FreightWaves Last Mile Logistics Summit

The Daily Dash: Last-mile event coverage and under-21 driver pilot program

Army truck

The Daily Dash is a quick look at what is happening in the freight ecosystem. In today’s edition, the FreightWaves Last Mile Logistics Summit was held on Thursday, diving deep into the challenges and opportunities in last-mile delivery. Plus, Hyliion details its secret sauce and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is expanding a pilot program for drivers under the age of 21.

Deep dive into last mile

Last-mile delivery has been tested throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. FreightWaves’...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/the-daily-dash-last-mile-event-coverage-and-under-21-driver-pilot-program

Evolution of last-mile deliveries amid COVID-19 (with video)

Last mile summit

As e-commerce sales are projected to hit over $709 billion in the U.S. in 2020 in large part because of the COVID-19 pandemic, logistics companies are focused on last-mile delivery and improving customers’ experience.

JT Engstrom, chief strategy officer of FreightWaves, and Lakshmanan Chidambaram, president of the Americas for Tech Mahindra, discussed the evolution of e-commerce over the next two years during FreightWaves’ virtual Last Mile Logistics Summit on Thursday.

“Well, we all know how...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/evolution-of-last-mile-deliveries-amid-covid-19-with-video

As e-commerce hits new heights, so do merchandise returns (with video)

The Reverse Logistics Association’s Tony Sciarrotta and DM Transportation’s Nicholas Isasi discuss reverse logistics at FreightWaves Last Mile Logistics Summit

Purchase returns and the reverse logistics portion of last-mile delivery have become a focal point as more consumers settle into the lifestyles and purchasing habits that have become the new norm in a COVID world.

Consumers’ acceptance of a digital retail channel has provided salvation to many retailers that have seen pandemic-related shutdowns choke off traditional in-store buying. At the FreightWaves Last Mile Logistics Summit on Thursday, Tony Sciarrotta, executive director, Reverse Logistics...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/as-e-commerce-hits-new-heights-so-do-merchandise-returns-with-video

Reverse logistics requires handling customers with white gloves (with video)

FreightWaves Last Mile Logistics Summit

There is nothing simple about providing a reverse logistics service, especially for large replacement or return items that do not fit neatly into a small package.

However, more U.S. third-party logistics service providers (3PLs) and trucking companies in recent years have found this to be the type of niche service where their expertise can shine.

“We have found this especially important to our appliance customers and anyone doing furniture delivery,” Jason Neal, manager of dedicated accounts at Ke...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/reverse-logistics-requires-handling-customers-with-white-gloves-with-video

Fleet Enable optimizes last-mile delivery, improves customer experience (with video)

last mile delivery service

Prior to COVID-19, e-commerce in North America was booming thanks to Amazon. The pandemic has accelerated that and stakeholders within the last-mile delivery space are begging for technological solutions to better optimize the logistics of delivery.

According to a recent report from Armstrong & Associates, COVID-19 drove a 31.8% quarter-over-quarter increase in e-commerce retail sales to the tune of $211.5 billion in Q2 of 2020. E-commerce retail now accounts for 16.1% of all retail sales,...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/fleet-enable-optimizes-last-mile-delivery-improves-customer-experience

Consumer demand drives more visible, service-oriented supply chain (with video)

A photograph of two men in a split screen.

An XPO Logistics (NYSE: XPO) executive forecast Thursday that XPO might need an additional 25-30% of delivery capacity during this fall’s strong peak season.

“We want to go into this peak period and really prove that we’re ready for the Super Bowl and ready to do this,” XPO Last Mile President Erik Caldwell told FreightWaves President George Abernathy during the keynote event, “How Changes in Consumer Demand Are Reshaping the Last Mile,” as part of Thursday’s virtual FreightWaves Last Mile...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/consumer-demand-drives-more-visible-service-oriented-supply-chain-with-video

Adapting to retail’s last mile in a decentralized marketplace (with video)

The coronavirus pandemic forced many companies to adapt the way they manufactured and packaged their products, as well as how they shipped them to their final destination, according to Karen Tyndall, GlobalTranz Inc.’s director of customer solutions.

“What we found was that [customers] were buying online and ultimately making those purchases from their living room,” Tyndall said. “The unique challenge to final mile is that when you have the challenge of getting products into a customer’s hand...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/adapting-to-retails-last-mile-in-a-decentralized-marketplace-with-video

J.B. Hunt ‘committed’ to final-mile delivery of big and bulky items (with video)

The head of J.B. Hunt Transportation Services Inc.’s (NASDAQ:JBHT) final-mile operation said Thursday that significant investments must be made in the home delivery of big and bulky items because it is fast becoming the most critical part of the supply chain.

Nick Hobbs, who runs the Lowell, Arkansas-based company’s Dedicated Contract Services (DCS) and Final Mile Services operations, said during the FreightWaves Last Mile Logistics Summit that Hunt is aggressively investing in its final-mile...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/jb-hunt-committed-to-final-mile-delivery-of-big-and-bulky-items-with-video