E-commerce purchases of big and bulky goods accelerate as consumers spend more time at home

XPO Logistics, Inc. (NYSE: XPO), a leading global provider of supply chain solutions, has added new last mile capabilities to its XPO Connect™ digital freight platform. XPO’s last mile service continues to benefit from a secular increase in online purchases of furniture, exercise equipment and other heavy goods. The trend, which accelerated in the pandemic, has increased demand for XPO’s specialized home delivery services.

New XPO Connect functionality for the company’s last mile hubs includes enhanced inventory tracking precision, which resulted in 99% accuracy in June, automated rescheduling of homeowner-missed delivery appointments and automated route planning. The company also enhanced its contactless delivery capability, which synchronizes e-signature capture on handheld devices without direct contact between the driver and the customer.

Mario Harik, chief information officer for XPO Logistics, said, “We’ve been investing in digitization across the business for years, and the benefits of that strategy are more evident than ever. In June, our last mile unit in North America saw deliveries climb to the kind of peaks we typically see during the holidays. XPO Connect adjusts smoothly to changes in volume, helping our retail and e-commerce customers keep pace with consumer expectations.” 

XPO is the largest provider of last mile logistics for heavy goods in North America, managing over 10 million deliveries and installations per year for omnichannel retailers and e-commerce companies. The company utilizes its digital platform to facilitate consumer communications, schedule deliveries and product technicians, manage reverse logistics and assess consumer satisfaction.

In addition to last mile, XPO’s truck brokerage, expedite, intermodal, drayage, managed transportation and global forwarding business units all utilize XPO Connect for digital access to capacity and real-time freight tracking. More than 62,000 road carriers have registered on XPO Connect globally to date, and over 150,000 drivers have downloaded the platform’s Drive XPO™ mobile app.