Shipping
December 21, 2015 at 11:36 am
The crush of Christmas shopping online is beginning to take a toll on retailers. Buzzy e-commerce startup Jet.com last week became one of the first major retailers to tell customers its packages may not arrive before Christmas. The company announced in emails to customers and on its website that it cannot guarantee delivery of merchandise…
December 21, 2015 at 10:27 am
Amazon.com is negotiating to lease 20 Boeing 767 jets for its own air-delivery service, cargo-industry executives have told The Seattle Times. The online retail giant wants to build out its own cargo operations to avoid delays from carriers such as United Parcel Service, which have struggled to keep up with the rapid growth of e-commerce.…
December 18, 2015 at 10:25 am
It’s now a major shopping day. Shoppers looking for last-minute gifts online have been granted their Christmas wish: a day specially created for procrastinators. Friday is “Free Shipping Day,” where retailers are waiving shipping fees and qualifying minimum purchases, and promising that any gifts ordered online today will arrive at your doorstep by Christmas Eve.
December 14, 2015 at 10:00 am
If UPS has its way, it could cost more to ship a package through the U.S. Postal Service. The shipping giant is petitioning federal regulators to force the Postal Service to adjust the way it calculates its costs, arguing that the agency is using the proceeds from its monopoly First Class mail to subsidize the…
December 7, 2015 at 9:56 am
Amazon.com goes to great lengths to get packages into customers’ hands as quickly as possible — even if it means employing drones. Those efforts will now include putting thousands of Amazon-branded trucks on the road. The ever-ambitious online retailer planned to announce on Friday morning that it had purchased “thousands” of trailers — the part…
December 2, 2015 at 10:43 am
When was the last time you ordered something that didn’t come with free or expedited shipping (or both)? The rise of consumer expectations for expediency and immediate gratification isn't slowing down anytime soon, and the strain those expectations put onto supply chain and fulfillment operations is immense. Something has to give, and it’s probably not…
November 23, 2015 at 10:41 am
As we head into the holiday season, retailers are constantly looking for ways to stay competitive with the likes of Amazon.com and other big businesses that can afford to offer customer-enchanting incentives like door-buster deals and free shipping. However, these efforts can be costly and painfully confusing to implement. While the big players have automated…
November 16, 2015 at 9:54 am
One of the biggest fans of the U.S. Postal Service is uncertain whether he can continue to use it once new rates for parcels go into effect in two months. Mitch Goldstone, CEO of ScanMyPhotos in Irvine, California, credits the flat rate Priority Mail box with inventing his entire business, and said so in a…
November 11, 2015 at 11:36 am
Rising freight costs — which have leaped by 14 percent since 2013 — are robbing retailers of the savings they’ve made in other links in their supply chains, a new survey from The Boston Consultancy Group (BCG) and the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) finds. As small to midsized retailers struggle against this rising tide of…
November 3, 2015 at 10:39 am
Same-day delivery appears to be here to stay and Best Buy is the latest to jump on the trend. The big-box electronics retailer recently added the option as a test in San Francisco and towns and cities between that city and San Jose as it looks to keep up with Amazon.com’s furious rollout of speedy…
