Target Blows Out Free Two-Day Delivery Ahead of the Holidays

| Mike O'Brien

In the never-ending pursuit of Amazon and seeking separation from other foes like Walmart, Target has announced the availability of same-day delivery in 46 states ahead of the peak holiday season from Thanksgiving through Christmas, while also eliminating its $35 order threshold for free two-day shipping as of Nov. 1.

USPS Proposing Parcel Rate Increases in 9%-12% Range

| Mike O'Brien

The USPS is proposing a number of rate changes that would be effective on Jan. 27 including an average 9.3% increase in its Parcel Select service for packages weighing more than 1 lb., as it looks to recover rising costs and deals with stiff competition from major carriers.

6 Ways to Tell Your Delivery Route Planning Operations Are a Mess

| Will Salter

Delivery fleet operations eat up a huge chunk of transportation costs, whether owned, leased or outsourced. In spite of this cost they have a huge role to play in overall customer service. How can you tell if delivery route planning software is the solution? These 6 questions will help you diagnose your situation.

FedEx Ground driver

Breaking Down the Latest FedEx Rate Increases

| Dave Sullivan

The FedEx/UPS near duopoly has allowed the two large carriers to control marketplace pricing for years, echoing each other’s rate hikes and impacting parcel shippers both small and large. Find out about the latest increases from FedEx, how they compare to UPS, and how they will impact shippers as of Sept. 3.

Innovate in Oversized Delivery to Compete with Amazon

| Van Leigh

The “Amazon Effect” notwithstanding, there is one area of ecommerce where online sellers can still compete with, maybe even beat, Amazon and others: Oversized delivery. Learn what steps you can take to exceed customer expectations in the last mile and become a leader in bulky, oversized fulfillment.

Walmart Ditched Associate Delivery Program After Six Months

| Mike O'Brien

Less than a year into a pilot program that had employees making local deliveries of online orders, Walmart in January all but quashed the program quietly as associate buy-in wasn’t happening. See how it’s still happening at one Georgia store, and other ways Walmart is working to figure out local fulfillment of ecommerce orders.

Smart Lock for Home Deliveries Targets Porch Piracy

| Mike O'Brien

BoxLock, a smart lock startup, is aiming to address the growing problem of porch piracy by securing ecommerce deliveries through barcode scanning by parcel carriers. It went live on Prime Day and is exclusive to Prime members but that’s bound to change as the solution catches on.

The Grocery Wars Heat Up with Amazon Expansion

| Mike O'Brien

Flexing its Whole Foods Market muscles, Amazon announced an expansion of same-day grocery delivery in New York and three cities in Florida, after Walmart’s Jet.com and FreshDirect both announced plans for fulfillment centers in the Bronx, NY.

Israeli Drone Firm Taking Part in North Carolina Pilot Program

| Mike O'Brien

Flytrex, an Israeli company that developed a control system for automatic drone flight, may soon be helping deliver food to residents of a North Carolina town as one of 10 FAA-sanctioned test projects. As the first company to launch commercial drone delivery in Iceland, Flytrex is looking to expand the service to other countries.