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

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Top 5 stories from Supply Chain Dive

Here’s how companies are navigating rising costs, network changes and logistics disruptions across global supply chain networks.

By Supply Chain Dive staff

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

Robotics efforts from Amazon, Alibaba highlight e-commerce's automated future

Amazon's new robots increase automation within fulfillment centers while Alibaba is focused on last-mile delivery as they look to optimize operations.

By Edwin Lopez • June 14, 2021

25% of online restaurant orders in 2020 were for delivery: report

Restaurants offering their own delivery reported 44% of orders for this channel compared to 12% of orders at brands that exclusively used third-party aggregators, according to a Paytronix study.

By Julie Littman • June 8, 2021

4 types of billion-dollar weather events tested supply chains in 2020

The combination of a record year for natural disasters and the pandemic magnified disruptions to shippers, carriers and everyone in-between.

By Shefali Kapadia , S.L. Fuller • June 1, 2021

Instacart launches 30-minute, last-mile delivery service

Algorithms will determine delivery windows based on factors such as the distance from the store, basket size and personal shopper availability, the company said.

By Jeff Wells • May 28, 2021

FedEx piles on peak surcharges with increases set for June

Now is "not the best time to be a shipper," one consultant said.

By Matt Leonard • May 24, 2021

Walmart boosts inventory, extends lead times to account for supply chain delays and stockouts

The retailer increased inventory 16% and is adjusting its fulfillment network as e-commerce sales grow.

By Matt Leonard • May 19, 2021