As Investments in Fulfillment Operations Continue to Increase, Shippers Have an Opportunity and an Obligation to Bring Parcel Spend Under Management.

E-Commerce Growth Isn’t Slowing Down

On May 18, the U.S. Census Bureau announced its quarterly retail e-commerce sales numbers for the first quarter of 2026. The estimate was $302.3 billion, an increase of 9.8 percent from the first quarter of 2025. Notably, this continued growth occurred despite continued economic headwinds and concerns about consumer confidence, debt, and other factors.

With online purchases continuing to increase in scale and scope – eGrocery sales, for example, reached a record $12.7 billion in December of 2025, a 32% increase over the previous year – today’s omnichannel retailers and e-commerce platforms are under immense pressure to achieve increasing throughput in their fulfillment operations.

Fulfillment Investment Is Reaching New Heights

To meet that pressure, many are investing heavily in their materials handling operations to achieve performance levels that were inconceivable just a few years ago. That’s why, in the resulting quest to gain efficiencies and address longstanding challenges such as the shortage of warehouse labor, we are witnessing the golden age of innovation in fulfillment operations.

Automated mobile robotics, robotic pickers, and high-performance automated storage & retrieval systems are not just more common but, in many cases, absolutely required to be competitive. But it’s not just omnichannel retailers and e-commerce companies that are embracing the technologies and robotics involved. Logistics companies are likewise investing heavily in automation.

The drivers of this push are multifaceted. In its Annual Industry Report, “Rewiring the Future,” MHI and Deloitte noted that 56% of supply chain leaders are increasing their investment in supply chain technology and innovations. Among those surveyed, the top three drivers were:

  • Improving operational efficiency and productivity (68%)
  • Reducing costs (51%)
  • Enhancing customer experience or service levels (43%)

For many brands, the natural way to address these imperatives is either to modernize existing warehouses with the aforementioned automation or build new, state-of-the-art distribution centers. Not surprisingly, both approaches require significant capital investment. 

Shippers Are Positioned to Make an Outsized Impact

In the push to improve efficiency, cut costs, and enhance customer experience, shippers are uniquely positioned to make a real difference at a fraction of the expense.

Our own 2025 Parcel Shipping Intelligence Market Survey put shippers’ impact on the first two drivers, operational efficiency and cost reductions, in perspective. Nearly a quarter of respondents reported allocating more than $50 million to logistics-related costs annually. 

Now view that in the context of the last mile. In its North American Market Update for November 2025, researchers at Maersk estimated that last-mile delivery accounted for up to 40% of total logistics spend. That’s a substantial share of the shipping budget.

Customer Experience Depends on Last Mile Performance

Customer experience and customer service – the third most common driver according to MHI and Deloitte – are tied to last-mile performance as well and also directly impact sales.

 As DHL’s 2025 E-commerce Trends Report details, 96% of retailers say the logistics offering is important to “securing sales, and 86% say ‘free’ delivery and returns improves sales.” The report’s authors even deem logistics “the hidden hero of the checkout” with “81% of online shoppers abandoning their cart if their preferred delivery option isn’t offered.”

The Opportunity and the Obligation For Shippers

Shippers can influence all of these factors, and they can do it with far less expense and far more speed than other parts of the business. A new distribution center, for example, may be absolutely necessary, but it takes years to build and can cost well over $100 million. 

In contrast, efforts to bring parcel spend under management can deliver almost immediate, material gains, something we see at Reveel all of the time. On average, our customers decrease their parcel shipping spend by 22%, with many achieving far greater savings – especially when they apply the resulting visibility and control to freight shipping as well. 

All of this means shippers have a more important role to play than ever, especially as carriers embrace a more dynamic pricing model and aggressively push to increase revenue-per-package with accessorial changes that can upend retailers’ and online sellers’ fulfillment costs without warning. 

It also underscores a crucial reality. In a time when significant capital investments are needed for fulfillment operations to be competitive, shippers not only have an opportunity to make a difference by bringing spend under management, but also an obligation to.

What Can Shippers Do Now?

Bringing parcel spend under management doesn’t require a multi-year build-out or a major capital request. Shippers can start making progress with a few focused steps:

  • Audit current parcel spend: Identify where accessorial charges, surcharges, and base rate increases are actually landing.
  • Review contract terms and current carrier data: Carrier pricing structures shift throughout the year, so terms negotiated even a year ago may no longer reflect the best available position.
  • Build in ongoing parcel visibility: Carriers adjust pricing more frequently than in the past, so spend management works best as a continuous process rather than an annual exercise.

Given how much capital fulfillment operations already demand, this is one of the few levers shippers can pull quickly and with minimal upfront investment.