Modern Shipper

Both Uber Eats and DoorDash surprised investors, but not in the ways one might think.

ATA’s suit comes just a few days after what it says was a “major victory” with the Labor Department secretary’s statements regarding trucking and the vaccine rule.

Rivian priced its IPO at $78 a share, turning early funding by Amazon, Ford and others into billions in returns on those investments.

Domestic headwinds were balanced out by an international expansion as DoorDash stock popped 10% in post-market trading.

Suspending electric van production, converting debt to equity and reducing cash burn are among the new CEO’s early moves at the troubled Workhorse Group.

DHL is making changes to its airline-within-an-airline concept.

Fabric and its microfulfillment networks are already valued at $1 billion despite operating in just three cities.

PayPal customers will now be able to use their Venmo accounts to make purchases on Amazon.

Supply chain disruptions in 2021 have wreaked havoc on businesses, but smart CPG companies are leveraging data science to get ahead of the issues.

Autonomous trucks hauling freight for Walmart are running with no driver in the seat in Arkansas, says autonomous vehicle company Gatik.

Q3 2021 marked the first adjusted EBITDA-profitable quarter in Uber’s publicly traded history and the second in a row for Lyft.

Proper delivery routing is often overlooked as a potential sales tool, but done right, it can lead to increased customer engagement and more sales.

If independent owner-operators are included, Convoy analyst Terrazas says employment is probably at 2019 levels.

The road ahead looks brighter than ever for the ride-hailing giant after posting an adjusted-EBITDA profit of $8 million.

Square posted a 45% increase in revenue, but lower-than-expected bitcoin revenue dampened analysts’ enthusiasm for the Q3 results.

Few people buy winter coats in May, but inefficiencies in e-commerce returns can mean a coat returned in January remains unsold months later.

Wayfair stock is down in the early hours of trading on Thursday after a lackluster quarter.

Big volumes of container traffic are hitting GXO’s facilities, Wilson says.

Ulta Beauty is the latest brand to join DoorDash Drive, the food delivery company’s white-label last-mile fulfillment service.

Einride has been running its autonomous freight Pods in Europe since 2019, but founder and CEO Robert Falck has high hopes for the company’s entry to the U.S. “It is such a great challenge and I’m really excited. This U.S. freight transportation community is the most competitive in the world,” he said.

Berkshire Grey continues a string of product releases with the robotic shuttle product sortation system for e-commerce retailers.

After becoming adjusted EBITDA-profitable for the first time ever in Q2 2021, Lyft keeps it rolling with another solid quarter.

The California-based robo-delivery company has reportedly reached a valuation of more than $8.5 billion.

“The investments we’ve made to date are paying off. As global supply chains continue to be disrupted, this is creating opportunities for us to become even faster, more agile and more efficient,” said an American Eagle executive in a recent earnings call.

Pitney Bowes plans to hire thousands of seasonal employees for holiday peak season, with many being offered the opportunity to remain with the company following the holidays.

Post-purchase experience technology firm Narvar is adding insights into retailers’ logistics networks with a real-time monitoring service.

The company beats earnings per-share consensus, and posts revenue gains while hiking its full-year outlook.

When electric vehicle maker Rivian makes its public debut, perhaps as early as next week, it could be at a valuation that rivals Ford’s.

Bed Bath & Beyond continues its e-commerce evolution, making its home and baby product lines available for on-demand delivery through the Uber Eats app.

Fuel levies on U.S. customers to rise 100 basis points for air and ground services, source says.

Web browsers are responding to privacy concerns by eliminating third-party cookie tracking, but doing so also eliminates a key collection point for e-commerce sellers that rely on the data to create a seamless shopping experience for consumers.

Modern Shipper spoke with several supply chain executives to get their takes on what could be the most chaotic holiday season in recent memory.

When shippers are using several cobbled-together solutions with hit-or-miss integrations, they miss out on opportunities to optimize their business practices and workflows.

Both companies see their financial results weighed down by higher labor costs and operational disruptions due to staffing shortages.

CEO Jassy says Amazon faces billions of dollars in additional costs during the fourth quarter.

Companies stymied by the chip shortage have figured out a way to keep operating while cutting their losses.

Shopify reported 46% revenue growth but failed to impress investors as it missed Q3 expectations.

Beans.ai emerges from stealth with $17M in funding and plans to map the final foot of delivery.

The Connecticut-based drop shipping company just completed a huge funding round led by K1 Investment Management.

The California startup will use its new funding to continue extending benefits to gig workers across multiple apps and platforms.

Used vehicle sales at the company were strong again.

Resilient Power lands $5M in seed funding as it looks to commercialize its fast-charging technology.

Company shoots out the lights in the third quarter with soaring profits and EPS.

Uber is partnering with EV charging company Wallbox to offer discounted charging units for drivers in the San Francisco area under a pilot program.

The backyard drone delivery company just completed its third expansion in the state and is nearing airplane certification from the FAA.

Saks will leverage GXO’s logistics expertise to fulfill e-commerce orders from a new Pennsylvania fulfillment center.

A new initiative from Moves Financial is rewarding gig workers with stock in the very companies for which they work.

Google Cloud steps up its DTC e-commerce presence with a new partnership that emphasizes data innovation for brands.

Cargo Force is the intermediary between the U.S. Postal Service and FedEx on Priority air shipments.

With supply chain delays hitting retailers hard, Modern Shipper spoke with Kwontified CEO Elaine Kwon to figure out what that means for consumers.

The huge C-suite move puts the supply chain heavyweight in the center of the parcel action right away.

Amazon is opening a robotics research and development and manufacturing facility in Massachusetts, bringing 200 jobs to the region.

The e-commerce fulfillment and SaaS provider is tapping into Florida’s retail supply chain.

Also on the podcast: checking on the numbers in the red-hot diesel market.

Regional operator Mesa Air Group will begin testing last-mile drone delivery in a partnership with manufacturer Flirtey.

Wing, the drone delivery subsidiary of Alphabet, just announced a partnership with Walgreens to deliver in densely populated areas.

E-commerce fulfillment provider ShipMonk’s facility in Mexico will focus on companies that rely on goods manufactured internationally.

Zebra Technologies adds three autonomous robots and a fulfillment software package for operations that require order-picking accuracy.

Azuga customer fleets of all sizes, from delivery companies to over-the-road trucking operations, can buy into a new carbon offset program to help them make their vehicles carbon-neutral.

U.S. Bank’s Spend Index does include the price of fuel, which has helped to drive it higher.

The global supply chain visibility platform is seeking to take some pressure off carriers at the ports with more precise ETAs.

Cloud supply chain provider Stord is opening its fourth warehouse and second in Nevada: a 177,000-square-foot facility in Las Vegas to serve customers’ fulfillment needs.

Instacart’s partnering stores will now have access to smart carts and smart checkout counters from Caper AI.

SPS Commerce is collaborating with C.H. Robinson to open up new LTL capacity to retailers in need of space to move goods this holiday season.

The Singapore-based advanced aerial mobility company wants to fly humans around in autonomous, hydrogen-powered passenger drones.

Ryder has made an investment in and offered vehicles on lease to autonomous technology company Gatik to speed middle-mile autonomous deliveries.

Amazon’s seasonal demand dwarfs its competitors.

Online growth, higher inventory levels are trends that will likely last, Moghadam says.

A strike of Instacart shoppers led by the Gig Workers Collective will take place this weekend.

Enroute AI believes granular delivery details such as which entrance to use can improve last-mile delivery, and it thinks its AI can delivery that granularity.

News comes days before LaserShip’s private equity parent to announce $1.3 billion purchase of fellow regional delivery firm OnTrac.

Representatives from both sides of the aisle and company executives convened in a webinar hosted by the Consumer Technology Association.

Warehouse operators that wished their employees were a bit taller can now turn to robotics firm Geek+, which has introduced a 26-foot-tall robot for picking operations.

Does private equity see a future in a nationwide parcel network stitched together with regional players? The LaserShip-OnTrac deal may be the first step.

The e-commerce fulfillment company gets a nice raise to deliver on its promise of “instant commerce” in 20 minutes or less.

Saying the restaurants are the “heart of Main Street,” DoorDash launches a $1 million grant program to assist those that suffer business disruptions because of natural disasters.

The company is so new that there isn’t any earnings history to discuss yet, but that will change in a few weeks.

Many shippers struggle to succeed at last-mile delivery, often at the mercy of a delivery partner. But getting a handle on the middle mile can improve the chances of last-mile success.

The company moves its commitment times to noon from 10:30 a.m., effective Oct. 18.

Three British Columbia Uber drivers allegedly were fired after refusing to serve unmasked passengers who threatened violence and bad reviews.

As Halloween returns to a semblance of normal in 2021, more consumers than ever before will purchase candy, costumes and decorations online.

Some argue that Amazon lacks the integrated network to pull it off. But betting against the company has generally been a losing proposition.

In this final Drone Disruptors, Modern Shipper spoke with Chairman and CEO Dan O’Toole of DroneDek, the maker of the mailbox of the future.

The term edge computing scares many technophobes, but the technology is quickly becoming the go-to system for modern supply chains that depend on visibility through to the end consumer.

Australian startup Immertia ran a demonstration of its holographic packaging for pharmaceutical giant Bayer, and it looks the part.

Some 1,500 supply chain professionals met at FourKites Visibility 2021 to discuss the present and future of visibility in supply chains.

Walmart has expanded its academies training program to include a new focus on e-commerce fulfillment.

Home Depot will become the first customer for Walmart’s new GoLocal delivery service, rolling out the service in select markets in the coming weeks.

GXO will open a 715,000-square-foot distribution center in Arizona to handle distribution and e-commerce fulfillment for retailer Abercrombie & Fitch.

As more Americans begin their holiday shopping earlier than ever, port backups and worker shortages could leave shoppers disappointed and brands with excess inventory in January.

DHL Express is investing around the world in its international parcel network. A bigger Paris hub means faster package delivery.

The chaos in the supply chain has ripple effects down to the last mile. AxleHire Founder Daniel Sokolovsky is responsible for ensuring his company can meet those last-mile delivery demands.

The proposed $1 trillion infrastructure package includes a provision that would study the potential for a “driving tax” of 8 cents per mile.

Company takes no chances in keeping supply chain problems away from holiday deliveries.

FedEx Express has completed the first drone delivery as part of a monthlong test in Ireland, moving a package from Shannon Airport to Foynes Port in under 13 minutes and cutting nearly 40 minutes from a vehicle delivery route.

Amazon-backed EV maker Rivian makes big news with a public stock offer and beating its rivals to market with the first-ever electric pickup, the R1T.

In this week’s Drone Disruptors, Modern Shipper talked to Elroy Air CEO and co-founder David Merrill.

Barry Litwin has an up-close look at what the B2B customer is expecting from suppliers in today’s e-commerce-driven world. The CEO of Global Industrial Co. offers his thoughts in the first installment of Conversation with Dusty.

People hate doing things themselves. Today we have cars that are self-driving, microwaves that are self-cleaning, thermostats that are self-adjusting – even ​​sentences that are self-completing. Automation is just about […]

With e-commerce continuing to grow, brands that make the returns experience easier and speed the refund process have a better chance at retaining that customer.