UK fleet owners are invited to join a pilot project studying the concept of Vehicle to Grid (V2G) technology, where vehicles release battery energy into the grid as required.

The V2G pilot is being run by Cisco, TfL, the Greater London Authority, Cenex, Nuvve, Imperial College London and the E-Car Club.

The research is called the E-Flex project and is to test 200 vehicles in real world fleets on V2G and is to explore the potential economic benefits to fleets and the National Grid alike.

Mass adoption of EVs are going to put a strain on electricity networks and V2G is one possibility that could alleviate it through having a shared battery network to release power when demand spikes. If all vehicles not in use could contribute this could make several GW of power available nationwide.

Those that will take part in the E-Flex trial will have the opportunity to:

– Test and improve EVs in a real-world environment, receiving a free 10kW bidirectional charger(s) and installation, with annual maintenance and 24/7 support included

– Lower costs of running a zero-emissions fleet through energy savings and unlock new services and opportunities for customers

– Become a greener brand and have a positive impact on the environment, monitoring savings through a fleet monitoring dashboard and application

“The market opportunity for V2G is huge when you consider that the UK government has outlined that all new cars and vans should be effectively zero emission in little over 20 years’ time. E-Flex is about testing whether V2G provides a solution to the main challenge of making this a reality: developing an economically and environmentally viable business model for EVs,” said Maria Hernandez, head of innovation, Cisco UK & Ireland.

Amazon has announced plans to invest $800 million in the next quarter to cut shipping times in the US to one day for Prime members.

At an earnings call with investors on Thursday, the Chief Financial Officer Brian Olsavsky, said Amazon was investing heavily to make Prime shipping faster. “This is all about the core free two-day offer evolving into a free one-day offer,” he said.

The large investment is set to reduce its profits during the next quarter.

Olsavsky described the initiative as “the best deal in retail”.

Amazon has long offered delivery in a day or quicker for some items, but the change will mean free one-day shipping will be the default, rather than two-day.

SE Asian ride hailing company Grab has signed a deal with logistics company Ninja Van to create what they claim will be the largest logistics network in the region.

As part of the deal, Ninja Van is to use the GrabPay payment system on its platform.

The Ninja Van services will be integrated into GrabExpress, the on-demand parcel and courier delivery service. This is currently available in 150 cities across Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Indonesia.

Ninja Van will add 450 cities to the GrabExpress network, and can tap into Grab’s existing user base. There is also an opportunity for the partnership to run nationwide scheduled deliveries.

The new services are to be available on the Grab app as of Q2, 2019, and will be phased in across SE Asia.

Alibaba and the New Zealand Government are in talks to set up a regional logistics hub.

Local media reports that the NZ Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has met with top Alibaba officials last month to discuss the plans.

The Alibaba logistics centre would be part of the Electronic World Trade Platform (eWTP) and is to help facilitate logistics and the movement of goods.

Jones said if the project gets the green light to set up in New Zealand, it would likely be a partnership between Alibaba and NZ Post in a more regional centre, such as Palmerston North.

It now appears that senior Alibaba officials have been invited to New Zealand to explore the opportunity.

In a letter to Jones, sent not long after the meeting in Hong Kong, Alibaba senior vice president, and head of corporate finance, Michael Yao said he was keen to explore the idea of establishing an eWTP in New Zealand.

“From our side eWTP, as a global initiative spearheaded by our executive chairman Jack Ma, would present the strongest immediate opportunity for co-operation.”

Jones said: “If there is scope for growing the logistics… and fast moving items business [and] if there is anything we can do to effect a better arrangement between NZ Post, that’s incredibly important to me.”

The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has blocked the merger between grocery giants Asda and Sainsbury’s, on basis that there will be less competition and prices will go up while quality falls.

Stuart McIntosh, chair of the inquiry group, said: “Following our in-depth investigation, we have found this deal would lead to increased prices, reduced quality and choice of products, or a poorer shopping experience for all of their UK shoppers.

“We have concluded that there is no effective way of addressing our concerns, other than to block the merger.”

Asda and Sainsbury’s announced the plans to merge in 2018 – it would have saved the companies £500 million in operational costs. In March they claimed that they would offer at least £1 billion in savings for consumers when the CMA indicated that prices would instead go up.

Responding to the CMA decision to block the merger, Sainsbury’s chief executive Mike Coupe said: ” The CMA’s conclusion that we would increase prices post-merger ignores the dynamic and highly competitive nature of the UK grocery market. The CMA is today effectively taking £1 billion out of customers’ pockets.”

Judith McKenna, chief executive of Walmart International, said: “While we’re disappointed by the CMA’s final report and conclusions, our focus now is continuing to position Asda as a strong UK retailer delivering for customers. Walmart will ensure Asda has the resources it needs to achieve that.”

Ten new Toyota / Kenworth hydrogen fuel cell electric heavy duty trucks are being tested around the ports of LA and Long Beach in California. Three of the new trucks are being run by UPS.

The new trucks are building on the capabilities of the Toyota Project Portal machines that use hydrogen as a fuel source. The new trucks have an estimated range of 300 miles – double that of the typical mileage of a drayage on a day’s driving.

The new trucks will form part of the Zero and Near-Zero Emissions Freight Facilities Project (ZANZEFF) in the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports and the LA basin. They have been developed with support from the Port of Los Angeles and the California Air Resources Board (CARB).

“Toyota is committed to fuel cell electric technology as a powertrain for the future because it’s a clean, scalable platform that can meet a broad range of mobility needs with zero emissions,” said Bob Carter, Toyota’s Executive Vice President for Automotive Operations. “The ZANZEFF collaboration and the innovative ‘Shore-to-Store’ project allow us to move heavy duty truck fuel cell technology towards commercialisation.”

CARB has awarded $41 million to the Port of Los Angeles for the ZANZEFF project as part of California Climate Investments, an initiative to put billions of dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy and improving public health and the environment.

“This substantial climate investment by the state, matched by the project partners, will help speed up the number of zero emission trucks in the California communities and neighbourhoods where they are needed the most,” said Marcy D. Nichols, CARB Chair. “It will provide a real world-at-work demonstration of innovative heavy duty fuel cell electric technologies. The project offers a commercial solution to move cargo and freight around the state using zero emission trucks and equipment that protect air quality and cut climate-changing emissions.”

The UPS Foundation and the Vaccine Alliance Gavi are working together to develop a medical drone network in Ghana.

California based Zipline has on the ground experience fun such delivery systems in Africa, and has been selected to make emergency deliveries of 148 priority products that include emergency and routine vaccines, blood products and life-saving medications. It is to operate 24/7 from four distribution centres that have more than 30 drones. They will deliver to more than 2,000 health facilities reaching 12 million people in Ghana.

The operation is supported philanthropically from the UPS Foundation and Gavi, as well as with some financial input from the Ghanian government.

“The ability of the Government to supplement routine immunization on demand will allow us to make sure that there will always be enough life-saving vaccines for every child in Ghana,” said Dr Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. “This is an exciting development for Gavi that is ultimately going to ensure we leave no one behind and help us protect more children living in remote areas against vaccine preventable diseases,” he added.

The UPS Foundation will provide $3 million, including $2.4 million in funding and UPS will provide $600,000 of in-kind shipping services. Separately, UPS has already begun an analysis of Ghana’s healthcare supply chain, providing expertise designed to complement the government’s vision to continually optimise the delivery of healthcare products.

“The program’s ongoing success in Rwanda demonstrates that the collective effort of a public-private partnership focused on advanced supply chain technologies can enhance access to life-saving medical commodities throughout Africa,” said Eduardo Martinez, president of The UPS Foundation and UPS chief diversity and inclusion officer.

“We are inspired to see technology and supply chain expertise used to help save lives and honoured to be part of this public-private collaboration. It is with deepest gratitude we acknowledge the visionary Ghana government, Gavi, for their dedication to helping improve the health of communities in Ghana and around the world, and Zipline, for their leading-edge technology and passion to advance community health systems,” he added.

DHL Express is to help Middle East / North African (MENA) e-commerce retailers extend their reach overseas with the help of Vinculum Solutions, a leader in omnichannel retailing.

With the DHL Express led scheme, non-exporting e-retailers are to be able to sell their goods via the Vinculum eRetail solutions and the DHL Express network of cross border delivery services.

Cross border e-commerce is widely held to grow by 300% by 2022. This is the new gold rush in e-commerce and a companies of different sizes are getting into the mix. Those using a partnership network with strong technology, local market knowledge and solid processes, will enable a faster and more efficient go-to market strategy.

DHL Express CEO, Middle East and North Africa, Nour Suliman, said: “The surge in e-commerce is driving brands to explore new markets, but many find their operations hindered due to challenges within the cross border delivery journey which is where DHL can provide effective solutions. Our partnership with Vinculum Solutions will make it simple for online retailers to enter new international markets with a fulfilment partner to support. This will be a tremendous boost for locally established companies looking to take their product offering global.”

Venkat Nott, Founder & CEO Vinculum Solutions, added: “We are pleased to partner with DHL Express to work with online retailers in the MENA region and help them tap into the cross border opportunity. This is a chance for global brands and retailers to enter new global markets, and for high growth brands and retailers in the UAE to sell internationally. We believe that this partnership will be tremendously beneficial for the business and e-commerce landscape in the MENA region, especially for SMEs.”

JD Logistics could go out of business within two years unless it dramatically reduces costs, according to JD.com Chief Executive Richard Liu.

As part of the cost saving measures, delivery staff are to be paid per piece instead of having a basic salary. Even so the company needs to make savings in other areas of the business.

Liu’s comments come amidst increasing complains from the media and social media at the long hours and low pay that delivery staff experience.

JD Logistics made losses of RMB 2.3 billion ($343 million) in 2018 according to Liu. Internal orders within the company discounted, the losses would have been RMB 2.8 billion.

Since JD Logistics was spun off as an independent company, Liu says that it hasn’t managed to win as many third party orders as it might and instead relies on internal orders (ie from JD.com) for much of its business.

Liu concluded, “I believe each of JD.com’s delivery brothers doesn’t want the company to go bankrupt.”

A survey by Doddle has shown that 43% of UK shoppers are more likely to choose a rival retailer should they offer a greater range of sustainable delivery options. Only 6% of shoppers however always collect their shopping instead of having it collected.

The survey by Doddle of 2,196 consumers across the UK found that 40% of shoppers believe that retailers aren’t doing a good enough job in offering sustainable options, while 25% say they feel annoyed that home delivery is offered as a default option, as it generates greater carbon emissions.

It found that half of shoppers only want to support retailers offering a sustainable range of options in future. Among different age groups a higher proportion of younger shoppers wanted this.

The Doddle survey showed that online shoppers will pay £1 more (47%) and 26% said they would pay £2 more for deliveries to be carried out in a more sustainable way.

“As shoppers continue to become more environmentally conscious, retailers need to mirror this in their offer,” said Doddle CEO Tim Robinson. “While convenience remains important for customers, it’s not enough for sustainable delivery to be an add-on or after-thought anymore – in an already tough environment, it will set brands apart in their battle for customer loyalty.”