PUDO shifts into high gear in time for holiday re-gifting; incorporating ShipEngine efficiencies into Give Back Box partnership with LEGO Replay

TORONTO, Dec. 4, 2019 /CNW/ - PUDO Inc. ("PUDO" or "the Company") (CSE:PDO; OCTQB:PDPTF), North America's only carrier neutral parcel pick-up and drop-off Network, is proud to announce that it has accelerated its relationship with logistics API giant ShipEngine ("ShipEngine"), a division of Stamps.com, to optimize return shipping for Give Back Box ("GBB") and its recently announced collaboration with LEGO® Replay.

"We are leveraging efficiencies at all levels within our logistics ecosystem in the United States, to help our customer Give Back Box, return previously used merchandise to regional sorting warehouses and re-distribution centers throughout the country," says PUDO founder Frank Coccia. "The ShipEngine API is masterful at identifying the most affordable, most efficient way to move e-commerce parcels from point A to point B in North America, and we have informed confidence in their ability to add value to our established relationship with Give Back Box."

"We will utilize our Network of carrier-neutral PUDOpoints located very near to where people live, work, and play, as consolidation points along the way as needed, to best advantage.  We plan to hit the ground running next week, as people move into the holiday spirit thinking about gifting and re-gifting.  This is more than a feel good story for us, this is something that e-commerce logistics can do on a very large scale, to take advantage of bulk logistics in motion and give back to the community."

Last month, Give Back Box announced their role in the LEGO Replay pilot project aimed at returning any and all previously used LEGO bricks for donation to children's non-profits in the United States. GBB founder Monika Wiela started the company to facilitate 'return logistics donation' of millions of tons of unused clothing, footwear and other textiles to community non-profits, in an effort to divert the items from landfills and to ensure the recycling of shipping packaging. 

PUDO has been working with Give Back Box to streamline their return logistics Network ? a vast and dynamic web of parcels of indeterminate size and weight, which changes daily in response to consumer behaviours like online and in-store shopping, and associated participation in various environmental responsibility and social justice programs offered by participating retail and brand partners.  More than 50 e-commerce and retail giants are listed as 'give back' partners on the GBB website, and, with the exception of Overstock.com (Canada) and Amazon, nearly all of the partners sell clothing and/or footwear almost exclusively.

The opportunity to include heirloom-status toys like LEGO bricks to GBB's program demonstrates the company's capacity for reducing, re-using and recycling a vast range of consumer products. "We have created a quick click and return page on our corporate website, making donation and delivery of LEGO bricks quick and easy for consumers," says Wiela.  "Just click the link, fill in a few blanks, and print out a pre-paid mailing label.  PUDO and ShipEngine intelligence will be working in the background to ensure that gently used merchandise finds its way via the shortest, most efficient way possible, to partner-specific regional warehouses for sorting, cleaning, and re-distribution to participating non-profits."

"Leave it to a company like LEGO to design and build an innovative program like this that encourages consumers to pass their products along to families rather than focus solely on selling more new product, concludes Coccia. "We are very proud to play our part, no pun intended."

ShipEngine welcomes the opportunity to use its vast experience in e-commerce and logistics to help provide millions of iconic toys to deserving girls and boys.  "Working with PUDO on a project that does so much for both kids ? and the environment ? has been a project that the whole ShipEngine team has rallied around," says Josh Burdick, Account Executive at ShipEngine.  "We've always used the term 'logistics-obsessed problem solvers' to describe ourselves, and this is a fantastic problem to help solve."

All Americans are invited to visit https://givebackbox.com/lego/ to donate their pre-played LEGO bricks for Replay by downloading and printing a pre-paid shipping label. 

About PUDO
PUDO Inc. is developing North America's only carrier-neutral parcel pick-up/drop-off technology and logistics Network, as a means of solving the last-mile parcel-traffic-control gridlock that is crippling the $550B e-commerce sector.   E-commerce is faced with unprecedented cost control issues, based on disproportionately high last-mile delivery costs relating to undeliverable parcels, and parcels returning for refund or exchange.  As labour and fuel costs increase in tandem with parcel traffic and volume, the problem worsens.

PUDO's team of logistics and parcel traffic management experts have created a market intelligence and trends driven solution comprising carrier-neutral plug-and-play technology for desktop and mobile, plus a strategically located Network of parcel pick-up and drop-off PUDOpoints for pay-as-you-go use by all players within the e-commerce ecosystem.

Adopting PUDO technology shortens the last mile for the behemoths of e-commerce ? fulfillment and distribution centers representing thousands of retailers and millions of consumers ? by instantly extending their parcel staging and consolidation Network and providing secure 'near end of the line' storage for the 30% of e-commerce parcels that are undeliverable on first attempt. PUDO's technology and Network virtually eliminate costs associated with second-attempt deliveries, un-attended parcel theft and spoilage, and mismanaged reverse logistics on returns, and provides carriers, retailers, and consumers with badly needed cost controls, choice, and convenience.

PUDO was founded in 2015 and was recently named one of the Top 20 most innovative public technology companies by the Canadian Innovation Exchange.  After two years of industry and market research, and successful beta testing the technology and PUDOpoint geography and protocols with major logistics stakeholders, PUDO is ready to activate its Network through strategic partnerships.  Activation will enable all stakeholders within the Network to access and control scalable, fluid, strategic consolidation in real time when and where needed, to lower costs and satisfy customer expectations.

For more information, please visit www.pudoinc.com or www.pudopoint.com.

About ShipEngine
ShipEngine is a multi-carrier shipping platform that provides best-in-class shipping functionality directly to e-commerce stores, logistics and warehouse providers, system integrators, e-commerce application integrators, and new application developers. Built specifically for developers, ShipEngine's robust set of shipping APIs enable developers to build custom workflows within their own platforms and streamline the e-commerce fulfillment process with real-time label generation, rate quoting, parcel tracking, and address validation.

ShipEngine supports carriers across the United States, Europe, Canada, and Australia, including USPS, FedEx, UPS, DHL, and many more. ShipEngine is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Stamps.com (Nasdaq: STMP).

For more information, please visit www.shipengine.com

About Give Back Box
Give Back Box was founded by Monika Wiela in 2012.  The purpose of Give Back Box® is to provide consumers with an effortless and convenient means of donating used household items, while ensuring that cardboard shipping packaging serves a charitable secondary purpose before being recycled. Further, Give Back Box® offers online retailers a plug-and-play CSR and sustainability solution.  For all participants ? a simple and meaningful way to take part in a truly good cause.

For more information, please visit: www.givebackbox.com

Information in this press release that is not current or historical factual information may constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of securities laws, such as statements regarding possible capital raising activity and possible future expansions of PUDO's operations. This information is based on current expectations and assumptions of management, including assumptions concerning PUDO's ability to raise additional capital.  The use of any of the words "anticipate", "believe", "expect", "plan", "intend", "can", "will", "should", and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Since forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Risks, uncertainties, and other factors involved with forward-looking information could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects, and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information include, without limitation, uncertainties with respect to service implementation, the economic results of the relationship on the operations of the Company, changes in general economic, market, or business conditions, and those risks set out in the Company's public documents filed on SEDAR.  This press release, may contain future-oriented financial information or financial outlook within the meaning of applicable securities laws.  Such future-oriented financial information or financial outlook has been prepared for the purpose of providing information about management's reasonable expectations as to the anticipated results of its proposed business activities. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such information may not be appropriate for other purposes.

The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof and the Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by law.

SOURCE PUDO Inc.