Amazon, Amazon Prime Now, Amazon Flex, Uber, Postmates, FedEx, on demand economy, contract drivers, ecommerce fulfillment

Amazon Does the Right Thing, Adding Prime Now to Minority Areas

| Mike O'Brien

Even when bias is completely unintended and based simply on business rules, perception can often be taken for reality. Thus Amazon did the right thing, reacting to protests by expanding free Prime Now service to minority neighborhoods in New York and Boston, and should quickly follow suit in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas and Washington DC.

Limited Stores Executive Discusses When Same-Day Delivery Makes Sense

| Mike O'Brien

When does it make sense for a company to engage in same-day delivery? We caught up with Jason Acevedeo, senior director ecommerce operations at Limited Stores, at Operations Summit 2016 in Cincinnati to ask him for his thoughts. Find out how knowing your audience, their demograpics and location, and the type of products you sell all play a part.

American Apparel, retail, turnaround plan, restructuring plan

American Apparel Goes Same-Day Delivery with Postmates

| Mike O'Brien

American Apparel has begun offering one-hour delivery through a partnership with Postmates, leveraging RFID technology to provide real-time inventory availability via the Postmates Order app. The program is in place at 79 stores in 31 U.S. markets, making 50 “on-demand basics” items like hoodies, t-shirts and socks available to consumers who desire the items right now.

Week in Review: UPS Invests in Deliv to Learn About Same-Day Market

| MCM Staff

UPS took a big leap this week by investing in crowdsourced startup Deliv, getting a seat on its board and a front-row seat on its operating model. Stay tuned to see how the carrier is able to leverage this relationship to better understand and take advantage of the burgeoning sector of the on-demand economy.

Deliv

UPS Looks to Learn More About Same-Day Model Through Stake in Deliv

| Mike O'Brien

In a move aimed at better understanding the inner workings of the same-day delivery model, UPS has purchased a stake in crowdsourced delivery startup Deliv. Just how UPS will leverage this relationship and what it learns remains to be seen, but it surely has its eye on the burgeoning same-day delivery space, including competitor FedEx’s service for Neiman Marcus and others.

Amazon Flex

Amazon Flex Drivers Reportedly Delivering Parcels

| Mike O'Brien

Amazon is once again on the move in logistics and delivery, with Reuters reporting its courier-based Amazon Flex network is making parcel deliveries in addition to the typical everyday goods being sent to Prime members.

Reuters said Amazon did acknowledge that drivers for Amazon Flex in Texas had already begun mixing in parcel deliveries with regular Prime Now orders. Amazon Flex, which allows couriers to sign up for delivery shifts via an app, is currently available in 14 cities including Seattle, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Dallas.