inventory management man

Inventory Management Gets Trickier As Forces Collide

| Mike O'Brien

Given massive, lingering supply chain roadblocks, carrier capacity limits and labor shortages, inventory management has gotten trickier for retailers, especially as the critical Q4 approaches. This special report from Multichannel Merchant looks at ways retailers are rethinking their inventory approach to buffer against shocks.

autonomous middle mile Ryder Gatik

Ryder Invests in Gatik for Autonomous Middle Mile Delivery

| Mike O'Brien

Truck leasing, logistics and fleet management provider Ryder has made an investment in Gatik, whose technology will power autonomous middle mile deliveries for retail and ecommerce clients in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, initially equipping 20 leased Ryder box trucks for the purpose.

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LaserShip Acquires OnTrac for $1.3B, Looks Nationally

| Mike O'Brien

Regional carrier LaserShip is acquiring competitor OnTrac for $1.3 billion deal, in one fell swoop changing the equation in last-mile parcel delivery by giving the combined entity coverage of three-quarters of the continental U.S. as ecommerce demand continues to soar.

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Canadian Fulfillment: Importing Bulk Products Duty Free

| Jeffrey Wilkins

Canadian fulfillment means purchasing large shipments overseas, then importing them to Canada, where they’re held by a third party until you receive an order and they ship it out. While it seems like a rather roundabout way of doing business, there’s a reason it’s becoming increasingly popular among U.S. businesses: It saves you money.

USPS letter carrier

USPS Delays Parcel Service Slowdown

| Mike O'Brien

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has decided to temporarily suspend a planned reduction in service level standards for First Class package delivery until after the peak holiday season, a week after the Postal Regulatory Commission which oversees it said the plan “lacked demonstrable evidence.”

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Home Depot First Customer for Walmart Delivery Service

| Mike O'Brien

Home Depot has signed on as the first retail customer of Walmart’s new service, GoLocal, with Walmart providing same-day and next-day delivery in select stores in Texas, New Mexico and Northwest Arkansas in the coming weeks, expanding thereafter.

Omnichannel Holidays: Not Optional for Retailers

| Sharon Gee

Uncertainty around holiday store shopping makes an omnichannel strategy more critical than ever. Retailers need to figure out where to sell, both geographically and through which channels. Based on these imperatives, here are four strategies critical to launching a successful omnichannel campaign this holiday season.

Why Yesterday’s Carrier Strategy Has Expired

| Mike O'Brien

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic-driven spike in ecommerce, a nagging labor shortage and supply chain issues have put capacity at a premium and left shippers struggling to keep up. This report explores ways today’s retail and ecommerce shippers must pursue a carrier strategy that would have seemed unthinkable just two years ago.

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Amazon Surpasses FedEx in Parcel Volume

| Mike O'Brien

For the first time, Amazon Logistics surpassed a major carrier in domestic parcel volume, edging out FedEx in 2020, according to Pitney Bowes annual shipping index, although FedEx had substantially more revenue. Pitney Bowes is also predicting domestic parcel volume will nearly double between 2020 and 2026.

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DHL eCommerce Investing $300M+ in Automation, Facilities

| Mike O'Brien

DHL eCommerce, the U.S. unit of logistics giant Deutsche Post, is investing more than $300 million in facilities and automation over the next five years, increasing its square footage here by 70%, automating distribution centers and upgrading IT systems. This includes dedicated export gateways in New Jersey, Illinois and California.