UPS vs FED EX

[peacock71]

WKMAC:

Just to continue...I had to do some research today in some lofty business pubs like Harvard Business Review. In every one were full page, prominent ads for UPS 'What can Brown do for you'
services. It is clear to me that UPS is marketing to logistics savvy, large business customers, and focusing on their executive management. These are the same people who vote us 'most admired' every year. Also, our retail strategy with MBE allows us to charge individuals for the true cost and value of our service and to even reap a little profit if they insist on FEDEX. UPS is focused on a high yield strategy while not leaving out the small shipper and the individual. FEDEX is trying to cut our legs out from under us by cream skimming the ground. This is a significant threat to the way UPS does business for sure, but UPS has risen to the occasion on significant threats before. I hope for the best, especially if the logistics and finance businesses start to accelerate when the economoy improves.

Go UPS!
P71

(OK I'm an IT person)

 

[dannyboy]

Johnny B

Let me give you an example.

Tennessee Eastman. Was part of the Kodak thing, but they make all the fine chemicals, not the film etc. The main plant is several thousand acres, 90 miles of paved roads, 60 miles of rail, has its own power plant, fire department, police force, hospital etc, a small city. The POST OFFICE gave them the zip of 37662. That is the right of the post office to do. They own exclusive rights to the Zip code. THat was in the 60's. Fast forward to 2000. Somewhere in the vast chain of faceless, nameless managers employed by UPS, someone came up with the notion that since there are no public streets associated with 37662, it must be a bad zip. Therefor, all packages coming into the Eastman plant gets a charge of 5 dollars. And we will hire someone that knows nothing about UPS and its heritage to do this. And threaten them with job loss if they do not produce(same with the OS audit clerks). In the case of the Eastman, the revenue generated could go as high as 300,000 per year just for the zip code addy scam. Now if eastman was paying the tab on this, they would pitch a fit. But it is the vendors that get stuck with the charges. And most of them do NOT have the time to spend on the phone to get these charges removed.

Then when you figure we add a 10 dollar charge for NDA... well you get the picture. You think that is why our ground volume has been cut in half, and the air volume is just a joke. I might have 15 per day now where I used to have 60 or more. And the letters, I used to have a tote box full every day, now just 3-6. FDX got most of it. And the local companies find that they can send someone by cheaper than to pay all those charges.

I just think that it is VERY short sighted to follow this path. I aggree to getting all the $$ that we are owed, but to focus on more money per package at the expense of growing the buisness is foolhardy. And the last I heard about it, revenue was up while the package volume was flat. So how do you accomplish this feat? You charge more for each package that you handle. And THAT is why we are cutting our own throats with many of the business that we are loosing.

Another one is AFG glass. Multi-national company that we used to have. Guess why we lost all that international air volume? Bingo.

But then I am just a dumb delivery driver, what the heck do I know about how business is done!

d

 

[slim]

Lets not forget that once that package gets address corrected, it also loses its service guarantee. So now a nda addy correction justs gets thrown in the load with the grounds. what can brown do for you????

 

[rushfan]

We have had the same problem here. A major corporation here has their own zip. The area around the company's headquarters is not the same zip. Add some "clerks" with ring scanners and digital cameras-bingo extra revenue. It took about 2 weeks to correct the problem. There is nothing like going into that corporation's mailroom and trying to explain what the extra charge was on their bill.

P.S. I don't do add corrections in the DIAD.

 

[whatsthetune]

I'm coming to this thread pretty far into it, but...

Address corrections...should be done correctly, on zips, and no, should not be done on DIAD. This process changed two years ago because drivers were actually inputting address corrections at the consignee location...after the packages had gotten all the way to the right address!! Drivers should never have been allowed to ad cor, imho.

Phones centers...don't forget that Fedex has a phone center too. They don't have in-house either. Phone center volume is down 50% in the last couple of years due to internet tracking, proactive delivery notification software, etc. I know of no one who thinks it was better in the old days where different people "in charge" of customer communications would all have different rules and information depending on what part of the country you were in. Standardization and cost control are good. Eventually phone centers will have almost zero involvement with our customers as everyone becomes more integrated.

Fedex taking our volume...yes it is largely price related right now. They do undercut us on both published and discounted rates. They have lower costs, even though we are more productive. Their productivity will be increasing dramatically as they get better delivery density (our pkgs); will ours? We have plans to become much better in sporh, preload and hub next year to help combat the negative trends. Will most of the folks on this board and with the company be with it or against it? Some productitivy improvements are going to be related to DPS/EDR, which automates the driver's day. Dispatched pkgs are already in the board. No dream...already in some locations and rolling out everywhere within 2 years. Demonstrated to-date improvements for a center are 1 sporh and 10 pph preload. And, the drivers can't "forget" to record pkgs, reducing our claims cost further and boosting customer satisfaction. Bottom line, we have to get better to lower our costs if we expect to continue to pay management and hourly industry-best.

Service levels...contrary to some postings here, service, as measured by time in transit, has never been better. Service failures at the corporate level are down 35 - 40% October vs. January and this year was 30% better than last through October. Can we be better? Absolutely. Look for even bigger gains in service next year with advancing technology and controls.

Lastly, reputation of customer service vs. Fedex. Whoever stated that they are better is referencing old data. Our Fortune ranking and numerous studies, including a major report this summer from an investment house, say that UPS is far superior to Fedex in virtually every measured category. But are we worth the extra money we charge over them? Time will tell.

Our future is tied to relying on value-added services, not just humping boxes. The Brown campaign is just another step to reducing reliance on brute labor and moving into the supply chain with other non-labor-intense products and services.

Sorry to go long...interesting topics.

 

[proups]

whatsthetune: I could not have said it better.

 

[deliver_man]

Address corrections...should be done correctly, on zips, and no, should not be done on DIAD. This process changed two years ago because drivers were actually inputting address corrections at the consignee location...after the packages had gotten all the way to the right address!! Drivers should never have been allowed to ad cor, imho.

This was done entirely at the direction of the company, it wasn't our idea. We were instructed to put adress corrections in the diad even if we knew the correct adress of the consignee and actually delivered the package. It was pretty clearly a revenue collection issue, UPS wanted to make service on the package AND collect the adress correction charge. In my bld. they even had contests to with prizes going to the drivers who had the most on-route addy corrections, I believe 1st prize was a $500 gift certificate at Home Depot. Of course that was consistently won by the drivers with the most office buildings on their routes, they just put every missing suite number in as an addy correction.

 

[whatsthetune]

"This was done entirely at the direction of the company, it wasn't our idea."

Didn't say it was the drivers' idea, just a bad one.

 

[dannyboy]

So explain to me what the added value is for Tennessee Eastman. What are we giving them for their $5.oo and $10.00 zip code corrections? THey have been useing this same zip since zips were invented. And only UPS seems to have a problem with that issue, none of the other carriers are doing this "revenue enhancement". I aggree to give added value to the customer is a must in todays business environment. But are we, or just looking at the bottom line.

OR how about spending 70,000 to reloop a center. Made the main street the base line. Every time you add or delete a run, the business on the base line get delivery times and P/U times changed. And in many cases, they get the pickups before they get their deliveries. So how does that add value? I figure these miscues have cost our center well over 2500-4000 packages per month, and probably more.

d

 

[tieguy]

I honestly think the push for address corrections has never been about revenue but about getting the package to the right address the first time. Along the way its possible some have gotten and sold the wrong message. If we could get all customers to correct their address base then it would significantly reduce handles and improve our service.

 

[rushfan]

Hey Deliver Man

I'm Jealous. $500.00 to Home Depot. The prize in our area was only a DVD player.

 

[johnny_b]

danny: My father's zip code? 37660. His former company? Tennessee Eastman. (He was laid off) He still lives there (god only know why, my father can't explain it).

I'm somewhere between you and wkmac.

As far as the addy correction thing goes, it embarrasses me to find myself associated with people who were gouging customers like that. I really hate how short-sided some of the ways people earn bonuses are.

 

[dannyboy]

Tieguy

You are NOT listening. Revenue enhancements is a term used by management for what they are doing. THat is the ONLY reason that they do these addy corrections. THese companies have never had a problem getting their stuff, I know Ive been there 30 years. So please, give me a break, what you think is not the issue. What is the issue is what they are doing and why. Outside of being able to do it at will, there is no other reason given for their actions. And the outside revenue auditors that they hire just salivate at all that job security. They dont care if we gain or lose volume, its not their business.

JB, This area is a wonderful area really......like any where else, it has its pluses and negatives. But for now it is home!

d

 

[tieguy]

I'm sorry you have one perspective I have another. I've been there I've worked with the clerks doing the address corrections I have strong feelings that fixing the address problems will improve our service. So yes what I think does matter.

 

[peacock71]

It has always been somewhat of an absurdity to me to view Address Corrections as a source of revenue, and up until recently that was the case. Brighter minds at UPS now focus on getting the correct address on the package, the first time. That is worth far more money in our operations, and better for the customers. UPS address validation systems will do far more for UPS profits than making money off AC surcharges. Nevertheless, the process for making, billing, and getting the AC info back to the customers should be smooth and efficient.

Go UPS!
P71

 

[dannyboy]

Tieguy, that is my point. Their address IS CORRECT. Allways has been. And only UPS seems to have a problem with that. So explain to me, how do you fix an address that is not broke?

d

 

[upsdude]

If the "correct" address is on my area (or VERY close), I deliver the package and record the address as it is listed on the package and use "Left At" in the DIAD. Giving the package to a clerk will only delay the delivery. I do think that we need our corrected labels to have something like "This Package was incorrectly addressed by the shipper. UPS has corrected the address for safe delivery". I've had folks look at the address correction label and think it is the original.

 

[lr1937]

Is an address correction similar to BEATING A DEAD HORSE???

 

[rushfan]

Hey upsdude

I do the same thing in my DIAD. The sup. may not like it, but the end result-pkg. not delayed.

 

[wvbrown]

There will always be a few bad apples (union & company)but the truth about address corrections is:UPS and automation want work without having the correct address.When UPS gets done with the smart label, as the pkg. travels through hubs it will transfer pkg. to correct outbound feeder and data to the del. center and the preload will know how heavy each route will be for dispatch.They will also know which pkg. car to load it on. Bottom line no incorrect addresses equals zero missorts and misloads! Volume goes up stock goes up ( good for union and company ). Bad for FEDX. } PS work with your customers to correct their address.