEx products.
Both FedEx and UPS have announced new, temporary peak holiday season surcharges that will impact shipping costs for ecommerce businesses this holiday season. This detailed layout of charges from the major carriers will help you make wise business decisions as you lay out your strategy for handling the surge in seasonal shipments.
Looking to simplify operations for small- to medium-sized merchants and drive new business for itself, UPS this week launched Returns Manager, a tool that allows shippers without their own returns infrastructure to make the process smoother and easier for their customers.
Looking to clear the hurdle of access to secured city apartment buildings for ecommerce deliveries, Walmart unit Jet.com is testing a pilot program in 1,000 New York buildings that uses keyless entry technology to facilitate delivery when the recipient is out.
UPS announced it will implement peak season surge pricing to offset the cost of a huge spike in its shipping volume during the extreme rush at the end of the year. FedEx has not yet announced a similar move. See what the move means, what industry observers are saying and UPS’s rationale.
The U.S. Postal Service, as it has for years, reported an overall loss in the second quarter due to declining mail volume and ongoing pension obligations, while its parcel delivery business continues to grow by double digits. See what else came out of the results, and how moves by major carriers may affect its parcel business.
In a move designed to capture network costs associated with retailers who fail to meet peak volume commitments, UPS plans to charge them for shortfalls this year. The charges would cover costs such as extra workers and surplus space on trucks or in distribution hubs based on retailers’ projections and volume commitments.
Meeting the increasingly high demands of ecommerce customers and helping shippers drive efficiency in their fulfillment operations were two of the main themes as UPS and Sealed Air jointly unveiled their packaging innovation center, located on the campus of UPS Supply Chain Solutions near its Worldport air hub in Louisville, KY.