The Friday Report Blog: October 21st, 2022

Amazon Continues Use of UPS for Customer Returns

Amazon has announced that they will continue their Prepaid Returns Label program partnership with United Parcel Service. This program provides an option for customers to return products to the seller. The use of UPS for seller-fulfilled returns went into effect on September 5^th and was slated to run until October 2^nd, however, its availability has been extended to November 1^st.

In August, Amazon announced that they would provide customers with the option to drop off their return at any of the 4,768 UPS store locations. Customers already had the ability to send their returns through the United States Postal Service. Many sellers complained that customers using UPS to return shipments would cost them more. To mitigate negative response to the price disparity, Amazon has begun to reimburse the cost difference between UPS and USPS shipping labels to sellers.

Amazon made up 11.7% of UPS total revenue in 2021, down from 13.3% in 2020. UPS predicts that Amazon revenue will be less than11% of total revenue by the end of 2022.

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California Pledges $1.2 Billion for Port Improvements

The California State Transportation Agency has announced that the government will invest $1.2 billion into port and supply chain infrastructure in the state. Funding for the project was finalized in the California state budget in June 2022.

The transportation agency has stated that 70% of the investment funds will go to improving the movement of goods into and out of the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Together these ports handle 40% of all incoming cargo into the United States. The rest will be used for supply chain infrastructure in the remainder of the state.

The awarding of funds is set to be announced in March 2023. Projects for California’s port and freight infrastructure program include intermodal railyard expansion and zero-emission goods movements.

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GLS Adds Automated Systems at Sites in California and Las Vegas

General Logistics Solutions has announced the addition of automated sortation systems to warehousing and distribution hubs in Las Vegas, Nevada and Ontario, Las Vegas. GLS says that the material handling systems can weigh, measure, scan, and process over 5,000 parcels in an hour. This will improve their parcel processing accuracy and capacity capabilities. GLS hopes that the systems will provide for more efficient space utilization.

According to GLS, since the automated sorters have been implemented into their warehousing operations in Ontario, they have doubled their parcel sortation capacity and cut down on labor costs by 60%. GLS has also upgraded facilities in Phoenix and Portland as well as the California cities of Hayward, Sacramento, Santa Fe Springs, and Visalia.

GLS joins DHL eCommerce Solutions and Pitney Bowes as companies to add automated sortation systems.

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