Subsummit is this week with Home Delivery World right behind it next week.

If you’re a provider, the audiences at those two events are very different. Different levels of operational maturity, different expectations, different definitions of what “good” looks like.

We’ve had brands asking us for checklists on what to look for and what questions to ask providers at these conferences. It got me thinking about the provider side of the equation.

Are providers approaching these events differently too? Are they tailoring the message, positioning, and solutions around the specific shippers they’re talking to?

Tight ICPs always win.

But tight ICPs does not mean a single-track focus. It means targeting the right people, at the right stage, with the right solution.

What's trending

Tariff refunds start flowing while legal uncertainty continues

📦 CBP began processing the first wave of IEEPA tariff refunds on May 11 against an estimated $133B pool across roughly 330,000 importers. Ford, GM, and Stellantis are all expecting major recoveries.

📦 At the same time, the US Court of International Trade struck down Trump’s 10% Section 122 replacement tariff. The administration appealed immediately, and collection is expected to continue during the appeal process.

📦 Refund opportunities, protests, and new tariff actions are all happening at once, making landed cost planning increasingly difficult for importers.

Supply Chain Dive — Section 122 ruling: | Supply Chain Dive — CAPE refund portal performance

New DCs are being designed around automation from day one

📦 Ulta announced a new AutoStore-powered Salt Lake City DC aimed at reducing delivery times across the Northwest and Mountain regions. Smurfit Westrock detailed a heavily automated corrugated facility in Wisconsin designed to run with materially lower labor dependency.

📦 P&G also expanded rollout of Supply Chain 3.0, targeting $1.5B in savings by 2030 through foundational automation and process improvements.

📦 The shift is clear. Automation is increasingly being built into the network upfront instead of layered on later.

Supply Chain Dive — P&G Supply Chain 3.0 rollout | Smurfit Westrock Automation | Ulta Deploys AutoStore at New Facility

Transportation costs continue climbing across modes

📦 P&G reported a $150M hit tied to Iran-war supply disruptions and warned that elevated oil prices could create a much larger annual impact if conditions persist.

📦 UPS added a temporary per-pound international surge fee, FedEx raised export fuel surcharges again, and DHL eCommerce announced new domestic fuel surcharge increases effective May 30.

📦 Air cargo rates climbed 30% year over year in April as capacity tightened and ocean disruption spilled into other modes.

Supply Chain Dive — P&G Iran-war impact | Supply Chain Dive — UPS/FedEx surcharge increases

Scale you operation with Powered By

One of the harder balancing acts for growing fulfillment providers is scaling the customer experience without losing operational control.

ShipBob's Powered By solution is built to fit that gap. It lets 3PLs continue operating their own facilities while using ShipBob's proprietary WMS, white-labeled merchant tools, and logistics infrastructure behind the scenes.

For providers, the appeal is clear:

1. Retain brand identity (the merchant-facing dashboard is white-labeled with your logo, not ShipBob's)

2. Give customers real-time visibility into stock levels, order tracking, and billing

3. Cut outbound and on-floor labor costs through ShipBob's sortation and last-mile logistics network

4. Standardize warehouse workflows with scanning, batching, and automated replenishment alerts built in

5. Onboard new brands faster with an intuitive platform that new hires can learn in a day

6. Access enterprise-grade infrastructure without the build cost or maintenance overhead

A good example is Eco Fulfillment: a California-based 3PL that implemented ShipBob WMS to power its own fulfillment operations. After rollout, they reported:

1. 2x year-over-year revenue growth

2. 30% improvement in pick and pack efficiency

3. Increased order accuracy from 99.2% to 99.99996%

4. Capacity to scale toward 500K monthly orders during peak

A lot of providers are trying to figure out how to modernize without rebuilding their operation from scratch. This is one of the more practical approaches I’ve seen for teams operating in that middle ground between boutique flexibility and enterprise expectations. This is especially true for operators who value a streamlined partnership instead of managing an ecosystem of vendor partners.

Check out the case study with Eco Fulfillment to Learn More. 

Opportunities in Fulfillment