Archive: Dec 2018

Holiday Shipping Guidance for 2018: Analyzing FedEx 2017 Holiday Ship-By Dates

To better understand when shippers should send their packages during the holiday season, GrandCanals, a provider of analytics-driven fulfillment, launched an AI-powered website, where companies can view holiday ship-by predictions for 2018, updated nightly. These predictions are determined by artificial intelligence and consider both historical and current shipping trends across the GrandCanals Delivery Performance tracking […]

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Keith Biondo

Post Office Dings E-Commerce?

Two recent and important developments will impact domestic and international e-commerce shipments. The first one concerns the U.S. Postal Service’s relationship with Amazon. Let me set the stage. The Postal Service lost $2.7 billion in 2017. U.S. taxpayers guarantee the perennially stressed postal worker retirement fund. And first-class mail receipts are off by $1.8 billion […]

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How Shippers Can Achieve Peace of Mind Through Shopping Season

Imagine it is Christmas morning. A family is just waking up and starting to open presents. It is time for the teenager to open her big gift—a new laptop. This was just what she needed, and her parents are glad all their research paid off. Immediately, the teenager takes the computer out of the box, […]

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NOTED | The Supply Chain in Brief-Dec 2018

Good Works DHL Express delivered hundreds of fresh-cut Christmas trees; thousands of handwritten letters; and menorahs, decorations, and gifts to U.S. military personnel stationed abroad as part of its charitable program Operation Holiday Cheer, now in its 15th year. The haul arrived at U.S. bases in Afghanistan, Bahrain, and Kuwait in time for the holidays. […]

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How Shippers Can Relieve Consumers’ Delivery Anxiety

Delivery anxiety is the anxiety consumers feel when they don’t know when they are going to receive their order or when shipping costs push the total order cost too high. It ultimately causes the consumer to abandon the shopping cart, and possibly order the product they so desperately desire elsewhere. Removing delivery anxiety, your single […]

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3PLs, Tech Providers Empower Ethical Supply Chains

3PLs, Tech Providers Empower Ethical Supply Chains

Photo courtesy of DHL Because they are so busy watching their margins, shippers do not always spend adequate attention and resources on the ethical issues involved in their highly complex supply chains, notes Mark Smolik, vice president, general counsel and secretary, compliance officer for DHL Supply Chain, the logistics division of Deutsche Post DHL. Ethics, […]

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That’s a Latte Coffee

That’s a Latte Coffee

When it comes to coffee imports, Germany is way out in front of EU member states, with 2017 imports totaling 1.1 million metric tons (see chart), according to Eurostat’s most recent statistics. The Italians are also well known for their love of coffee and last year, they imported slightly more than 550,000 metric tons. Belgium […]

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NOTED | The Supply Chain in Brief

SHOVEL READY Online home goods and furniture retailer Overstock.com is set to open a 517,000-square-foot distribution center in Kansas City, Kansas. The new warehouse allows Overstock to offer two-day ground shipping to nearly every customer in the contiguous United States. The retailer intends to expand the distribution center’s operations to include returns processing. Sealed Deals […]

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Take a Load Off Your Fleet

Take a Load Off Your Fleet

Maintenance and repair (M&R) is the top factor motivating fleet executives to acquire new trucks, say 40 percent of respondents to a recent Fleet Advantage survey of more than 1,000 fleet executives. M&R costs have moved front and center in recent years, with more fleet personnel working with their finance departments, the survey finds. Costs, […]

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