United Parcel Service of America, Inc. (UPS)

UPS expects to accommodate more than 78 million online tracking requests on Tuesday, December 17 thanks in part to new mobile capabilities that offer shoppers unprecedented supply chain visibility.

UPS expects to pick up more than 34 million packages Monday, Dec. 16, and expects to deliver 29 million packages globally Tuesday, Dec. 17, driven by e-commerce growth. The surge in volume during peak week — the final full week before Christmas, Dec. 16–20 — is a record for a single day at the package delivery company.

Mini catalogs help offset increased costs of mailing, without sacrificing circulation

In the largest price increase since 2007, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is proposing a rate hike of 5.9%, a move that has catalog mailers scrambling to assess the impact of such an increase and also evaluating less expensive alternatives. The Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) has up to 90 days to rule on the proposal, with the price increase going into effect as early as Jan. 27, 2014.

A compressed shopping season coupled with the continued growth of e-commerce has UPS forecasting that peak season daily package volumes will grow by 8%.

Feelgoodz leverages shipping solutions to deliver savings and customer service

Feelgoodz Inc. likes to create a customer environment that is as carefree and comfortable as its signature merchandise: eco-friendly flip-flops.

Although the company operates one store in Raleigh, N.C., its e-commerce site serves as its primary direct-to-consumer selling channel, meaning that smoothly functioning order fulfillment is of paramount importance to maintaining positive customer-service vibrations.

New York – 99dresses is introducing a mobile iOS app. 99dresses offers a virtual “clothes swap party” where women list unwanted fashion items and receive virtual “buttons” they can use to claim apparel items listed by other customers. The item listed is then emailed a prepaid USPS shipping label.

Widening competition for commodity grocery sales is changing grocery-anchored shopping centers.

Supermarket-anchored shopping centers haven't changed much since the invention of suburbia. Find a good location, sign a grocery anchor, get a construction loan and some inline local, regional and maybe national retailers, and you're in business.

Today, however, supermarkets are beginning to change, and supermarket-anchored shopping centers, of course, must follow along.

Why are grocers changing? Competition from all sides.

RIVER GROVE, Ill. — Follett Corporation has named former Dick’s Sporting Goods executive Don Germano as president and chief operating officer of the Follett Higher Education Group. He replaces Tom Christopher, who announced plans to retire, effective August 30.

Christopher was president and chief operating officer of the Follett Higher Education Group for nearly 12 years.