The need to know
The need to know for the week ending 27th November 2020
The need to know from Reuters’ global network of journalists
Boohoo hires retired judge Leveson to oversee supply chain revamp
British online fashion retailer Boohoo has appointed retired judge Brian Leveson to independently check its drive to improve its supply chain and business practices, it said on Thursday.
Anticipating Brexit disruption, AO World doubles warehouse capacity
British online electricals retailer AO World, whose sales have soared during the pandemic, has doubled its warehouse capacity to cope with any supply chain disruption at the end of Britain’s Brexit transition period with the European Union on Dec. 31.
Exclusive: UK delivery prices jump ahead of Brexit cliff edge as firms rush to stockpile
British businesses are rushing to stockpile goods just five weeks before post-Brexit customs checks come into force on Jan. 1, driving up the cost of cross-border deliveries and cutting capacity, industry sources said.
Smelling blood, Huawei’s Chinese mobile rivals look to capitalise on its U.S. woes
Chinese handset rivals of Huawei Technologies including Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo are making aggressive moves to seize market share from their giant rival, after stepped-up U.S. sanctions hobbled Huawei’s supply chains, industry insiders say.
COVAXX gets supply deals worth $2.8 billion for potential COVID-19 vaccine
COVAXX, a unit of United Biomedical Inc, said on Thursday it has received purchase commitments totaling $2.8 billion to deliver more than 140 million doses of its potential COVID-19 vaccine to developing countries, including Brazil, Peru and Ecuador.
Jewellery brands urged to do more to fight gold, diamond mining abuses
As jewellery sales get a pre-Christmas boost, consumers were warned on Tuesday that major brands are still not doing enough to combat human rights and environmental abuses in their gold and diamond supply chains.
Italy to set up virtual pavilion on Alibaba e-commerce platform
Italy on Monday signed a partnership with Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group to build a virtual store for Italian products, in a move aimed at boosting business-to-business (B2B) exports amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
South Korean delivery workers say coronavirus boom means relentless toil
South Korea’s delivery workers have fallen into what they call a “legal blind spot” and say it’s a deadly place to be as the novel coronavirus drives an unprecedented boom in online business.
Eddie Stobart faces share suspension if Dec.9 conversion deadline unmet
Eddie Stobart Logistics said on Tuesday that trading could be suspended for the transport firm if its planned conversion into an investing company was not announced before Dec. 9.
Investcorp invests in Indian logistics startup Xpressbees
Bahrain’s Investcorp said on Sunday it has made an investment in Xpressbees, an Indian logistics startup, as part of a consortium of local and global investors.
From elsewhere around the web:
Supply chain bottlenecks prompt FMC investigation into container movement.[Supply Chain Dive]
The COVID-19 vaccine's logistics will be targeted. Vet the supply chain.[Supply Chain Dive]
Logistics Impact for the Holiday Season.[SDC Exec]
Carriers unlikely to repeat this year’s success in 2021.[Lloyd’s List]
Tougher US drug legislation set to derail millions of parcels on 1 Jan.[The Loadstar]
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