The Friday Five: Corporate supply chain restructuring

What The World Needs Now? Spotify For Sustainable Supply Chains [Forbes]

There is currently very little visibility in being informed on the latest resources to address environmental impacts across global supply chains. Sustainability has become a serious risk to company supply chains and demand from consumers, investors and even employees. The global supply chain is responsible for over 60 percent of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, two-thirds of tropical deforestation and 80 percent of all water use. Fortunately, Supply Chain Solutions Center was just launched to fill the vital gap and become an innovative platform that puts resources and expert advice at the fingertips of sustainability professionals. In partnership with over 10 leading environmental NGOs, Supply Chain Solutions Center is searchable and “browse-able” and will give access to find sustainable solutions as easy as finding a song on Spotify. Read on to get a deeper lens into what the Supply Chain Solutions Center entails.
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Your next FedEx delivery could be a pizza [Washington Post]

FedEx just unveiled an early model of its autonomous delivery robot and is teaming up with Pizza Hut, Walmart, Walgreens, and other companies on this delivery program. The goal is to provide the most cost-effective way to get food, medicine, and other items to consumers in a few hours or less. The final stage of delivery accounts for more than half the cost of a shipment, owing to traffic congestion, multiple stops, route distances, and small delivery sizes. The dramatic increase in e-commerce shipments and the heightened expectations of customers have also compounded the logistical challenges of last-mile delivery. Competition among parcel carriers could become a battle among robots. Read on to gain more insight into this program.
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Wayfair will open new last-mile facilities every month in 2019 [Supply Chain Dive]

Solving for the last mile is retail's next big disruption. Amazon could move the needle for delivery solutions, but will others follow suit, or even be able to keep up? Wayfair just announced that they will bring more of its supply chain logistics in-house in an effort to cut costs, deliver on fulfillment promises and streamline the supplier experience. In doing so, they will open new last-mile facilities every month in 2019 to take greater control of the company's supply chain, especially the "middle mile" Shah predicts 40% of volume coming into Wayfair's warehouses will come via services purchased directly from the company's freight and logistics arms. The company has also launched a digital visibility platform for ocean freight so that suppliers can track their shipments. Supply Chain Dive shares more into Wayfair’s strategy behind this initiative.
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Rolls-Royce Swings to Loss on Trent Writedowns [Wall Street Journal]

Rolls-Royce Holdings has announced that it won’t compete to provide engines for Boeing Co.’s new mid-sized aircraft, the WSJ’s Carlo Martuscelli reports, saying it couldn’t commit to an ambitious timetable that has been set. This decision marks a high-profile withdrawal from aviation supply chains that have been under heavy stress as the jet makers press suppliers to keep up with growing demand. Rolls-Royce is facing its own pressures after losing $3.92 billion in its most recent quarter.
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Tesla Shifts to Online Sales Model [Wall Street Journal]

Interestingly, Tesla has announced its next step to becoming an e-commerce company. The Silicon Valley automaker is eliminating most of its storefronts and shifting all its global sales online, the WSJ’s Tim Higgins reports, as it begins taking orders for the long-awaited $35,000 version of its Model 3 compact car. This is a big change as Tesla tries to build up momentum in its supply chain in an effort to become a mainstream automaker whilst trimming costs. However, Tesla plans to keep some stores open for customers to view the vehicles. The Wall Street Journal shares how this is a surprising move as Tesla already is struggling to service its existing customers and expand its customer base.

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Thanks for reading! Don’t forget to check out last week’s news and stay tuned for our next Friday Five roundup.