Geodis has launched a new air zone skip service to facilitate faster direct-to-customer cross-border delivery for U.S. e-commerce firms shipping to Canada.
The MyParcel product is Geodis’ existing small parcel delivery service that allows U.S. companies to ship to 26 European countries, the U.K. and Canada. The new air zone skip service is designed to streamline shipping into Canada. Geodis plans to expand MyParcel to new geographical areas in 2023.
“Zone skipping can be an extremely beneficial strategy for high-volume e-commerce shippers who are looking to increase operational efficiencies, lower shipping costs per package and reduce transit times,” said Michael Lamia, senior vice president of Geodis MyParcel and Geodis eLogistics. “As e-commerce shippers continue to navigate consumer expectations for faster speeds, it is vital to work with a trusted logistics partner with a full breadth of expertise across air, ocean, road and last mile — including alternative shipping methods like zone skipping — to remain competitive in today’s dynamic market.”
Zone skipping is a freight transportation service where small shipments are consolidated with other small shipments to create a single larger shipment that is then shipped to a destination area. Without consolidation, there is not enough volume to send individual items to the destination area cost-effectively. Often used in trucking to create truckload volumes, it can also be implemented in air cargo.
“Simply put, Geodis MyParcel provides domestic e-commerce brands with a simple way to go global,” said Lamia. “Whether shipping to Canada, the U.K. or our 26 designated European countries, Geodis MyParcel allows brands to continue growing their e-commerce business on a global scale by offering the right balance between speed and price to provide a seamless delivery experience to customers.”
Service is available to all Canadian provinces and includes full end-to-end tracking visibility and management over the entire shipping process from pickup to customs clearance through last-mile delivery.
Geodis has been ramping up its e-commerce efficiency, recently announcing it would add 1,000 autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) at global facilities and acquiring a last-mile delivery provider.
In August, Geodis said it would deploy 1,000 AMRs from Locus Robotics over the next two years. Geodis is currently using Locus AMRs in 14 facilities that are helping fulfill orders for retail and consumer brands.
Locus Robotics works with customers in a robotics-as-a-service subscription model, making it easy for customers to add to or subtract from their robotic fleet without fear of a large capital investment. Its AMRs work collaboratively with humans to improve piece-handling productivity between two and three times, the company said.
Also in August, Geodis announced the acquisition of Need It Now, a New Jersey-based provider of final-mile delivery and omnichannel and same-day logistics. Need It Now expects revenues this year to exceed $750 million. The combined companies would have generated $3.7 billion in U.S. revenue in 2021, Geodis said.
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