The U.S. Postal Service has filed notice with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) of price changes for shipping services products to take effect next year, following the end of the holiday mailing season. The filing does not include any price increase for First-Class Package International Service, Priority Mail Express International and Priority Mail International.
The holidays are coming, and Amazon says it plans to add 120,000 seasonal workers in an effort to meet an expected spike in demand as more and more people trade bricks for clicks. The seasonal positions will be created at fulfillment centers, sorting centers and customer service sites in 27 states. The move marks a 20 percent boost from the 100,000 seasonal hires a year ago.
Digital mapping company Esri has announced a partnership with crowdsourcing traffic app maker Waze to help city governments and drivers communicate more efficiently about traffic conditions, including construction delays and accidents. By using Esri ArcGIS (geographic information system) software to connect to a new Waze connected citizens program, cities can share data about the conditions of their roads with drivers, while drivers can anonymously report accidents, potholes and other road condition information.
Lancaster Farm Fresh Organics (LFFO) has streamlined its previously manual fleet operations to help get product in and out of the warehouse and into the customer's hand in 24 hours or less, said Ben Kreider, the retailer's transportation director. LFFO uses the Descartes Route Planner.
In the heart of Amazon country, Nordstrom, Costco and UPS have joined with a team from the University of Washington in Seattle to study solutions to last-mile delivery issues in urban areas. UW's Urban Freight Lab will explore high-impact, low-cost solutions in urban areas where delivery vehicles, bicycles, cars and pedestrians all have to coexist, according to the university.
Forget packing peanuts, it's all about the air cushion, says John Wolf, vice president for global sector marketing at Sealed Air and the inventor of bubble wrap. Fill-Air Flow is a device the size of a paper-towel dispenser that creates clear plastic air cushions - a cheaper, sleeker alternative to packing peanuts and the like - at a scale designed to be affordable for small businesses, Wolf says.
A drone service delivering blood for transfusions has been launched by the president of Rwanda. The drones are expected to make between 50 and 150 life-saving deliveries a day to remote and inaccessible clinics across the western half of the country, according to Zipline, the company behind the technology.
As ordering and fulfillment models go, there isn't much more basic a concept than pizza delivery. Pick up the phone, place your order, and a driver brings the pie to your door. Simple, right? Wrong.
For the better part of the last decade, Amazon Fresh has been an enigma. Now, with a change to its pricing, Amazon positions Fresh much more favorably, said Keith Anderson, a vice president at Profitero, an e-commerce analytics start-up that works with retailers and consumer brands.
