Thursday, August 27, 2015

What Can 'Blue' Do For You?

When
it comes to parcel delivery in the U.S., many supply chain managers have an
instinctive reaction that includes just two sources – FedEx and UPS. While this
may be fine with the “duopoly,” it overlooks a significant competitor who can
provide the two corporate giants with some much-needed competition, and give
shippers an edge over their own competition. Instead of just Brown and Purple,
think “Blue,” as in red, white and blue, the familiar (and oft-maligned) United
States Post Office. FedEx and UPS do – they use Post Office trucks for “last
mile” delivery on a regular basis, taking advantage of the ubiquity of the USPS
delivery trucks.

“We hit every address in the country, six days a week,” said Dennis Nicoski,
manager of field service and contracts for USPS, speaking to Supply Chain
Brain. Historically, first class mail was the backbone of Post Office revenue,
but Nicoski was frank about the prospects of that stream for the future. “We
don’t expect first class to come back, with electronic bill payment and email.
The Post Office needs package service to stay viable.”

The Post Office has worked to upgrade their small package offerings, with major
investments in improving tracking and shipment visibility in the last five
years. They proactively added Sunday delivery last holiday season to keep up
with surging demand, at a time when the duopoly was getting slammed for late
deliveries. The USPS efforts received a boost when FedEx and UPS went to DIM
weight pricing for all their shipments, amounting to a major backdoor price
increase.

“We’ve seen packages shift to us,” said Nicoski. “We had a very successful
2014,” with an 18 percent increase in volume over 2013. “We’re very well
prepared for 2015 (holiday shipping).” Looking ahead, USPS is sketching out the
mailbox of the future, which could include features such as larger size,
temperature control, and “smart” electronic notification.

There’s no need to wait for an uncertain future to expand your horizons on
small packages. When considering B2C service, why not see what Blue can do for
you? Kirk ShearerPresidentTOTALogistixwww.totalogistix.com800-989-0054 x103

About TOTALogistix

TOTALogistix is a privately held corporation headquartered in Sparta, NJ. We helped define the Third Party Logistics Industry in 1991. Today we provide a wide spectrum of transportation and related supply chain management services to manufacturers, retailers and distributors throughout North America.
In our 20+ years in business, we’ve saved money for nine out of ten companies whose transportation we’ve analyzed. We’re confident we can do the same for you. Improving logistics performance starts here.