The U.S. Postal Service is shortening the promised service levels for two of its ground delivery products, syncing them with its First-Class Package Service (FCPS), a move the USPS says will drive efficiency by consolidating processing and transportation of volume from all three products.
It’s no surprise that transmission of ecommerce logistics documents is turning digital, and in particular, via blockchain. It is a platform that seeks to connect the full ecommerce supply chain ecosystem from start to finish: Ports, ocean/air/rail/truck carriers, customs, freight forwarders, package shippers and more. The reward is massive.
Borderfree, a provider of cross-border shipping acquired by Pitney Bowes in 2015, is being acquired by Israeli cross-border platform firm Global-e for $100 million in cash, about a quarter of its original price, the companies announced, adding the two will enter into a strategic partnership. The deal is expected to close in Q3.
The California Trucking Association (CTA) is petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court, asking it to ignore the recommendation of the California attorney general and instead review an appellate court decision upholding the state’s AB5 law, which calls for recognition of contract drivers as employees.
Onfleet, provider of a last-mile route optimization platform for grocers, restaurants, food service and pharmacies, has raised $23 million in a Series B round to hire engineers, enhance its platform and expand into retail and enterprise accounts while looking to create a European presence in 2023.
The USPS plans to update its environmental impact statement related to the mix of electric vs. gas-powered vehicles, saying it’s driven by its delivery network improvement plan and unrelated to lawsuits favoring an all-electric fleet. The mix may change due to aggregation of carrier operations affecting its delivery route structure.
Walmart plans to open up four high-tech, automated fulfillment centers over the next three years, which when completed will enable it to reach 95% of the country in the Amazon Prime standard of two days or less, while streamlining fulfillment processes and increasing throughput. The news drops between a Q1 miss and Prime Day.
UPS has acquired Texas-based startup Delivery Solutions, a platform that offers multi-carrier, same-day delivery services with an impressive client roster across categories that includes nameplates like Abercrombie & Fitch, Giant Eagle, Office Depot and Sephora. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
FedEx is expanding its pilot program with Aurora Innovation, creating a new autonomous linehaul route between Aurora’s terminals in Fort Worth and El Paso, TX, making the 1,200-mile round trips weekly with a monitoring driver on board. The two companies began the runs in March, adding to another between Houston and Dallas.
U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy outlined plans to streamline facilities and delivery networks to make them more efficient by significantly reducing the number of processing plants and delivery units, eliminating redundancies in an effort to improve performance.