Welcome to the April 26th edition of Sent Items.

Katie and I are spending the next couple of days out at Southall for a personal and professional strategy retreat. It’s the perfect time to unplug and recharge before May and June conference season kicks off.

When I get back, it's full steam ahead for Home Delivery World right here in Nashville and SubSummit in Kansas City. I've got invites and links below for the dinners and happy hours we are hosting at both.

Meanwhile, the macro landscape continues to shift. Over $300 billion in imports are actively dodging U.S. tariffs, Walmart is turning its backrooms into micro-fulfillment centers to battle Amazon, and UPS and Uber are fighting over the booming reverse logistics market.

Been a little bit, so I’ll leave you with an unboxing:

Let’s get into it.

- Matt

Walmart Turns Backrooms into Micro-3PLs In a direct challenge to Amazon’s speed, Walmart is carving out the back rooms of its Supercenters to act as staging areas for its third-party marketplace sellers. The Financial Times reports that Walmart is currently testing this in Dallas, leveraging AI to predict local demand and position third-party inventory right inside the store for same-day delivery. Because Walmart has heavily automated its own inbound freight (meaning goods go straight from the truck to the aisle), they’ve freed up backroom real estate to effectively act as a localized 3PL for independent sellers. It’s a massive flex of their physical footprint. Source: Financial Times

The $300 Billion Tariff Dodge Supply chains are adapting to the tariff chaos faster than policymakers can keep up. Bloomberg reports that roughly $300 billion worth of goods subject to U.S. tariffs are actively avoiding the levies annually by rerouting through Southeast Asia and Mexico. This massive "nearshoring" and trade diversion strategy highlights how quickly brands are rewiring their global networks to protect their margins from the ongoing policy whiplash. Source: Bloomberg

FedEx, UPS & DHL Detail Tariff Refund Approach With Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officially launching the CAPE portal this week, the major parcel carriers have laid out their refund playbooks. FedEx, UPS, and DHL announced they will return any duties they recover directly to the parties that originally bore the cost for the invalidated IEEPA levies. If you paid those tariffs and the carrier served as the importer of record, they are working to get that cash back to you—but you will still be waiting on CBP's 60-90 day processing timeline once the funds are requested. Source: Supply Chain Dive

UPS Doesn't Want Every Package, But It Loves Returns While UPS is actively shedding unprofitable delivery volume, it is doubling down on reverse logistics. The WSJ reports that the carrier is rapidly expanding its Happy Returns network to over 10,000 drop-off locations. Box-free, label-free returns are a massive margin driver, allowing UPS to consolidate shipments and capture a highly profitable slice of the $700+ billion U.S. returns market. Source: WSJ

Uber Eats Enters the Retail Returns Game Speaking of returns, the gig economy wants a piece of the pie. Uber Eats just launched a new feature allowing couriers to pick up retail returns directly from a customer's doorstep and drop them off at a local post office, UPS, or FedEx store. It’s a bold move to leverage their massive driver network to solve the friction of last-mile reverse logistics. Source: Retail Dive

USPS Preps New Dimension Reporting Rules The Postal Service is cracking down on package dimensions. Starting July 12, the USPS will require accurate length, width, and height figures for a much wider array of shipments, regardless of size. While they are taking a phased approach - delaying the $3 noncompliance fees at the outset-shippers need to get their dimensional capture capabilities in order before the automated audits and penalties kick in early next year. Source: Supply Chain Dive

Amazon Lets You Tip Your Driver In a move generating a lot of buzz, Amazon is rolling out a new feature allowing customers to tip their delivery drivers directly. As the labor market for final-mile delivery stays competitive and customer expectations rise, Amazon is leaning into gratuity to boost driver retention and satisfaction. Source: WSJ

💯 100 Brands Matched! This week on LinkedIn, I shared a massive milestone for us: Third Person has officially reached 100 brands signing deals with 3PLs discovered on our platform. The best part? We've achieved this while remaining completely objective and data-driven. We never charge "pay per lead" because it misaligns incentives, and our matchmaking algorithm remains 100% unbiased - meaning brands always see their absolute best operational matches, regardless of a 3PL's subscription status. Thank you to everyone in this community who has supported us along the way!

SubSummit (Kansas City | May 13-15) I am getting ready to head to KC for SubSummit, the premier event for subscription brands. I will be hosting an exclusive VIP dinner for brands and operators in attendance.

👉 RSVP for the SubSummit Dinner Here (Wednesday, May 13 @ The Stilwell)

Home Delivery World VIP Dinner (Nashville) HDW is coming to our backyard this May, and Third Person will be front and center with our own booth on the floor. We are also hosting a Happy Hour and private dinner throughout the week. Both invites are below.

👉 RSVP for the HDW Dinner Here (Wednesday, May 20 @ Bourbon Steak)

👉 RSVP for the HDW Happy Hour Here (Thursday, May 21 @ Bricktop’s)

🏙️ SubSummit (Kansas City | May 13-15) I’m heading to KC in May for SubSummit, the biggest and most valuable event for subscription brands. I have an exclusive promo code coming for brands who want to attend. Comped tickets for brands (incl travel stipend). Reach out for an intro.

🚚 Home Delivery World (Nashville | May 20-21) HDW is coming to our backyard! Third Person will once again have a booth in the Startup Zone on the floor. We are also hosting a dinner and happy hour throughout the week. If you are coming to Nashville for the show, let me know so we can get you on the list.

Have a great week!

- Matt

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