Material shortages, port congestion, labor shortfalls, tariffs and the lingering impacts of COVID-19 continue to create challenges for the supply chain. As we approach the holiday season, majo... View More
If the pandemic proves one thing, it’s that e-commerce has truly and irrevocably taken hold of the global marketplace. Amazon’s Q2 2021 results alone show this, with the online shopping... View More
In today’s fast-paced society, many people are no longer willing to wait several days for things they buy online. They also may not want to take time out of their busy schedules to shop in p... View More
As the year winds to a close, the supply chain disruptions that have plagued retailers show little sign of improvement. Heading into the holiday season and beyond, businesses have been told to expect... View More
Some things in life create great impact – a wedding, a divorce, having kids… these are the kinds of events that change a person. Pandemics fall into this category, too, demonstrating how shopping
As a byproduct of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have witnessed staggering changes to cross-border e-commerce trends over the past year and a half. According to market research from Facts and Factors, it i
Just how bad are market constraints right now? In short, conditions across the industry are record-breakingly bad. If you’re a shipper right now, you’re waiting for goods that are delayed... View More
As expected, UPS has announced their 2022 general rate increase (GRI) of 5.9% effective December 26, 2021, matching FedEx’s announcement from September 20th. The 5.9% increase represents a 1... View More
In this installment of PARCEL Counsel, we will take a “sneak preview” of two of the presentations at this year’s PARCEL Forum. For the first time in many years, I will not be attending... View More
Many things have changed in the past year, but one thing that is constant has been rising shipping costs. With today’s current market, the addition of more peak surcharges, decreased delivery perfor
In the early days of e-commerce, returns flew under operation’s and finance’s radar, and perhaps rightly so. The volume of e-commerce purchases was low, and returns were minimal and simple.... View More
The pandemic accelerated the shift to e-commerce, and elevated levels of online shopping show no signs of slowing down. According to our research, 86% of consumers surveyed plan to shop more o... View More
Many times, in the distribution world, we supply chain professionals identify products that will enhance productivity, throughput, and accuracy, but there’s not a budget for those tools. Whe... View More
In the current parcel market, demand heavily outweighs supply. The carriers are leveraging their temporary advantages as much as possible. So, is there really nothing to do but wait until things come... View More
A few years ago, I worked with a warehouse stocker named John who had injured his back and was looking to get back to full duty. His job was important to him because he had a family to support... View More
As the summer of 2021 has seen a reduction in the COVID-19 lockdowns, what certainly has not been reduced are the capacity issues facing the parcel marketplace. While engaging with new partner... View More
Business-to-business (B2B) parcels are recovering and are competing with business-to-consumer (B2C) parcels for available last-mile capacity. According to UPS, B2C volumes are expected to rema... View More
The retail and e-commerce landscapes are crowded and competitive. Retailers are facing stiff competition both from legacy brick-and-mortar companies and online marketplaces, including the industry lea
After nearly two decades in a logistics management role at a prominent retailer, where building relationships was a major key to my success, I have changed roles. I always knew how important a... View More
In my article in the July/August 2021 issue of PARCEL (“Is It Time to Move to a New Warehouse?”), I explained how you can determine whether it might make sense to move your fulfillment ope
