Uber Freight expands last-mile capabilities through new partnership and investment in Better Trucks

Earlier this week, Chicago-based Uber Freight, an enterprise technology company powering intelligent logistics, with a suite of end-to-end logistics applications, managed services and an expansive carrier network, said it has entered into what it called an “expanded commercial partnership” with Hillside, Ill.-based Better Trucks, a last-mile delivery platform focused on digital commerce, for tens of millions of packages annually for retail and e-commerce shippers.

Uber Freight officials said that through this partnership the company will be able to take advantage of Better Trucks’ services, including technology, operational capability, and scaled delivery network, so it can expand its last-mile service offerings—and also enable its customers be able to extend delivery from its store or fulfillment locations to consumers’ residences.

What’s more, Uber Freight added that, as part of this partnership, it made a strategic investment into Better Trucks, which it said helps to grow and expands its End-to-End Logistics offering that it said consolidates and optimizes shipping needs from first-mile procurement to final doorstep delivery, in addition to strengthening Uber Freight’s last-mile portfolio, which also includes Uber Eats, Uber Direct, and Uber Freight.    

“This strategic investment will allow us to immediately enhance our delivery solutions for shippers,” said Rebecca Tinucci, CEO of Uber Freight. “Better Trucks’ track record in efficient, tech-driven solutions, combined with their expanding network, enables us to offer our customers unparalleled speed and flexibility. Uber and Uber Freight have pioneered asset-lite logistics, and this further demonstrates how we can deliver tremendous value to our customers through partnerships in technology and operations.”

Uber Freight highlighted various benefits of this partnership for its customers, including:

• Expanded Last-Mile Capabilities: Uber Freight customers can extend delivery from their store or fulfillment locations directly to consumers’ doorsteps with enhanced efficiency, real-time visibility, and reliability;
• True End-to-End: This partnership builds on Uber Freight’s End-to-End offering, which consolidates and optimizes shipping needs from first-mile procurement to final doorstep delivery; and
• Broad Coverage: This partnership expands Uber Freight’s asset-light network, now covering approximately 68% of the U.S. population, delivering greater consistency, transparency, and cost-efficiency

Marie Druckenmiller, Senior Director of Strategy & Planning, Last Mile at Uber Freight, told LM that Uber Freight has been working with Better Trucks for more than a year in a traditional supplier relationship, and during that time it became clear that Better Trucks’ technology, infrastructure, and operational expertise were a powerful complement to Uber Freight’s network.  

“As e-commerce volumes grow and shippers look for and expect more consistent, faster, and better tracked last-mile delivery, we saw an opportunity to deepen the relationship,” said Druckenmiller. “This strategic investment formalizes what we’ve already seen in practice: combining Better Trucks’ capabilities with Uber Freight’s end-to-end network creates more reliability, speed, and coverage heading into peak season and beyond.”

When asked how this partnership has been received by Uber Freight’s customers, Druckenmiller said that the response has been positive, noting it gives shippers immediate access to Better Trucks’ last mile network, sortation infrastructure, and advanced technology: features like address validation, geocoding, and routing optimization that directly improve first-attempt delivery success.

And she added that its coverage now reaches around 68% of the U.S. population, and customers get real-time visibility through Better Trucks’ integrations. By consolidating more of their shipping needs with a single end-to-end provider, shippers gain more transparency and efficiency across their last-mile operations, she observed.

As for what Uber Freight’s last-mile roadmap will look like going forward as a result of this partnership, she said this partnership accelerates the company’s roadmap to be a full supply chain orchestrator, connecting the first, middle and last mile through one intelligent, asset-light network.  

“Over the coming year, we plan to deepen our integration with Better Trucks, expand into additional high-density markets, and further enhance the technology that powers routing intelligence, tracking, and network planning,” she said. “Longer-term, this partnership positions Uber Freight to serve shippers of all sizes, designed to provide a more flexible, reliable, and cost-efficient last-mile solution, while maintaining the adaptability of an asset-light model as we continue to grow.”

Better Trucks Founder Andy Whiting noted that this partnership and investment bring new scale and opportunity to what Better Trucks has always done: serve shippers from the distribution center to the doorstep

“Our shared vision for a more intelligent and efficient logistics network is at the heart of this collaboration,” he said. “We continue to bring our agile and flexible delivery solutions to our clients and now an even broader customer base, helping them meet the growing demands of the e-commerce landscape.”