New Equipment Digest - December 2020

building partnerships with suppliers who have set and committed to their own science-based targets. Unilever will setup a system for its suppliers to declare, on each invoice, thecarbon footprint of the goods and services provided.

Unilever is also introducing a Regenerative AgricultureCode for its suppliers. The new code will build on the company’s existing Sustainable Agriculture Code, and it will include details on farming practices that help rebuild criticalresources.

Unilever will also step up direct efforts to preserve waterby implementing water stewardship programs for local communities in 100 locations by 2030. The company will alsojoin the 2030 Water Resources Group, a multi-stakeholderplatform hosted by the World Bank, to contribute to transformative change and building resilience in water managementin key water-stressed markets, such as India, Brazil, South Africa, Vietnam and Indonesia. The company also aims to makeits product formulations biodegradable by 2030, to minimizeits impact on water and the aquatic ecosystems. MH&L

The rapid increase of e-commerce in recent years is a catalyst for the surge in last-mile services nationwide. With the addition of COVID- 19 andonline-only shopping, the importance of finalmile is pushed to the forefront of the overallsupply chain process.

Total online sales reached a record of $73.2billion in June of this year, according to Forbes.That is more than a 76% increase year overyear from June 2019. Due to the pandemic,many shoppers are opting to buy online versustraveling to a physical store. COVID- 19 hasalso forced businesses to adapt to a fully digitalized business model to still reach their consumer base. This boost in e-commerce createschallenges to supply chain operations—mainlylast-mile delivery. For shippers, final-mile highlights important factors and complex challenges as part of the overall transportation space.

GROWTH

E-commerce has been accelerating for thepast 3-5 years and the logistics industry, beingon the pulse of adapting to growth, is seeingmany of these market changes far before theconsumer experiences them. Third-party logis