I’m Jay Kent, managing director of SLB Performance, a consulting firm that helps companies reduce supply chain costs, implement BI tools, and improve in-stock and customer service. After 25 years of leading some of the most complex supply chains in the industry, I began advising companies in multiple industries and verticals. It’s important to understand the market to mitigate costs and improve efficiencies. So, twice a month, I’ll share parcel news and thoughts. Be sure to hit the subscribe button to receive the latest newsletter in your LinkedIn notifications.
- UPS and FedEx, which began offering discounts to larger customers last year, are now aggressively chasing smaller customers, giving them breaks that are typically reserved for bulk shippers according to the WSJ (Subscription may be required).
The cost to ship a ground parcel declined 2.5% in the latest quarter, compared with the same period a year ago, because of higher discounts from carriers and because the packages shipped were a lower average weight, according to AFS Logistics .
More on this from Max Garland at Supply Chain Dive – Pitney Bowes and Auctane are offering discounted FedEx rates for their customers. The discounts, via FedEx Platform Account agreements, apply to shipping options across FedEx’s full service portfolio. https://www.supplychaindive.com/news/fedex-pitney-bowes-auctane-shipping-rate-discounts/732018/
- Amazon introduced drone delivery in part of the Phoenix Metro Area in Arizona. According to the company, that means that customers who live near our Same-Day site in Tolleson, Arizona, and purchase an eligible item weighing 5 pounds or less can have it delivered by drone in under an hour.
- Walmart is deploying 400 new BrightDrop electric delivery vans to serve 62 million households in Austin, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Northwest Arkansas, Orlando and San Francisco.
- Better Trucks has expanded its delivery coverage into the New England area via a partnership with fellow last-mile carrier Optima Overnight.
- Nice article from Supply Chain Dive on Ulta Beauty’s supply chain transformation journey and how it is retrofitting some of its existing regional distribution centers with automation upgrades.
- Retailers revised their import projections for November to an increase of 13.6% year over year from the previous forecast of a 0.9% increase just one month ago, according to the latest Global Port Tracker (GPT) report, published monthly by Hackett Associates and the National Retail Federation (NRF). The November GPT report forecasts a 6.1% increase in US imports in December, up from a projected 0.2% increase in the previous report.
More from JOC (Subscription may be required): US retailers ramping up year-end imports ahead of strike, tariff threats
That’s it for now. For more, be sure to sign up for our twice a week email newsletter . Reach out if you’d like to learn how to lower or even possibly eliminate any parcel fees.
Stay tuned for the next newsletter on Nov 4. Don’t forget to hit the subscribe button to ensure you receive it in your LinkedIn notices. In addition, if you like what you’re reading, sign up to receive additional insights and analysis via emails twice a month – DM me for more info.
-Jay