Last-Mile Delivery

Total first quarter net income—at $318 million—was well ahead of a $748 million net income loss, for the same period a year ago. And total operating revenue—at $21.495 billion—topped the $19.351 billion from a year ago.

Taking a major step to expand its last-mile home delivery capabilities, Concord, NC-based Cardinal Logistics Management Corporation, a provider of freight transportation and logistics services, announced today it has acquired Stoughton, Mass.-based last-mile delivery specialist NRX Logistics.

Logistics Management Group News Editor Jeff Berman recently spoke with Marc Gorlin, Founder and CEO of Atlanta-based Roadie, an on-the-way delivery service with the nation’s largest local same-day footprint. This was a continuation of a conversation they had back in March, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Waterloo, Ontario-based Descartes, a provider of logistics based on-demand, software-as-a-service offerings, recently announced it acquired ShipTrack, a Plantagenet, Ontario-based provider of cloud-based mobile resource management and shipment tracking solutions that help shippers with automate dispatch, updates on shipment status and estimated time of arrival (ETA), and eliminate paper-based delivery processes.

Greeneville, Tenn.-based asset-light freight and logistics services provider Forward Air Corporation announced it has acquired the assets of Johnson City, Tenn.-based CLW Delivery Inc., a privately held final mile provider specializing in last-mile logistics and in-home installation services for national retailers and manufacturers, for cash consideration of $5.5 million.

The main thesis of this report explained that 13.8 million square feet of United States retail space has now been converted to 15.5 million square feet of industrial space. But that is not solely a COVID-19 happening, as that data goes back to 2017, according to CBRE.

Bringg Founder and CTO Lior Sion told LM that the need for this new offering was driven by how consumer expectations for delivery, curbside pickup and click 'n' collect have been thrust into hyper-growth due to COVID, making omnichannel fulfillment a business imperative not just for success but for survival in today's market.

Miami-based freight transportation and logistics services provider Ryder System Inc. recently announced it has taken multiple steps to expand its e-commerce fulfillment network, in the form of opening a new Philadelphia-area facility and adding FDA-certifications for food-grade capabilities to two additional facilities in Perris, Calif. and Dallas, Texas.

On the heels of the pandemic, this year our panel chose to place their focus on the processes, software and technology tools that are helping to improve e-commerce fulfillment on the front lines.

Earlier today, Orlando, Fla.-based OneRail, a provider of final mile delivery services for enterprise shippers, rolled out a new offering, entitled QuickSmart, that enables retail shippers to immediately find more final mile delivery capacity required to support increased in e-commerce demand brought on by the coronavirus, or COVID-19, pandemic.

Logistics Management Group News Editor Jeff Berman recently spoke with Marc Gorlin, Founder and CEO of Atlanta-based Roadie, an on-the-way delivery service with the nation’s largest local same-day footprint. Gorlin addressed ways in which Roadie’s offerings are providing both corporations and consumers some delivery certainty in an uncertain time.

In recent conversations I had with two leading parcel express and last mile logistics experts, there was no shortage of talking points to touch upon, as they relate to the ongoing coronavirus, or COVID-19, pandemic.

In this webcast, our panel will provide a comprehensive update on the current state of parcel express and last-mile logistics markets and how shippers provide and in-depth look at things shippers are up against need to focus on. step up their games when it comes to how they approach rate and pricing negotiations.

Given the ever-increasing role that the intersection of e-commerce and last-mile logistics has in the retail supply chain, it does not come as a huge surprise that meeting ever-increasing consumer delivery expectations is a top challenge, especially for regional last-mile logistics players. That was a key theme at a session at this week’s RILA (Retail Industry Leaders Association) LINK 2020 Conference in Dallas.

Driven by the rampant growth rate of e-commerce, coupled with the need to increase efficiency and lower residential delivery costs, Memphis-based freight transportation and logistics service provider FedEx announced late last week that in March, FedEx Express—its global, time-definite delivery service unit—will contract with FedEx Ground—its ground transportation package delivery services unit—for the transport and delivery of select day-definite, residential Express shipments.