Parcel Shipping

Josh Dunham, chief executive officer of Reveel, describes four best practices that parcel shippers are employing in their relationships with carriers today.

Private equity investors can increase enterprise value of portfolio companies by reducing parcel shipping costs. Parcel shipping costs have increasingly become a major expense for businesses, especially with the rise of e-commerce through buyer preference for online shopping. Portfolio companies that rely on parcel shipping can optimize their shipping strategies, negotiate better rates with carriers, and invest in technology to improve operational efficiency. By reducing parcel shipping costs, portfolio companies can materially improve their margins and increase their profitability.

When Sunriise Business Solutions’ business process and project management experts embedded at a high-end yoga apparel brand were asked to bring the company’s shipping operation from a 3PL in house, they began by deploying Reveel’s Shipping Intelligence™ Platform - a decision that delivered more than $1.8 million in initial savings.

One of the fastest growing distributors of products for industrial applications, including hydraulics and pneumatics, Motion Flow & Control Products (MFCP) helps leading companies in numerous industries achieve new heights. Now MFCP is using the valuable data and powerful analytics in Reveel’s Shipping Intelligence platform solution to transform the fulfillment and inventory operations for its e-commerce site and more than 60 brick-and-mortar stores.

The leading provider of liquid yeast, and other fermentation products and expertise that leading brewers, distillers and wine makers need, knew it wanted to break from the vicious cycle of parcel consulting fees. The transition to Reveel’s platform delivered far more than savings.

ShipMatrix observed that based on its data of millions of parcels shipped during Cyber Week pointed to online orders being delivered “at levels better than in the last several years,” with the respective OTPs for FedEx, UPS, and the USPS, coming in at 97.8%, 98.0%, and 95.2%, respectively.

3PL provider aims to reduce labor costs, streamline processes, and build more efficient workflows with new warehouse management system.

Josh Taylor, Senior Director of Professional Services, for San Diego-based Shipware, an audit and parcel consulting services company, told Newsroom Notes that in looking at the FedEx pilots situation, the main risk posed to FedEx by the potential for a pilots’ strike hasn’t been the threat of the pilots walking out, but the dissatisfaction of the pilots and the uncertainty it could have created with investors.

USPS officials attributed the operating revenue loss to declining volumes seen mainly in the organization’s Marketing Mail and Shipping and Packages categories.

2022 carrier revenues—at $198 billion—saw a 6.5% annual increase over 2021’s $186 billion, with UPS at $73 billion (a 5.5% annual increase), FedEx at $65 billion (a 5% annual increase), USPS at $31 billion (which was flat), Amazon Logistics at $24 billion (which was flat), and “others” combined revenue at $4 billion, up 0.1%.

Late last week, a Reuters report stated that the FedEx Ground subsidiary of Memphis-based global freight transportation and logistics services provider FedEx is expecting lower volumes, reflecting how its customers anticipate shipping fewer holiday packages.

Three of our top parcel industry sources offer their respective takes on one of the most ubiquitous parts of freight transportation and logistics - parcel and last-mile delivery, and with providers and carriers continuing to have the upper hand over shippers, they suggest to leave no stone unturned when it comes to carrier selection and leveraging partnerships.

On the heels of recently announcing the rollout of a new transcontinental delivery service, following their October 2021 merger announcement, Vienna, Va.-based LaserShip, the largest regional e-commerce parcel carrier and last-mile delivery services provider, and Chandler, Ariz.-based regional shipping services provider OnTrac, said earlier this month that they are expanding into Texas.

As organizations strive to future-proof their supply chains in the future, managers must shift their focus to building flexible, resilient order fulfillment workflows to continue delighting their customers and surpass the competition.

As parcel shipping rates continue to rise, shippers can alter fulfillment strategies to compensate for higher shipping costs.