3PL Pulse by FulfillYN

October 29, 2025

Sponsored by Danzinger & Co — the accounting and bookkeeping firm that actually understands logistics. More on them later.

Nvidia and Palantir announced a partnership Tuesday that could fundamentally change how companies handle logistics disasters in real-time.

The setup: Palantir's platform already ingests data from multiple corporate systems—staffing, inventory, operations—to give executives a real-time view of business performance. Now it's getting turbocharged with Nvidia's AI chips and software.

The use case they're pitching: When storms delay shipments from Asia to the U.S., Nvidia's tech can instantly generate alternative shipping routes, then run AI agents that compare multiple options based on product costs and customer demand across different regions.

The speed is the game-changer: "Because of the speed that you do these optimizations, you can then run them hourly to re-optimize your supply chain," said Justin Boitano, VP of enterprise AI at Nvidia.

Palantir's role is critical here—AI systems struggle with vast corporate data streams on their own. Palantir organizes those streams to reflect actual business conditions in a way both humans and AI can use. "It's not overly predictive, so much as it's very good at recognizing the present. And that's when you can start making better next-second decisions," said Kevin Kawasaki, Palantir's global head of business development.

The companies didn't disclose financial terms, but Palantir's stock has been on a tear this year thanks to both defense spending on its military-grade AI tools and growing corporate adoption.

Translation: The logistics companies that figure out how to leverage this kind of real-time AI optimization first are going to have a massive competitive advantage. Everyone else will be playing catch-up.

UPS just announced Q3 results that tell a story the headlines are missing: America's brown-truck icon is executing "the most significant strategic shift in our company's history," according to CEO Carol Tomé. And it's working.

The pivot: UPS is intentionally walking away from low-margin consumer deliveries (read: Amazon) and doubling down on high-value B2B customers—industrial shippers, healthcare clients, and integrated supply-chain services.

The numbers show the strategy: Domestic revenue fell 2.6% due to an "expected decline in volume," but that's by design. Meanwhile, international volume jumped 4.8%, and the company's Supply Chain Solutions division—despite being smaller—posted an adjusted operating margin of 21.3%. Compare that to the U.S. Domestic Package division's 6.4% adjusted margin, and you see where UPS is headed.

The cost cutting is brutal but effective: UPS closed 93 facilities and eliminated 34,000 positions in the first nine months of 2025, realizing $2.2 billion in savings. The company expects $3.5 billion in total year-over-year cost savings for 2025—roughly equal to its entire annual capital expenditure budget.

Where the money's going: Those savings are being reinvested in B2B service offerings that command higher margins and deeper customer relationships—supply-chain visibility, cross-border freight, healthcare logistics, and embedded logistics ecosystems where UPS designs and runs entire operations for clients.

The Amazon factor: UPS' largest eCommerce customer has seen its share of UPS' total volume steadily decline since 2022. That's not an accident—it's the plan. UPS is betting that long-term, integrated B2B contracts with pharmaceutical companies, biotech firms, and industrial manufacturers are more valuable than chasing residential delivery volume.

The bet: Healthcare remains the crown jewel. These customers are far less price-sensitive and more loyalty-driven than eCommerce retailers. When you're shipping life-saving medications and biologics, you don't switch logistics providers to save a few cents per package.

Bottom line: UPS is repositioning itself as critical infrastructure for industries that can't afford supply chain failure. The residential package wars? They're leaving that to Amazon's own delivery network and focusing on customers who need real logistics partnerships, not just transportation contracts.

Amazon has been using robots in warehouses for over a decade, but leaked internal documents reveal the company's endgame: replacing 600,000 human jobs with automation by 2033.

The scale is staggering: Amazon already deployed over 1 million robots across its fulfillment and delivery network as of June—about two-thirds the size of its human workforce. Internal documents show the goal is to automate 75% of operations.

The savings: Morgan Stanley estimates this could save Amazon up to $4 billion annually by 2027. The company insists it's not planning massive layoffs but rather avoiding new hires as demand increases. Still, 600,000 jobs is roughly the entire workforce of FedEx—it would be like that company disappearing completely.

The PR strategy: Documents show Amazon is thinking carefully about optics, considering building goodwill through local parades and Toys for Tots while replacing terms like "automation" and "robot" with friendlier phrases like "advanced technology" and "cobot" (short for collaborative robot).

Amazon pushed back hard on the report: "Leaked documents often paint an incomplete and misleading picture," a spokesperson said, noting the company is hiring 250,000 seasonal workers and remains a major job creator. They emphasize that efficiency gains in one area allow investment in new areas that create jobs.

The broader impact: Research shows that for every robot added per 1,000 workers, U.S. wages drop 0.42%. As of 2020, robots had already cost an estimated 400,000 jobs nationwide.

For 3PLs: If your biggest competitor is automating at this scale and achieving these cost savings, the pressure to invest in your own automation just went up considerably.

Running a warehouse means managing inventory you don't own, invoicing multiple clients with different billing structures, and dealing with P&Ls that swing wildly every month based on volume. The last thing you need is an accountant who treats your 3PL like a retail business.

Danzinger & Co gets it. They specialize in accounting and bookkeeping for logistics companies—warehousing, fulfillment operations, and 3PLs. They understand client billing, revenue recognition across multiple warehouse clients, COGS management, and tax planning for operations with seasonal swings.

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The Postal Service is eyeing returns as a potential lifeline for its struggling finances, and Amazon just threw them a bone by adding USPS pickup as a new returns option.

The opportunity: USPS generated $665 million in revenue from 132 million returned parcels in fiscal 2023. The agency's Inspector General says there's room to grow that share of the reverse logistics market significantly.

The timing is perfect: Retailers forecast 17% of 2025 holiday sales will be returned, higher than the overall 15.8% annual return rate. That post-holiday returns wave represents serious revenue potential.

Amazon's current returns network already includes over 8,000 drop-off locations at Staples, Whole Foods, and UPS Store locations, with four out of five U.S. customers having a label-free, box-free option within five miles of home. Adding USPS pickup gives customers one more convenient option while helping the Postal Service capture more of the returns market.

For logistics providers: Returns are becoming a profit center, not just a cost of doing business. If you're not thinking strategically about reverse logistics, you're leaving money on the table.

When SciSafe announced its new biorepository facility in East Brunswick, it added five million cubic feet of capacity and hundreds of cryogenic freezers to New Jersey's rapidly expanding cold storage footprint.

Why New Jersey is winning: The state hits what industry experts call the "Three P's" of cold storage site selection—Population (9 million residents plus proximity to tens of millions more), Production (robust biopharma and life sciences base), and Ports (Port of New York and New Jersey moved 7.8 million loaded containers in 2023).

The facility's location near I-95 and Newark Airport enables same-day cold chain fulfillment with rapid, compliant movement of sensitive biologics. The GMP-compliant infrastructure and advanced monitoring systems can handle cutting-edge therapies like cell and gene treatments that require storage precision measured in fractions of a degree.

The bigger picture: Nationally, cold storage vacancy rates are tight, and many new facilities are pre-leased before construction begins. Rising consumer expectations, e-commerce grocery growth, and pharma supply chain globalization are driving unprecedented demand.

The challenges: Modern 200,000-square-foot cold storage facilities require several megawatts of power—similar to light manufacturing operations. Limited land and complex zoning are forcing developers to retrofit older facilities or pursue vertical designs.

The convergence: New Jersey's rise as a cold storage hub represents the intersection of two state strengths—world-class logistics infrastructure and a thriving life sciences ecosystem. As biopharma innovation accelerates, temperature-controlled storage becomes not just valuable, but essential.

Ease Logistics lands first outside investment: The Dublin, Ohio tech-enabled trucking provider (which posted $305 million in revenue in 2024) sold a minority stake to the O.H.I.O. Fund to boost its AI capabilities. Terms weren't disclosed.

Elder Logistics shuts down: The 52-truck LTL carrier based in Puyallup, Washington closed its doors October 17.

Atomix Logistics relocates: The company is opening a new 150,000-square-foot headquarters in Oak Creek, Wisconsin.

M&M Quality Solutions expands cold storage: The national 3PL is opening an 18,757-square-foot cold storage facility in SubTropolis, Kansas City—the world's largest underground business complex. The naturally climate-controlled underground environment provides energy-efficient storage for food, supplements, and temperature-sensitive logistics.

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