In the highly competitive world of CPG retail logistics, navigating complexity, meeting service level agreements (SLAs), and keeping shelves stocked is essential. This is especially true during peak season when the market demands speed, agility, and accuracy from companies. But CPG retailers today face mounting economic headwinds, including tariffs, inflation, volatile rates, and margin compression, requiring them to balance high service levels while cutting costs.
For many of these retailers, logistics is frequently viewed as a cost center due to the complexity of their existing operations across first, middle, and last mile. Often, supply chain management is fragmented with multiple systems and tools, manual processes, and inconsistent partnerships. While this approach can support companies’ growth to a certain point, it ultimately leads to a confusing map of relationships and tools. And as companies try to scale, these factors create unnecessary costs, disparate toolsets, negatively impact service, and increase operational friction.
To mitigate risk and remain competitive, companies must move beyond simply managing complexity. They need advanced solutions and strategies driven by the right partner to unlock efficiency, agility, and end-to-end supply chain transparency.
By modernizing operations and partnering strategically, companies can turn their supply chain into a catalyst for profitability rather than a cost center, gaining the speed, agility, and accuracy needed to succeed. Logistics teams can also replace inefficient processes with real-time control and data to streamline shipments, keeping shelves stocked while delivering next-level service.
Here are three trends that CPG retail leaders are prioritizing to transform their supply chains.
1. Dynamic capacity and strategic flexibility to keep pace with customer demand
Customers today expect seamless, near-instant availability and delivery, creating short lead times and unpredictable demand. Because of this, logistics teams can no longer afford to be reactive. They must view capacity as a flexible, on-demand resource. Proactively securing dynamic capacity transforms external disruptions and unexpected surges into manageable variables, enabling companies to fulfill every order, regardless of conditions.
A dedicated managed transportation partner with industry expertise is key to securing this capacity and effectively managing your middle-mile operations. Uber Freight connects CPG retailers to one of North America’s largest and most reliable carrier networks, ensuring they can remain agile, scale operations, and instantly meet demand.
In 2023, as a pet care retailer began modernizing their operations and logistics capabilities, they recognized the need for a system to support carrier management and outbound delivery, especially during seasonal peaks. To maintain consistency and meet demand, they turned to Uber Freight.
By partnering with Uber Freight’s managed transportation team and implementing its transportation management system (TMS), the company refined routing and capacity allocation across its carrier network.
Year-to-date, the retailer has saved $3.7 million in outbound transportation, with a 10% increase in truck utilization and a 3% improvement across all service levels. As Uber Freight’s team manages day-to-day execution, the company’s internal team can shift to higher-value initiatives that keep pace with growth goals and continuously improve the in-store experience for every customer.
2. Unifying a fragmented network to eliminate complexity — from first to last mile
With multi-node shipments, numerous DCs, and a constant stream of carriers, CPG retailers have become reliant on fragmented and decentralized systems. In fact, 61% of executives say their supply chain’s technology involves a combination of legacy tools, ERPs, and spreadsheets.
This fragmentation leads to a lack of visibility, manual planning and execution, and poor routing compliance, creating operational silos and a confusing, overly complex carrier network.
Uber Freight eliminates network and integration complexity, unifying operations for network-wide visibility and control. By integrating directly into companies’ existing ERPs, systems, and networks, Uber Freight can centralize transportation planning and execution, giving CPG retailers complete visibility across their supply chain. Retailers can also take advantage of Uber Freight’s End-to-End Logistics solution, which taps into one of the largest, most scalable delivery networks, ensuring packages move from warehouses to doorsteps quickly and efficiently, with full visibility and real-time traceability every step of the way.
Additionally, as a strategic partner, Uber Freight’s expert team can assist with ongoing optimization and business reviews, and drive continuous improvement from first to last mile. This dedicated expertise and technology becomes an extension of your brand, stabilizing operations—even during peak seasons—to prevent costly stockouts, meet rising customer demand, and keep internal teams flexible.
When a regional apparel retailer decided they no longer wanted to handle logistics in-house, they sought a partner with the technology and subject-matter expertise to manage their complex supply chain, maintain high service levels, and reduce costs.
Uber Freight stepped in as their dedicated, full-service logistics partner, supporting their small, two- to three-person transportation team and managing all inbound freight from vendors to distribution centers. Uber Freight’s TMS and operations team provides end-to-end support and continually optimizes and consolidates shipments to create the most cost-effective routes and streamline operations.
The Uber Freight team also conducts annual logistics engineering value assessments to identify opportunities for network efficiency and to eliminate complexity, such as mode conversions, rate benchmarking, and LTL pooling, and delivers monthly and quarterly reports on key metrics to drive continuous improvement. With Uber Freight, the retailer has also expanded their intermodal use, incorporating rail into their network to improve lead times.
Through the partnership, Uber Freight has built a deep level of trust with the company, as they value the Uber Freight team’s transparency, expertise, and collaboration. This has resulted in reduced operational overhead, ensured KPIs like OTIF are consistently met, and increased cost savings—without sacrificing speed or customer satisfaction.
3. End-to-end transparency and real-time data for agility
Customer trust is built through reliable service and certainty. Central to this is delivering shipments on-time and in-full (OTIF). But without real-time visibility, it’s difficult to manage expectations and exceptions, and to respond to market trends, leaving operations reactive. To combat this, successful companies are moving beyond basic transportation management and embracing a logistics partner with the expertise and technology to drive business insight.
Uber Freight’s TMS creates a single source of truth to promote end-to-end supply chain transparency by automating complex processes like freight consolidation, capacity planning, and carrier selection. It also offers key insights into inventory flow, carrier performance, and costs. For example, built-in tools and features, such as Control Tower and digital verification, provide actionable analytics and ensure a secure, auditable trail for every shipment. By flagging potential delays and protecting companies from risk and fraud, teams can easily plan and adjust before costly chargebacks or brand damage.
AutoZone, a partner of Uber Freight’s for over 25 years, highlights real-time visibility and control as one of their favorite features of the TMS. With over 7,000 stores and a complex intermodal network for inbound and outbound shipments, streamlined processes are key to success. By utilizing Uber Freight’s automated tracking, AutoZone gains real-time visibility into how their products move through the supply chain. This enables AutoZone to prevent fraud and frees the team from manual work, enabling them to remain agile and strategic.
Replacing friction with strategic flow
CPG retailers can no longer rely on “business as usual,” with nearly half of executives saying their current business structure won’t hold up for another decade.
The most resilient CPG retail supply chains don’t just manage complexity; they use it as a strategic advantage to reduce costs, increase profitability, and remain competitive. With the right technology and a strategic partnership, companies can achieve clarity, improve service, and streamline operations for every mile.
Uber Freight is a trusted, strategic logistics partner for retailers, bringing deep expertise in managing the unique complexities of consumer packaged goods supply chains.
Uber Freight turns logistics from a cost center into a catalyst for retail profitability—streamlining shipments from suppliers to stores, distribution centers, and straight to customers’ doors, so shelves stay stocked and shoppers stay loyal. By combining industry-specific insights, scalable solutions, and a commitment to partnership, Uber Freight consistently helps retailers to achieve operational resilience and deliver on their brand promise.
Ready to make your supply chain more efficient, agile, and transparent? Learn more about our solutions for CPG retailers, or connect with an Uber Freight expert today.