E393:🎙️CREATING A SMARTER, GREENER ECOMMERCE DELIVERY PLATFORM w/JAMIE SAPP - THE EIGHTH NOTCH

Creating a Smarter, Greener eCommerce Delivery Platform with The Eighth Notch

What if eCommerce deliveries could be faster, cheaper and much kinder to the planet? That’s the idea driving Jamie Sapp, Founder and CEO of The Eighth Notch (T8N). After years in the logistics and retail technology worlds, Jamie saw an opportunity to tackle one of the biggest challenges in eCommerce: improving delivery efficiency while lowering costs and reducing environmental impact.

In this post, we’ll explore how The Eighth Notch is reshaping delivery logistics, why it's solving a problem that’s plagued shippers and carriers for decades, and what this means for businesses striving to keep their green promises in today’s competitive market.

The Road From Retail Tech to Sustainable Logistics

Jamie’s journey into logistics began years ago at UPS, where he immersed himself in supply chain operations and international shipping. That early experience became the foundation of his expertise. Later, during his time at Williams-Sonoma, Jamie honed his skills in operational tech, focusing on systems like ERP, order management, and supply chain platforms.

But something in the back of his mind kept nudging him. He realized there was a significant gap in how deliveries were being planned. What if shippers and carriers could collaborate earlier to eliminate unnecessary stops and make deliveries more efficient? What if the entire delivery process could shift from reactive to proactive?

This was the seed that grew into The Eighth Notch, named after the highest power setting on a locomotive—a tribute to Jamie’s father, a railroad worker.

The Problem: Poor Coordination in Parcel Delivery

In the current eCommerce world, the delivery process is often disconnected. Here’s what typically happens:

1. A customer places an order online.

2. The order flows from the eCommerce platform to an order management system (OMS) and eventually to a warehouse management system (WMS).

3. The fulfillment center picks, packs, and schedules the item for delivery.

4. A carrier picks up the package, assigns it to their network, and delivers it to the customer.

Here’s the hitch: the carrier doesn’t know what other deliveries are heading to that same destination until it’s already too late to optimize their routes. Carriers end up making multiple trips to the same address or neighborhood, driving up costs and carbon emissions.

Jamie describes this process as “execute first, plan second,” and it’s a major inefficiency in the system.

The Solution: Smarter, Collaborative Delivery

The Eighth Notch flips this process on its head by addressing a simple but powerful “what if” question:

What if you could plan delivery routes before packages enter the carrier network?

Using its proprietary technology, The Eighth Notch integrates with carriers and retailers to analyze delivery data before shipments are executed. By identifying opportunities to consolidate shipments—whether to a single address, an apartment building, or even nearby locations—the platform ensures that carriers can deliver multiple packages in a single stop. This concept, called synchronized delivery, has transformative benefits:

* Increased Delivery Density: Fewer trips mean lower vehicle operating costs for carriers.

* Lower Shipping Costs: Savings are shared with shippers, drastically lowering their transport expenses.

* Reduced Carbon Emissions: Consolidating stops reduces fuel consumption, making deliveries greener.

The best part? The Eighth Notch operates as a middleware platform, seamlessly fitting into existing systems without requiring merchants or carriers to overhaul their operations.

Why It Works

Unlike traditional shipping aggregators that focus on rate shopping across multiple carriers, The Eighth Notch zeroes in on optimizing deliveries within a single carrier’s network. This eliminates the complexity of comparing costs across carriers and instead focuses on building density within one network.

Here’s how it works:

1. Data Gathering: T8N pulls shipment data, including destination addresses, promised delivery dates, and warehouse details.

2. Real-Time Coordination: The platform looks for other packages heading to the same location or nearby.

3. Actionable Insights: T8N sends instructions back to the shipper, such as “ship today” or “hold for an additional day.”

4. Cost Savings and Sustainability: By reducing the number of delivery stops, carriers save money and reduce emissions.

The carrier can then share those savings with the shipper. Add it all up, and everyone wins: the carrier, the retailer, and the environment.

Breaking New Ground with Green Delivery Options

The Eighth Notch also offers a massive untapped opportunity for retailers: enabling sustainable shipping choices at checkout. For instance, customers could select a “green shipping” option, agreeing to wait a day or two longer if it means their delivery will be bundled with others.

This taps into growing consumer demand for environmentally friendly shopping. In fact, Jamie is already working with retailers to roll out sustainability options in their eCommerce systems.

The beauty of this approach is that it doesn’t sacrifice speed for sustainability. As Jamie puts it: “Speed and sustainability aren’t mutually exclusive.”

Looking Ahead

The Eighth Notch isn’t stopping at individual addresses. Jamie envisions future expansions into proximity-based merges, where shipments to entire neighborhoods, subdivisions, or business parks are synchronized. There’s also room to expand internationally, particularly in regions like Europe and Australia, where sustainability initiatives are already strong.

The company is also exploring ways to smooth out delivery peaks—like the crush of online orders carriers receive after a weekend. By spreading deliveries more evenly across the week, carriers could reduce costs further and improve operational efficiency.

What’s Next for eCommerce Logistics?

Jamie’s vision for The Eighth Notch could redefine what’s possible in eCommerce delivery. It’s not just about saving a few dollars on shipping costs. It’s about rethinking the entire system—making it smarter, greener, and more collaborative.

As demand for efficient, sustainable shipping continues to grow, these kinds of innovations will play a critical role in shaping the future of retail. Whether you’re an eCommerce merchant, a 3PL, or a logistics professional, it’s clear that platforms like The Eighth Notch are driving meaningful change at a time when the industry desperately needs it.

Ready to rethink your shipping strategy? Learn more about The Eighth Notch on their website - https://t8notch.com

To learn more, check out the related THE eCommerce EDGE Podcast episode below: