A recent live demonstration of an e-commerce delivery by a drone reinforced the potential of drones to streamline last-mile deliveries - the final frontier of e-commerce logistics. At the late-September livestreaming of the delivery, the consortium behind the project announced a three-week trial of a same-day drone delivery service.
Flexport, the shipping logistics company that launched in San Francisco just four years ago, is set to close a $110m Series C funding round. The investment values the company at $910m post money, says Wesley Chan, managing director at Menlo Park VC firm Felicis Ventures, an early investor in Flexport. The new round will bring the total capital invested to $204m.
In a move that it says puts it on equal footing with Prime Now's domestic coverage, crowdsourced same-day delivery provider Deliv has expanded to 1,400 U.S. cities in 33 markets, up from 19 markets previously - allowing retail customers like Macy's and Best Buy to greatly increase the range of their services.
The U.K.'s Freight Transport Association (FTA) welcomed Prime Minister Teresa May's call last week for a transition period as a key priority for Brexit negotiations. But, as May's Tories grip on power continues to erode against an ascendant Labor party, the prime minister's pragmatic turn might be too little, too late, and the future of U.K.-E.U. trade remains unclear.
Companies seek to burnish their brands in a variety of creative ways. In the case of Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI), that desire extends deep into the supply chain.
The International Union of Marine Insurance has called for better fire-fighting systems on board container ships, citing its concern that current provisions are insufficient given the growing size of container vessels and a recent spate of fires on board ships.