How the case for drone delivery expanded beyond parcels

The pandemic's effects on labor, demand and transport capacity have brought new attention to the potential use cases for drones for the last mile.

By Max Garland • Sept. 29, 2021

Rite Aid doubles down on last-mile deliveries, adds Uber Eats as partner

The deal means Rite Aid now has partnerships with four of the top five last-mile delivery intermediaries in the U.S.

By Max Garland • Sept. 28, 2021

Explore the Trendline➔

Inside the trends affecting logistics management

The demise of the de minimis exception, trade tensions and tariffs are among the new challenges logistics managers are facing.  

By Supply Chain Dive staff

FedEx diverts packages as labor shortage bites into service levels

The need for workers will only become more pressing as the carrier braces for peak season.

By Max Garland • Sept. 22, 2021

Project44 buys Convey to boost last-mile data capabilities

The $255 million acquisition will help the visibility company move from "seeing to doing," according to one executive.

By Edwin Lopez • Sept. 22, 2021

Walmart teams up with Ford, Argo AI for autonomous delivery in 3 cities

Walmart's latest collaboration on self-driving vehicles is its first to span multiple cities.

By Max Garland • Sept. 16, 2021

UPS wades into same-day delivery with Roadie acquisition

The deal puts UPS ahead of FedEx when it comes to same-day delivery, according to one consultant.

By Shefali Kapadia • Sept. 10, 2021

For perishable shippers, final few feet of the last mile can spoil deliveries

Mountain Dairy, Shatto Milk Company and perishable-goods providers had to innovate to make the final leg of their supply chain work.

By Shefali Kapadia • Sept. 3, 2021

JD.com ramps up omnichannel approach as it looks beyond e-commerce

The Chinese e-commerce giant is sharing some of its gross profit with merchants involved in its omnichannel fulfillment program, "but at the same time, it helps us save the fulfillment costs," CFO Sandy Xu said.

By Max Garland • Aug. 31, 2021

Patent Pending: Amazon imagines dynamic parcel sorting, Walmart's idea for route planning

Supply chain innovators apply to patent what they see as important tools for the future. Sometimes they're brilliant. Sometimes they're funny.

By Matt Leonard • Aug. 27, 2021

UPS delivers COVID-19 vaccines via temperature-controlled drone

Drones provide a speedy logistics option for time- and temperature-sensitive vaccine doses.

By Matt Leonard • Aug. 25, 2021

USPS shippers need 2-day notice of disruption to avoid hectic peak, watchdog says

The Postal Service didn't announce embargoes and volume redirections during the 2020 peak season early enough for mailers to adjust, the agency's inspector general said in an audit.

By Max Garland • Aug. 18, 2021

FedEx outlines peak surcharges for Ground, Express that will extend into 2022

FedEx's volume surge shows no signs of abating, and the company is already setting $0.60 per-package surcharges for some home deliveries beginning Jan. 17, 2022.

By Max Garland • Aug. 16, 2021

Lesson learned: Pitney Bowes to focus more on lightweight parcels as capacity grows

The fulfillment company said yes to as many customers as possible in 2020. But upon reflection, CEO Marc Lautenbach said the strategy did not lead to higher profits.

By Max Garland • Aug. 12, 2021

Amazon rushes to boost fulfillment capacity as it plays 'catch-up' to demand

Amazon doubled its fulfillment network size in 18 months. It was still not enough to meet demand for one-day delivery. (And peak season is yet to come.)

By Max Garland • July 30, 2021

Tractor Supply plans to add 3 distribution centers in 5 years, accelerate supply chain investments

The new facilities will play a part in Tractor Supply's goal to offer one-day delivery to 99% of its customers by leveraging stores and distribution centers.

By Edwin Lopez • July 30, 2021

Shippers struggle to land carrier space despite preparing for peak early

The looming capacity crunch and other challenges throughout the order-to-delivery process mean retailers not already preparing for peak will have a bumpy holiday season, experts say.

By Max Garland • July 29, 2021

Walmart offers its omnichannel capabilities to other businesses

The retailer has partnered with Adobe to give small and mid-sized retailers access to its pickup and delivery technology.

By Maria Monteros • July 29, 2021

Retail stores on track to use one-third of their space for e-commerce fulfillment by 2023: report

Swiftly rising e-commerce is projected to push 34.8% of global retail online in the next two years and 40% by 2025, according to research from Edge by Ascential.

By Daphne Howland • July 28, 2021

UPS: Peak demand projected to exceed capacity by 5M packages daily

UPS is adding sortation capacity, leasing aircraft and sitting down with about 300 customers to understand their demand projections for the holidays.

By Max Garland • July 27, 2021

Albertsons adds Uber grocery delivery to 1,200 stores

Uber's expansion is an attempt to gain market share against Instacart, still the leading last mile delivery provider for grocers.

By Jeff Wells • July 20, 2021

Bed Bath & Beyond teams up with Roadie for same-day delivery

​The company said the partnership would double its same-day delivery reach, bringing the service to about 16,000 zipcodes.

By Matt Leonard • July 15, 2021

USPS considers setting longer benchmarks for 32% of first-class packages

The agency said the changes would support increased package volumes, create network efficiencies and allow for more transportation time for long-distance delivery.

By A.B. Brown • June 28, 2021

Albertsons strikes deal with DoorDash as it pares down delivery fleet

The deal to outsorce delivery comes after Albertsons found insourcing its last-mile delivery fleet was not profitable in all markets.

By Jeff Wells • Updated June 22, 2021

Kroger opens 2 cross-dock facilities to boost reach of automated fulfillment centers

The grocer will use warehouses, which require 60% of the capital and labor of stores, to meet the rising demand for delivery.

By Edwin Lopez • June 21, 2021

FedEx, Nuro sign multi-year deal to test autonomous last-mile delivery

The partnership gives FedEx a last-mile solution to complement its other investments like drones and delivery robots.

By Edwin Lopez • June 16, 2021