United Parcel Service of America, Inc. (UPS)

Amazon drones may still be in the future, but Amazon trucks are ready now.

The Internet giant on Friday said it has purchased thousands of trailers that it will deploy in shipments to shuttle inventory along its supply chain, but not to customer homes. The Amazon-branded trailers will be pulled by tractor trucks provided by existing third-party transportation partners.

Amazon made the announcement at an event in Chicago where employees prepared 2,000 care packages to be sent to soldiers overseas. The packages included Amazon Fire tablets.

Amazon drones may still be in the future, but Amazon trucks are ready now.

According to Re/Code, Amazon.com has purchased thousands of trailers that it will deploy in shipments along its supply chain, but not to customer homes. The branded trailers storing Amazon merchandise will be pulled by tractor trucks provided by existing third-party transportation partners.

These shipments will occur between Amazon fulfillment centers and other internal fulfillment centers or sortation centers. At least for now, Amazon trailers will not be used for any customer deliveries.

Alibaba generated a record $14.3 billion in sales in a 24-hour period on Singles Day (Nov. 11) this year. That is roughly five times what Cyber Monday is expected to generate.

Clearly, Alibaba is doing something right and is setting a precedent for what other retailers worldwide hope to achieve. It’s worth looking at why Alibaba was so successful. So what can retailers take away from the Singles’ Day experience to maximize sales and give customers a great experience this holiday season, and throughout 2016?

Doorman, a startup managed delivery service that provides consumers with a secure space to pickup online deliveries, is making itself more available.

First, Doorman has expanded its service to Chicago and will soon enter the New York market. Doorman, which launched in San Francisco in 2013, also operates in the Bay area. Doorman deviates from the usual package delivery model by operating warehouses where online retailers can rent dedicated space for consumers to pick up their deliveries.

FedEx says a big boost in online shopping will propel its business between Black Friday and Christmas Eve at least 12.4% above 2014 levels.

FedEx expects the holiday period to include three shipment volume spikes: Cyber Monday and the first two Mondays in December.

The company said it was adding 55,000 employees for the holidays to handle the increased demand.

Keeping track of Amazon's  constantly expanding network of facilities is tough, but one count puts the retailer at having 173 supply chain centers across the globe.

Keeping track of Amazon's constantly expanding network of facilities is tough, but one count puts the retailer at having 173 supply chain centers across the globe.

According to a new report from ChannelAdvisor, the online giant has 104 North American facilities and 69 facilities outside North America. The total number includes fulfillment centers (FCs,), sortation centers (SCs), redistribution fulfillment centers (RFCs) and "Prime Now" hubs (PNs).

Life just got a little easier for merchants who sell goods on Shopify. The cloud-based e-commerce platform is partnering with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) for direct, discounted shipping.

Retailers can now buy and print discounted shipping labels directly within the Shopify platform. Labels will be up to 60% off retail rates. In addition to saving money when purchasing shipping labels, merchants will now have the ability to either drop prepaid shipments off at USPS offices without having to wait in line, or they can schedule a free home pickup.

More associates working more hours to elevate the customer experience is the pledge Walmart COO Judith McKenna is making to holiday shoppers this season.

The day after Kohl’s, Toys “R” Us and UPS announced ambitious holiday hiring plans, Walmart said it would add 60,000 seasonal workers after giving existing workers the opportunity to pick up extra hours.

It is the season before the season when retailer revelations about plans to hire temporary workers offer insight into holiday expectations. One of the best indicators of what to expect this Christmas comes courtesy of UPS.

UPS said it plans to hire between 90,000 and 95,000 seasonal employees (about the same as last year) to support the anticipated increase in package volume that will begin in November and continue through January 2016.