It was the break up heard all over the Supply Chain community. FedEx Express and Amazon have officially called it quits when it comes to U.S. domestic deliveries. The news was confirmed when FedEx decided not to renew their express shipping service contract with the e-commerce giant which is set to expire on June 30th. Amazon responded by diplomatically explaining to The Verge, ““We respect FedEx’s decision and thank them for their role serving Amazon customers over the years.” Express shipping tends to be the fastest way a package gets from point A to point B. Examples of express shipping includes same day, overnight, and next day shipping.

Alexa and other voice applications have become a staple in the home. Mainly used to turn on appliances, adjust the heat, or look up the weather – households rely on it to make their lives easier. Like households; warehouses have begun using voice applications to cope with the increase demand of shipping products. As demand continues to surge warehouses are looking at new ways to accelerate the supply chain process without reducing productivity and efficiency.

Last week Walmart opened its first AI-powered store in Levittown, New York. Called the Intelligent Retail Lab or, IRL; the store is the first of its kind. Exploring how AI technology can help stores like Walmart with everyday tasks like restocking; the IRL will monitor and track data that will give engineers the statistics they need to improve every facet of the store.