Monthly News Round-Up: February 2021

It’s only the second month of the year, but supply chain news never slows down! Catch up on updates like carrier rate increases and new drone regulations to see how they can apply to your supply chain. 

What’s New in Transportation & Freight?  

US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Will Relax Drone Restrictions  

Starting in mid-March, the US FAA will loosen the strict restrictions over delivery drone use in public airspaces. The new ruling intends to improve the regulatory environment for package delivery operations. Read more about the new drone regulation on DC Velocity.  

Many Carriers Increase New General Rates to About 5-6%  

In recent weeks, LTL carriers have been announcing general rate increases in the 5% to 6% range. The effective dates for these carriers vary individually. For example, Old Dominion Freight Line’s 4.9% increase will be effective March 1, while Saia’s 5.9% increase began on January 18. Read on Freight Waves to learn about other LTL carriers’ general rate increase.  

What’s New in Global Trade & Logistics?  

UK Agrees EU Request for Brexit Delay  

The Brexit trade deal is not yet fully approved by the European Union until the end of April. The UK agreed to a two-month delay for final negotiations, which were rushed at the end of 2020 and unapproved by the EU. One of the reasons for the delay is the time needed to translate the trade deal into all 24 EU languages. Learn more about the Brexit delay on The Independent.  

World’s First Airport for Flying Cars & Delivery Drones to Open This Year  

The winner of the UK government’s Future Flight Challenge, Urban-Air Port, announced the world’s first airport for flying cars and delivery drones in the UK this year. The Air-One transport hub, and its future ports, will emit zero carbon emissions and be operated off-grid. Read more about Urban-Air Port’s UK hub and its plans.  

What’s New with SAP?  

SAP Consolidates Partner Solutions with SAP Solutions  

SAP merges SAP App Center for partner solutions into the SAP Store for SAP solutions, providing customers the ability to discover SAP and partner solutions side-by-side. Learn more about the SAP Store’s new features in the SAP News Center.  

SAP Acquires AppGyver Oy to Build Web & Mobile-Use Applications  

SAP sets goals to help customers and partners adapt to their IT systems by optimizing their SAP applications' mobile usability. SAP Business Technology Platform will take in AppGyver’s solutions to broaden SAP’s business process intelligence offerings. Discover SAP’s plans with AppGyver’s solutions in the SAP News Center.  

What’s New with ShipERP?  

Transform your digital supply chain and shipping processes with these insights:  

• Use this supplier portal visual guide to see how a supplier portal solution can significantly improve supplier collaboration and maximize your supply chain efficiency
• Discover why a freight management system is an essential part of your supply chain and business processes 
• Learn how to file your German export declarations in 2021 post-Brexit automatically
• Understand how LTL shipping can improve supply chain efficiency and reduce shipping costs
• Check out our guide on how USPS address validation works to ensure your customers’ packages arrive at the right place
• In this visual guide, you’ll uncover the tips and tricks of how to prevent customs delays for your exports with ShipAES
• Gain everything you need to know about rate shopping on cloud computing to justify your SaaS investment  

Coming Soon: ShipERP Cloud  

We’re introducing the flexible shipping SaaS application to benefit all aspects of your supply chain. With easy access to multiple shipping functions, you can enjoy an optimized digital supply chain. With ShipERP Cloud, you can gain:  

• Improved supply chain efficiency  
• Greater collaboration
• Reduced operations costs
• And much more!