Shipping

Speakers share best practices to take your retail business international from e-commerce professionals and retailers who’ve done it.

In light of rising costs for parcel delivery services, what are the best practices that e-commerce companies reliant on the parcel providers can employ? Consider the following

Uber is planning to launch a merchant delivery program that would allow online shoppers to get same-day delivery of goods through both UberRush couriers and Uber drivers. TechCrunch has obtained training documents for Uber drivers and couriers who are part of the merchant delivery pilot program. Sources say that Neiman Marcus, Louis Vuitton, Tiffany's, Cohen's Fashion Optical and Hugo Boss are all in talks with the Uber Merchant Delivery program, and one source in particular said that there are over 400 different merchants currently in talks (or already testing) with Uber for same-day delivery.

Amazon.com is the first online retailer to offer customers delivery directly into their car trunk. And it's not stopping there — Amazon has also acquired an "Internet of Things" (IoT) platform called 2lemetry, presumably to tie in with its Dash Replenishment Service that enables connected devices to order physical goods from Amazon when supplies are running low. Amazon is working with Audi Connect Easy Delivery, which will operate through temporary authorization for keyless access to the car's luggage compartment. The new service will provide customers with the option of entering their Audi as the shipping address for online orders.

An office of inspector general (OIG) audit found USPS processing facilities in its "Southern Area" weren't making sure that mail transport equipment (MTE) were empty before sending them to a service center (MTESC) in Dallas. The problem resulted in significant delays in delivery of mail, including Priority Mail and Express packages. The USPS OIG uncovered the troubling practices during an audit in November. The report included photos taken between Nov. 17 through Nov. 21, 2014 that revealed misdirected and damaged mail.

While FedEx SmartPost hasn't made any public announcements as of this publication, select customers have received written notifications of a price change effective April 27, 2015. Early indications are that FedEx intends to increase SmartPost rates by 8.3 percent.

Federal regulators have given Amazon.com a green light to begin testing drones, but it will most likely take years before the online retailer can start delivering packages from the air to peoples' homes. The Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday gave Amazon permission to conduct test flights of its drones outdoors, as long as the company obeys a host of rules like flying below 400 feet and only during daylight hours. The company's drones for now will have to be operated by a pilot with a certificate to fly a private manned aircraft.

Target on Monday lowered the threshold for free shipping on online orders to $25, making it among the most competitive among major retailers. Its previous free-shipping minimum was $50, which placed it in the higher end of the spectrum. Amazon.com offers free shipping on orders above $35, and offers free two-day delivery for customers who buy a subscription to its Amazon Prime service. Wal-Mart offers free shipping on orders of $50 or more. Many retailers, including Target, temporally suspend those minimums for the holiday shopping season.

Seeking an end to a protracted labor dispute that's led to costly delays in West Coast shipping, President Obama has decided to intervene, the White House announced Saturday. At the president's request, Thomas E. Perez, secretary of labor, will travel to California to "meet with the parties to urge them to resolve their dispute quickly at the bargaining table," according to a statement issued by Eric Schultz, a White House spokesman. Perez will try to mediate a settlement between an association of the major shipowners of the West Coast and the union of longshoremen who unload those ships.

Retailers’ anxiety levels are rising as gridlock grinds on with contract negotiations between West Coast dockworkers and port terminal operators. It's been a long nine months for those dealing directly, or indirectly, with the lack of a West Coast port contract, and after a temporary shutdown over the weekend, retail lobby groups and consultants are assigning potential costs to the issue. According to a Kurt Salmon analysis, congestion at West Coast ports could cost retailers as much as $7 billion this year.