ShipMatrix, an analytics and consulting firm, estimates that 2.3 billion packages will be delivered in the United States during the peak season, 5% higher than the same period in 2024, mostly because of an extra shopping day this year. Peak volumes have normalized after skyrocketing during the pandemic earlier this decade, but grew a modest 4.8% last year. The flood of extra shipments puts pressure on shippers and delivery companies, including FedEx and UPS, to achieve on-time delivery in a compressed period of time.
Veho, which provides last-mile delivery for retailers such as Macy’s, Sephora, Lululemon, Saks, Stitch Fix, Hello Fresh, Nespresso, Warby Parker and logistics providers like Flexport, ShipBob, ShipHero and Stord, says volume more than doubled in the first half compared to the 2024 holiday peak season.
The startup courier said it has increased the capacity of its Philadelphia and Indianapolis regional hubs by 30,000 to 50,000 square feet each, and recently opened a 150,000 square-foot regional hub outside Atlanta. It also is increasing available throughput by 50% to 100% in several markets by expanding its own facilities or partnering with third-party logistics providers to quickly access distribution centers. Those markets include Newark, New Jersey; Hartford, Connecticut; Boston; Chicago; Raleigh and Greensboro, North Carolina; Dallas; Houston; Tampa and South Florida; Richmond and Northern Virginia; and Louisville, Kentucky.
Veho will now have a second distribution center in over 10 of the markets in which it operates.
In Philadelphia and Indianapolis, Veho found ways to reorganize the facilities to free up, and make better use of, space within the existing four walls to increase sorting capability, spokesman Evan Wagner explained. In other locations the company is moving into larger facilities, he said.
Nearly all of the new facilities will remain part of Veho’s network in anticipation of continued national growth and rapid geographic expansion in 2026, Veho said.
Veho deploys its own proprietary warehouse management system in all facilities, including partner-managed ones, for quality control, standardization of procedures, parcel tracking and other functions.
The seven-year-old company relies on 85,000 crowdsourced drivers who use their own vehicles, instead of independent van companies like many competitors, and a tech platform that matches packages and drivers for delivery.
ShipStation integration
Meanwhile, ShipStation recently integrated Veho into its platform, allowing customers to select Veho’s last-mile delivery service from among a number of shipping options.
ShipStation, which is owned by Auctane, is one of the largest e-commerce fulfillment platforms in the world. Its technology allows more than 130,000 e-tailers, many of them small-to-medium size businesses, to streamline fulfillment processes, centralize orders, automate tasks and find better carrier rates in one location.
Veho partners with a variety of shipping platforms because online retailers use different fulfillment systems, opening opportunities to expand into more markets and attract more business.
Write to Eric Kulisch at ekulisch@freightwaves.com.
Click here for more FreightWaves/American Shipper stories by Eric Kulisch.
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