Front and Center

Gasoline Pipeline Hack
Good news, gasoline is once again flowing through the Colonial Pipeline. The most recent victim of a ransomware cyber-attack that locked their systems and caused gasoline to stop flowing, Colonial Pipeline Co. was pressured to cough up nearly $5 million in cryptocurrency to hacker group, DarkSide (believed to be based in Eastern Europe, tho it could’ve been Al Gore). 

Although at first publicly declaring that they would not pay, the company caved after a few hours, when faced with potential mass shortages of gasoline and jet fuel for major cities along the East Coast of the United States.

What do gasoline pipelines do anyway?
Pipelines transfer crude oil to refineries, so that they can turn them into gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel, propane, and more types of oil-based products. Pipelines are also used to transfer gasoline from refineries to major cities. The Colonial Pipeline, in particular, transports gasoline directly to dozens of giant tanks across the Southeast. From there, smaller fuel trucks haul up to 8,000 gallons to individual gas stations.

What’s the damage?
At the time of writing, 74 percent of North Carolina gas stations do not have a fuel supply, and there are shortages in southern Virginia, the Carolinas, Georgia and Tennessee. There is not a shortage of gasoline; rather, refineries are unable to get gasoline to North Carolina and these areas. Due to this, the average gas prices have topped $3 for the first time since October 2014. This has also caused mass panic-buying, long lines, shortages, and worst of all, so many dad jokes about “their gas pipelines being wide open????”.

Back of the Packet

Supply Chain Outages
CNN has put together a list of product shortages that are plaguing the global economy. From ketchup packets to chlorine, you can find the list here

FedEx E-Commerce Learning Lab
On Thursday, FedEx announced the launch of their new learning program designed to help diverse small business owners develop their e-commerce operations. The program includes free resources for entreprenuers, in addition to providing access to capital, networks and coaching. 

Colt 45, I CHOOSE YOU!
Apparently the trading card industry has experienced an immense boon as of late, where trading cards like Sports, Magic: The Gathering, and Pokémon cards have become so sought after that stores can’t keep up with demand. Not to mention, companies that estimate the worth of trading cards have received and graded “avalanches of cards” over the past year.

Despite the long lines of customers waiting hours to buy, Target has recently announced that they will no longer be selling the trading cards, due to a fight that broke out at a Target in Brookfield, Wisconsin. Police were called when a witness saw one man pull a gun. The other man pulled a Charizard card. It was highly effective. Nobody was hurt.

Cool Online Brand of the Week
Call Winnie the Pooh. Since launching only a couple months ago in February 2021, OC Luxury Picnics has disrupted the picnic space, with more than 60 gatherings ranging from a romantic dinner for 2, to an outdoor boba-themed picnic of 20. The founder has since become excited at the idea of starting a fully-fledged business that does not need a brick-and-mortar location. At this time, they only service the lucky folks in Orange County, CA, but this business illustrates the ingenuity of entrepreneurs that turn a side-hustle into a $30,000 venture.

ShipHero News

Brexit… not the Harry/Megan saga, the real one.
In this article, we dive into Brexit’s overall effect on your ecommerce business operations, and the 4 things you need to know when shipping to and from the UK. 

Shipping Dumbbells
Shipping heavy items shouldn’t cost you its weight in gold. For tips and tricks on how to make shipping heavy items cheaper, check out our recent blog post here.

Big news: ShipHero is hiring! 
We’re looking for exceptional people to join our exceptional team. Like who you work with, enjoy what you do, and find your path to success in the skyrocketing field of ecommerce.
Check out our available roles and apply today!