Parcel Forum takeaways: Tech provides better odds in complex shipping game

At this fall’s Parcel Forum conference, speakers highlighted the growing need for technology that supports omnichannel e-commerce parcel shipping as shipping becomes increasingly complex.

The largest carriers have long had a stranglehold on shipping, effectively using rules and tiering systems to shape and constrain the decisions made by third-party logistics providers and merchants. Now, these carriers are changing surcharges and fees more frequently than in the past, increasing complexity for shippers.

We see substantial opportunity for supply chain technology companies to help shippers with solutions that optimize shipping strategies in a tilted game. We profile several innovative companies that address shippers’ need for technologies that help them minimize costs and improve service. Many of these companies leverage AI and machine learning.

We recently attended Parcel Forum, a 23-year-old conference focused on small-shipment supply chains. The conference took place over three days and included nine networking events and over 50 sessions and workshops, and it sold out with over 125 exhibitors filling the hall at the Renaissance convention center just outside Chicago. The sessions and workshops were in-depth and insightful, designed to educate professionals in the small-package supply chain industry, and featured industry leaders.

Amazon Shipping’s director of business development, Teresa Uthurralt, and Thomas Duke, director of advisory services and strategic partnerships at Amazon partner Green Mountain, marked the opening of the exhibit hall with a keynote talk. Green Mountain is an advisory services company specializing in parcel logistics spend management solutions. Uthurralt’s and Duke’s comments about the growing need for technology that supports omnichannel e-commerce parcel shipping encapsulated our primary takeaway from the conference: The emergence of supply-chain technologies that predict and react in real time by using agentic and generative AI is transforming legacy workflows and processes.

Duke spoke about how his business is evolving and how shipping is becoming increasingly complex. Traditionally, organizations like Green Mountain have used a service-based approach to optimize shipping strategies for businesses to maximize profitability while delivering on promises and providing business support to end customers. Now, the traditional service model is no longer independently sufficient. Providers must leverage technology to be effective, and Duke explained how Green Mountain leverages its own technology internally. Uthurralt spoke about the technologies Amazon Shipping looks for in partners and emphasized that the most important technologies will be those that enable users to strategize optimally amidst complexity.