The battle for the last mile is in the cloud, but which one?
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Cloud providers are working with partners and connecting platforms to create supply chain ecosystems in which carriers, logistics providers, and shippers collaborate. As supply chains take a more circular approach, the last-mile and reverse logistics have become critical additions to ecosystems.
Last month, Oracle and Uber announced Collect and Receive, which allows retailers to link to Uber Direct, Uber’s white-label delivery solution, via pre-integrated APIs.
“Oracle knows retail processes, and Uber knows delivery. Connecting the two platforms eliminates the gap between a sales transaction and customer service, and at the same time provides invaluable data to better serve the customer on their next experience and improve overall retail profitability,” said Pat Bohannon, vice president at Oracle Retail.
This week, Bringg announced the availability of its platform on Google Cloud Marketplace.
“Making Bringg available on Google Cloud Marketplace means that customers can quickly access Bringg’s solution from Google Cloud and get a comprehensive last mile delivery experience,” said Dai Vu, Managing Director, Cloud Marketplace & ISV GTM Programs, Google Cloud.
And yes, it is about data, as stated in Bohannon’s quote and implied by Google Cloud’s Vu, which gives retailers a more complete view of their last mile and reverse logistics processes compared to years past in which retailers may have had only limited, siloed data.
“Gathering data on the last mile is dark,” an Uber Direct executive told me at Oracle’s OracleWorld conference last month. Indeed, in its press release, Oracle notes that with this solution, “all transaction data is captured back into the Oracle retail cloud platform, enabling retailers to further analyze buying behaviors and preferences to refine and improve services and offers moving forward.”
The Oracle/Uber and Google/Bringg solutions appear to be similar but with slight differences around the types of carriers that each provides. The Oracle/Uber solution relies on transportation services from Uber, while Bringg’s platform offers “a global network of over 200 integrated carriers, including parcel, same day, and LTL.” Bringg’s platform can manage internal drivers or external delivery partners.
FedEx and UPS
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Meanwhile, FedEx and UPS also embrace the cloud and create their own ecosystems. Both carriers utilize a multi-cloud approach. “We’ve always believed in a multi-cloud architecture that allows us to put the right data and technology in the right cloud at the right time,” Robert B. Carter, FedEx CIO, said in an interview. Indeed, Carter noted that FedEx has deployed Oracle databases for many years and is doing more analysis in Microsoft’s Azure.
FedEx Dataworks, established in 2020, partnered with Microsoft Azure to build an enterprise data platform to serve as the foundation for FedEx’s decision science and machine learning practice and houses a standard set of models and insights that can be reused to create a flywheel of value for its business and customers.
The first solution from the partnership was FedEx Surround, a visibility tool that provides near-real-time insights — down to the ZIP code level — for all FedEx deliveries, parcels, and freight across FedEx Freight, FedEx Express, and FedEx Ground divisions. It provides predictive insights on what packages or freight may be at risk for delays and where within the network they may be most at risk.
UPS also uses Oracle and formed a relationship with Google Cloud a few years ago. According to a UPS blog post from 2022, UPS uses Google Cloud for its harmonized enterprise analytics tool (HEAT), an in-house business intelligence platform, using advanced predictive analytics to forecast, optimize, and control how packages move through UPS’ network. HEAT was deployed to employees in 2018.
And let’s not forget Amazon, which runs on its own cloud server, AWS.
As more retailers and other shippers adopt a more circular view of their supply chains, data across the business becomes even more critical to ensure optimized supply chains, achieve best practices in sustainability, provide visibility and real-time tracking capabilities, and forecast future needs.
Cloud computing can help shippers achieve the above and more, such as giving retailers and other shippers more control over their last-mile and reverse logistics – typically the most expensive parts of supply chains. There are so many options available to shippers these days – utilize a cloud-based provider, partner with FedEx, UPS, or other 3PSPs, or build a last-mile/reverse logistics platform themselves, using a host of technology tools available in the market today.
- Cathy
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I wear a number of hats these days. Catch my twice-a-week column on air cargo, freight forwarding, and the express markets, and the occasional podcast on Air Cargo Next. I’m also helping out the Reverse Logistics Association as a research manager, and at JOC, I help out as a research analyst and write a weekly LinkedIn newsletter, Freight Forward, summarizing JOC & other published articles and providing an outlook for the week ahead.