The battle of Covid 19 was fought on many fronts. You won’t be wrong to think that the most important of all those battles happened within the hospitals, but you won’t be outright correct as well. In fact, the events on the medical front were largely decided by how other domains were handling things. One such domain that played a humongous role in getting us out of that dark phase was the supply chain and logistics. With the world dependent on its services for the most basic of commodities, the logistics sector was forced to stretch itself beyond every limit imaginable. The strain on this sector was so much that many companies saw their supply chain literally collapsing under pressure. The lack of required infrastructure to deal with such a situation meant many logistics companies would end up losing money even during this period of unprecedented boom in their sector. All in all, one of the gazillion things that the pandemic taught us was the importance of a sustainable supply chain. However, the logistics companies are well aware that this sustainability must come packaged together with one other element, if they are to optimize their success. This element has a lot to do with the speed of their operations. Before Covid 19 came around, same-day delivery had become a fixture in the supply chain sphere, and with restrictions ebbing away, it’s back on its perch. Now, having all the momentum they need, major logistics companies are looking to become the master of this new industry staple. UPS has found its answer in an acquisition.
Last week, UPS formally confirmed the news of acquiring Roadie, the country’s biggest provider of the same-day delivery service. Even though there was no such revelation about how the deal shaped up in a monetary sense, the folks at UPS did explain the intention behind this purchase. As the world moves away from traditional shipping, it has become almost an essential for the companies hailing from UPS’ niche to restructure the way they do things. Nevertheless, it wasn’t just the speed aspect that made this deal happen. Roadie’s ability to facilitate the delivery of small packages and perishable products also helps big-time in diversifying UPS’ focus.
Further in their statement, UPS revealed that Roadie will continue to operate in the way it is currently functioning, and it will do so bearing the same name. The company also made a point of mentioning that the delivery networks of UPS and Roadie won’t necessarily converge under routinely circumstances.
“Roadie’s leading technology, combined with UPS’s portfolio, will open doors for new growth opportunities,” said UPS. “The Roadie technology platform is purpose-built to connect merchants and consumers with contract drivers to enable efficient and scalable same-day local delivery services nationwide.”