XPO Direct promises ‘industry-leading flexibility’

The shared-space distribution model is designed to shorten transit times without adding overhead.    XPO Logistics said Tuesday that it had launched a shared-space distribution model for omnichannel retail and e-commerce customers that it calls XPO Direct.
   Warehouses and last-mile hubs will serve as flexible stock-holding sites and cross-docks utilized by multiple customers at the same time, and the company said it can support the transportation needs for retailers with its brokered, contracted and owned capacity.
   The company said its “North American footprint can position goods within two days’ delivery of 95 percent of the U.S. population and in close proximity to retail stores for inventory replenishment.”
    Bradley Jacobs, the chief executive officer of XPO Logistics, said, “Retailers and e-tailers are looking for new ways to position goods more efficiently to shorten delivery transit times without adding overhead. XPO Direct offers customers industry-leading flexibility by sharing our technology, trucks and workforce at over 100 sites, with hundreds of additional sites at the ready.
   “In essence, we’re renting out our scale and disrupting traditional thinking about the capital-intensive, regional distribution model,” Jacobs said.