Parcel Perspectives with Glenn Gooding

Most shippers treat USPS as a fallback. Glenn Gooding sees a shift worth watching.

In this episode of Parcel Perspectives, Glenn unpacks why a new tentative agreement between USPS and UPS—one that could restore DDU access—might reshape lightweight residential delivery.

He explains what changed when that access was cut, how gig carriers rushed in, and why Amazon is stepping back from sub-1-lb shipments. With delivery models under pressure, USPS may be regaining relevance in ways that matter to shippers right now.

Listeners will learn:
• Why DDU access changes the last-mile game
• How USPS’s posture impacts gig carriers
• What volatility in light parcels means for strategy
• Where smart brands are building resilience

For brands chasing long-term stability, Glenn offers a grounded take on where parcel strategy might go next.

When a return request lands in the inbox, most brands see cost. Jordan Bleak sees potential. Joining Glenn Gooding on Parcel Perspectives, the Redo executive reveals how reframing returns can improve both customer experience and the bottom line. 

Jordan walks through a real-world test that lifted exchange rates 30%, explains how brands are cutting support volume 15–20%, and argues that rigid policies often alienate first-time shoppers who could become loyal buyers. Along with Glenn, he also digs into the psychology behind returns—why transparency builds trust, how AI restores the “helpful associate” feeling online, and why flexible policies protect revenue better than blanket rules. 

For logistics and eCommerce leaders, this episode offers a new playbook: treat every return as a chance to re-sell, re-engage, and rebuild loyalty.

The supply chain’s Achilles heel has always been integration. In this episode of Parcel Perspectives, Glenn sits down with Jeremy Schneck, Co-founder of Trackstar, to explore how his company is breaking down the barriers between shippers, 3PLs, and warehouse management systems (WMS).

Jeremy explains why outdated legacy platforms and a fragmented WMS market have created costly inefficiencies—and how Trackstar’s universal API acts as a “Rosetta Stone” for supply chain data. From enabling new software adoption to streamlining order editing, Trackstar helps software providers, shippers, and 3PLs work together seamlessly.

Listeners will learn:

•  Why shippers struggle to evolve their tech stacks as their business grows
•  How universal APIs unlock innovation for software providers
•  Why now is the best time to invest in logistics technology

Packed with insights, this episode shows how Trackstar is driving flexibility and resilience across the logistics ecosystem.

In this episode of Parcel Perspectives, Glenn Gooding unpacks the reality of Q4 demand surcharges as USPS, UPS, FedEx, DHL Express, and OnTrac roll out new fees. With retail sales slowing and carriers reducing capacity through layoffs and buyouts, Glenn explains why the optics of new surcharges are so difficult for shippers.

Rather than dissecting every carrier rule, Glenn focuses on what businesses can do: quantify their exposure, revisit shopping cart thresholds, and align more effectively with carriers through forecasting, earlier releases, and added shifts. He also stresses the importance of quid pro quo—if you help carriers operationally, you can ask for relief in return.

Finally, he highlights the need to understand contract commitments, explore alternatives like gig or regional carriers, and ensure tech readiness so shippers enter peak season with options.

In this episode of Parcel Perspectives, Glenn Gooding breaks down the surcharge puzzle and why it matters more than ever for shippers. What began as reasonable fees for fuel or residential delivery have turned into shifting rules and constant increases, with carriers using them to make back lost margin.

Listeners will learn:

• Why surcharges such as fuel, delivery area, and additional handling keep changing
• How carriers “claw back” margin despite discounts
• The compounding effect of rising fuel surcharges
• Practical steps: invoice audits, analytics, and multi-carrier strategies
• How tech platforms and 3PLs can unlock new delivery options

Glenn’s key message is simple: visibility and collaboration are essential, and the smartest shippers focus on total landed cost, and not just base rates.

In this episode of Parcel Perspectives, Glenn Gooding breaks down why UPS’s aggressive cost-cutting strategy — marked by 20,000 layoffs, 100+ facility closures, and a drawdown of Amazon volume — may be creating more problems than it solves. He challenges the notion that UPS can ‘shrink to greatness,’ and outlines what this shift really means for shippers.

Glenn explains how structural labor costs, the end of USPS DDU access, and the collapse of the SurePost workshare model are placing low-margin parcels back onto the backs of UPS’s highest-paid drivers. He outlines how this is raising the company’s cost to serve, just as its network flattens and competition heats up.

With market share shrinking and margin pressure rising, shippers are seeing pricing strategies become more volatile — including unpredictable cost add-ons that are difficult to anticipate or quantify. Glenn closes with clear takeaways for shippers: diversify your carrier base, understand your true parcel costs, and be ready to adapt as UPS leans harder into revenue recovery.

Glenn Gooding is joined by Aaron Alpeter, Founder and CEO of Izba, to explore what drives fulfillment success and why so many brand-3PL relationships break down during growth.

They explore:

• Why most 3PL churn starts with a breakdown in trust
• What the “four acts” of startup growth reveal about operational risk
• How brand honesty helps 3PLs plan around volatility
• When it makes sense to renegotiate before contracts expire
• Why fulfillment isn’t hard, but it's complicated

Aaron shares how brands can avoid common mistakes, from overbuilding infrastructure to skipping SLAs in contracts. Glenn adds perspective on how strong relationships—built on fit and transparency—outlast any pricing model.

If your operations feel like they’re holding back your growth, this episode offers a framework to fix it before it breaks.

In this solo episode of Parcel Perspectives, shipping expert Glenn Gooding breaks down Amazon’s explosive growth as a parcel carrier—and what it means for the rest of the market.

He explores how UPS, FedEx, and USPS are responding to a shrinking market share, the rise of gig carriers and regionals, and why now might be the time to rethink your carrier mix.

📦 Key topics include:

• Amazon’s 25% market share in U.S. parcel volume
• The shrinking value prop of legacy carriers
• The role of 3PLs in navigating this fragmented landscape

Don’t miss this essential breakdown for shippers navigating 2025.

In this episode of Parcel Perspectives, Glenn Gooding breaks down a key update to UPS’s Additional Handling Charge (AHC), now set to be implemented on August 17 (postponed from the originally expected June 1).

Instead of applying the fee based on length and girth, UPS will now use volume: any package over 8,640 cubic inches, or five cubic feet, will automatically trigger AHC. That means even lightweight, efficiently packed boxes may see significant cost increases.

Glenn walks through how this affects shippers in real terms, including a pricing example where transportation costs jump nearly 200%. He also explains why many businesses may not be able to quantify the impact -- UPS invoices often lack the dimensional data needed to catch these charges in advance.

The episode closes with broader considerations, including how other carriers might respond and what this shift could mean for packaging strategy, bundled shipments, and shipping subsidies.

In this episode, Glenn Gooding is joined by Chad Warzecha, President of NXTPoint Logistics, for a tactical conversation on what it takes to build a carrier-aligned parcel program.

Using the framework of value creation, credibility, and trust, Chad shares how 3PLs can create more leverage by thinking less transactionally and more strategically. From understanding package-level detail (PLD) to managing how your volume aligns with carrier networks, Chad outlines the avoidable missteps that erode negotiating power and how to shift toward long-term growth.

They also dig into how over-diversification can hurt rate positions, why contracts are signals, and what real commitment looks like to a carrier. With examples from NXTPoint’s national delivery network, the episode offers practical insight into building resilient, scalable logistics programs that serve both the brand and the carrier.