I’m taking a train tomorrow morning to visit my mom. It’s her birthday. She’s turning 78.
She’s lived by herself since my dad died almost 18 years ago. I realized this morning that I’m only 4 years away from when she became a widow. When you think about it that way…
“Why don’t you come on Friday?” she asked me when I told her my plans. And on Sunday, before I leave, she’ll ask, “Why don’t you stay another day, you can work from here?”
Maybe we’ll go to the movies before we go to dinner tomorrow. I haven’t decided yet.
I love my mom, the woman who gave me life, who raised me to be the man I am today, who doesn’t sleep much but continues to live life to its fullest. I am blessed
to have her in my life.
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Moving on, here’s the supply chain and logistics news that caught my attention this week:
- EU and India Reach Free-Trade Deal as World Responds to Trump Tariffs (WSJ – sub. req’d)
- South Korea scrambles to pass U.S. investment bill after Trump threatens higher tariffs (CNBC)
- Panama High Court Gives Trump a Win Over Canal by Ousting Hong Kong Port Operator (WSJ – sub. req’d)
- UPS to cut additional 30,000 jobs in Amazon unwind, turnaround plan (CNBC)
- American Eagle to close Quiet Logistics business (SupplyChainDive)
- Werner Acquires FirstFleet, Inc., Expanding Dedicated Market Leadership
- Alpega Group Launches Alpega Transport Execution With Expanded Carrier Network And Transparent Pricing
- C.H. Robinson launches AI agents to combat industrywide problem of missed LTL pickups
- Waabi secures $1 Billion in new funding to lead Physical AI revolution
- Gatik Becomes First U.S. Company to Operate Fully Driverless Trucks at Scale for Commercial Deliveries
- TRATON GROUP and PlusAI expand global partnership to accelerate autonomous truck on-highway commercialization
- Warp Expands Same-Day LTL for Urgent Freight Shipments
- Industry-wide disruptions due to severe weather across South-West and Western Europe
- Can Old Lime Bikes and Hard Disks Counter China’s Rare-Earth Chokehold? (WSJ – sub. req’d)
Revisiting Retailers Offering 3PL Services
Today, you have several large retailers — yes, retailers! — who are not just selling clothing and other consumer goods, but selling logistics services too.
I wrote that back in September 2022, in a post titled, “Retailers Offering 3PL Services: What Is Going On?”
The post was in response to several retailers — beyond Amazon and Walmart — announcing logistics-related offerings around that time, including Gap launching a fulfillment service for retailers called GPS Platform Service, and American Eagle Outfitters acquiring Quiet Logistics for $350 million in November 2021.
This week, American Eagle Outfitters pulled the plug on Quiet Logistics.
As reported by Max Garland at Supply Chain Dive, “American Eagle Outfitters is shuttering its Quiet Logistics business, the retailer said in an email to Supply Chain Dive, marking an end to its ‘anti-Amazon’ ambitions for the 2021 acquisition.” Here’s more from the article:
Quiet, which offers fulfillment and delivery capabilities, has struggled to attract enough business since American Eagle bought and combined it with delivery startup AirTerra, which the retailer also acquired in 2021. As of last year, Quiet primarily served as a regionalized fulfillment center network for American Eagle, with excess capacity servicing third-party customers.
As for the Gap, its GPS Platform Service is still active, but following its announced collaboration with Ware2Go in February 2023 (owned by UPS at the time, but acquired by Stord in May 2025), it has taken a background role — that is, Ware2Go/Stord is effectively the market-facing commercial brand.
The challenge, of course, is that logistics is a low-margin business. Turning logistics from a cost center to a revenue generator is easier than turning it into a profit center.
Also, “Should logistics be a core competency that we keep in house instead of outsourcing?” is a very different question than “Should operating a logistics business be a core competency?” Answering “yes” to the first question does not mean that you should answer “yes” to the second question too. Some will learn this the hard way.
That’s how I ended my September 2022 post. Just because you can be a 3PL doesn’t mean you should become one. After a $350 million bet, American Eagle Outfitters has learned this lesson the hard way.
And with that, have a meaningful weekend!
Song of the Week: “who’s your boyfriend?” by Royel Otis
