SmartCentres, the largest shopping center developer in Canada, has launched a popular drive-in pickup service for e-commerce customers. Located at existing shopping centers, Penguin Pickup accepts deliveries from any online retailer.

Mergers and acquisition in the 3PL industry are on the upswing, with deals in the first two quarters of this year outpacing all of last year, says Ronald Lentz of G2 Capital Advisors. Lentz looks at factors driving this trend and other issues impacting the industry's financial health.

Contract terms being demanded by shippers and consignees in their agreements with logistics providers have become unacceptably onerous and one-sided, says Philip M. Coughlin of Expeditors International. Coughlin details common requirements, such as shifting all risk to providers, which he considers unfair, as well as discussing ideas on how to move forward.

CEVA Logistics has opened a global distribution center in Born, the Netherlands for industrial spare parts.

Echo's recent acquisition of Command Transportation will grow its revenue by 50 percent and strengthen its presence in the truckload brokerage market, says Echo CEO Doug Waggoner. He explains the role of acquisitions in Echo's growth strategy and his view on 3PL consolidation trends.

C.H. Robinson has introduced Freightview, cloud-based transportation-management system (TMS) software for small and midsized businesses.

Transplace, the provider of transportation-management and logistics services and technology, has launched a supply-chain consulting practice.

Retailers increasingly are using customized packaging to meet the preferences of customers in specific stores, regions or channels, says Jason Tham, CEO of Nulogy. This work often is outsourced by brand manufacturers and Nulogy has developed software to link and streamline the process.

Tom Sanderson, CEO of Transplace, discusses the growing U.S.-Mexico freight market and how Transplace continues to strengthen its presence there. Sanderson also highlights border-crossing issues that continue to complicate U.S.-Mexico freight moves.

As a growing 3PL, ProTrans is taking a proactive approach to finding mid-sized, regional carriers that are a good match for its network. Shawn Masters, COO, discusses the company's carrier program and its proprietary carrier-matching software application.