Maersk<\/a>, told FreightWaves the company\u2019s push into parcels came from a simple observation: Maersk was already doing most of the work.<\/p>\n\u201cMaersk is going across the world with its containers, picking things up, sailing across the ocean, moving them into warehouses, and then literally doing the fulfillment for big, big shippers. But that\u2019s where Maersk stopped,\u201d Coiro said. \u201cMaersk said, \u2018Wait a minute. If we\u2019re already bringing it 75 percent of the way, doesn\u2019t it make sense for us to do the last piece as well?\u2019\u201d\u2019<\/p>\n
That thinking sparked a series of acquisitions. Maersk bought Visible Supply Chain Management, a large parcel reseller with e-fulfillment centers across the country. It also picked up B2C Europe, a major multi-carrier shipping platform. The goal was to close the gap between warehouse and customer.<\/p>\n
The result is Maersk Parcel \u2014 a single platform that gives shippers one label, one invoice, one rate card and one tracking experience. Behind the scenes, Maersk blends its own assets with partner carriers to move packages coast to coast.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can move packages from east to west, west to east, up and down, down to up,\u201d Coiro said.<\/p>\n
Predicting the Unpredictable<\/p>\n
The hard part of parcel logistics isn\u2019t forecasting Black Friday. Black Friday is always the Friday after Thanksgiving. The real challenge is the surprise demand spike that catches operators off guard.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s easy for us to predict volatility in the network. I can tell you today that in 10 months from now we\u2019re going to have volume spikes \u2014 Black Friday, Cyber Monday,\u201d Coiro said. \u201cI can tell you today that on Mother\u2019s Day there\u2019s going to be volume spikes. I can tell you today that on Christmas there\u2019s going to be volume spikes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The curveball comes from the consumer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I can\u2019t tell you is that unpredictable consumer demand that happens \u2014 whether it\u2019s a social influencer that\u2019s driving some crazy widget,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen major brands run large release events, demand can surge rapidly, creating significant volume spikes for logistics providers. If you\u2019re the supply chain provider behind the scenes having to fulfill that \u2014 well, man, you\u2019re in a world of hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maersk attacks this problem with data modeling. The company tracks how well each customer predicts their own volume. Over time, patterns emerge.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday we\u2019re using agents to say, look, if this customer has given me 50 forecasts in the last 50 weeks and every time the customer\u2019s off by X percent, model out potential forecast ranges to help plan resources more effectively,\u201d Coiro said.<\/p>\n
That buffer matters when you\u2019re running hundreds of accounts.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you do that across \u2014 I mean, Maersk is not operating with one customer. We have hundreds of customers,\u201d he said. \u201cBut if we\u2019re able to look at that through that lens from a data perspective and predict, then I can start making my planning decisions now. How many trucks do I need? How many lanes do I need? How many employees do I need? How many sort lanes to run? I can do it today instead of last minute.\u201d<\/p>\n
The data also helps Maersk decide when to bring in extra workers or add a third shift on busy weekends.<\/p>\n
The Multi-Carrier Hedge<\/p>\n
Most parcel operators rely on a single network to move packages. Maersk took a different path. It built a multi-carrier system that mixes national giants with regional specialists.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur multi-carrier network allows us to flex capacity significantly. I don\u2019t need to load and plan for that because I know I can move it,\u201d Coiro said. \u201cIf we relied on a single asset, that would create constraints.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the top sit the big national players. Below them are regional carriers who cover specific parts of the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur regional carriers provide strong service options and bring deep expertise in their specific geographies,\u201d Coiro said. \u201cSo we\u2019ve got very strong regional carriers in the Northeast, Southeast, Central, West.\u201d<\/p>\n
These smaller carriers bring something the giants cannot: flexibility.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom a regional standpoint, it\u2019s much more flexible because they\u2019re eager for volume,\u201d Coiro said. \u201cOur strategy allows us to complement our partners and deliver optimized, end-to-end solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maersk also runs its own trucks where it makes sense. The company owns a ground freight network and uses those assets when routes line up.<\/p>\n
Every new customer starts with an analytics deep dive. Maersk asks for six to 12 months of shipping history, then runs the numbers through its modeling systems.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe run customer shipment data through advanced modeling to design an optimized carrier mix,\u201d Coiro said.<\/p>\n
The goal is finding the right blend of carriers based on three factors: what the customer sells, how fast they promised delivery and how much they want to spend.<\/p>\n
\u201cUsing our data, using our agents, using our AI capabilities, we\u2019re trying to figure out what is the best combination of carriers that we can light up for this customer based on the type of good that they\u2019re selling, the promise that they made to the customer about three-day, five-day, six-day, whatever, and how much they want to spend,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
When Things Go Wrong<\/p>\n
Carriers fail. Weather hits. Trucks break down. Maersk built its system to handle these problems.<\/p>\n
When a shipper connects to Maersk\u2019s system, they make one call to the company\u2019s application programming interface (API). Maersk returns a label with a pre-negotiated rate. That label carries two barcodes \u2014 one for tracking, one that identifies which carrier will move the package.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo now I\u2019ve already determined that this package is going to be carried by carrier one,\u201d Coiro said.<\/p>\n
But what happens when carrier one hits trouble?<\/p>\n
\u201cIf a carrier experiences a service disruption, our system may reroute shipments through alternative providers where commercially and operationally feasible,\u201d Coiro said. \u201cYou as the customer, you know what you have to do? Nothing. I do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The tracking number stays the same. If the delivery date changes, Maersk updates that information so the end consumer knows their package is running a day late.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I then do is if I have to change the service level agreement (SLA), then I\u2019m going to update the tracking information,\u201d Coiro said. \u201cSo the customer is now going to know, \u2018Oh, okay. They just told me that it\u2019s not going to be here on Thursday, it\u2019s going to be Friday.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Regional carriers give Maersk more flexibility in these situations than the big nationals.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom a regional standpoint, we can, which is awesome,\u201d Coiro said. \u201cSo if I got to get you a box in three days and if a carrier fails to perform \u2014 then our system can update routing scans automatically within supported parts of the network.\u201d<\/p>\n
Why This Matters for Shippers<\/p>\n
The multi-carrier approach solves a basic problem in parcel shipping: concentration risk. Companies that depend on a single national carrier get stuck when demand spikes or service fails. They have no backup plan and no leverage.<\/p>\n
Coiro says Maersk offers something different. By mixing its own ground freight with national and regional partners, it creates options without adding complexity for the shipper.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you join the Maersk family, you start to get access,\u201d Coiro said.<\/p>\n
That access extends beyond parcels. Shippers can tap into Maersk\u2019s ground freight network, air services, ocean shipping and customs clearance operations.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom a customer standpoint, especially a customer that\u2019s going to grow, they can start small if they want from a parcel standpoint, and as they grow and they start to need these services and they need to start sourcing from different countries,\u201d Coiro said.<\/p>\n
Small shippers get the benefit of Maersk\u2019s scale when negotiating with carriers. As they grow, they can add services without hunting for new providers at each stage.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe work with customers of all sizes and aim to support them consistently as their needs scale,\u201d Coiro said.<\/p>\n
The model also supports cross-border commerce. Shippers can hold inventory overseas and fulfill orders directly, or bring goods into the country in bulk for faster local delivery \u2014 all while staying within customs and regulatory rules.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaersk supports this kind of cross-border e-commerce flow in full alignment with customs, duties, and all regulatory requirements,\u201d Coiro said. \u201cIt\u2019s a compliant, seamless way to connect origin-based inventory with customers without sacrificing transparency or service quality.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Maersk built its reputation moving containers across oceans. Now the maritime giant wants to deliver packages to your…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":84252,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[224],"tags":[4858,44901,1978,245,24896,44902,239,10180,24899],"class_list":{"0":"post-84251","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-maersk","8":"tag-freight","9":"tag-last-mile","10":"tag-logistics","11":"tag-maersk","12":"tag-maersk-parcel","13":"tag-parcel","14":"tag-technology","15":"tag-trucking","16":"tag-visible-supply-chain-management"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@dk\/116587730231515330","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84251","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84251"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84251\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/84252"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}