June 27, 2009
The intention of my next several posts is to provide distinctions of the different types of parcel shippers. I am doing this for several reasons:
- Parcel shippers and readers of this blog can identify themselves and their needs.
- Once identified, they can see what others in their category typically do and discover ideas for saving on shipping that are suitable for them.
- Technology companies that offer shipping software can also use this to segment the market and design appropriate solutions with the features and price points for that segment.
The first category is the Consumer— someone who occasional ships a package. In the parcel industry, the consumer shipper is sometimes referred to as the gift shipper because they are typically someone who only ships when they have a gift to send. These are some of the characteristics of consumer shippers:
- This is the single largest group of shippers.
- Most of them ship by going to the US Post Office and paying for postage over the counter.
- If they don’t go to the Post Office, they go to a UPS store and have their packages packed.
- Convenience is the most important benefit they seek in shipping.
- Consumer shippers pay the most for shipping a package; most pay retail or higher.
- Many consumer shippers pay for services they don’t need because of their ignorance about options available. For example, they pay for second day or next day service when a ground package could get there the same day or sooner for a fraction of the cost.
Taylor’s Tips for Consumer Shippers
- Ship online and save.
- Compare services.
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Shipping for Beginners, Taylor's Tips | Tagged: parcel shipping, UPS, USPS | 
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Posted by mtaylortec
June 20, 2009
One of the challenges shippers face is making decisions about, well about everything—processes, technology, carriers, rates, etc… regarding their shipping operation. Circumstances change depending on the type of shipping. For example, if you ship from an office, you have different needs than if you ship from a warehouse.
All shippers are not alike. Too many shipping vendors try to have a one size fits all solution—from carriers to software companies. My contention is that if you can find yourself on a map, you can increase the likelihood of getting what you need to be as efficient as possible. Shippers needs differ. By creating a map you can make sense of your segment and get a better solution.
I got this idea to create a map of shipping operations from of my favorite authors, Ken Wilber. Ken is a contemporary American philosopher that has written dozens of books including, A Theory of Everything. In this book, he says “What is the point of using this Integral Map? First, the Integral Map helps make sure that you are “touching all the bases.” If you are trying to fly over the Rocky Mountains, the more accurate a map you have, the less likely you will crash. An Integral Approach ensures that you are utilizing the full range of resources for any situation, with the greater likelihood of success.”
So that you don’t make a mistake shipping and crash, I am going to use this approach to map out the territory for parcel shippers in a series of posts. Today, l will lay out 13 different kinds of parcel shippers.
- Consumer—occasional ships a package
- Mobile worker—works for a large corporation but from home
- eBayer—sells products part time on ebay or amazon.com
- SOHO—small office, home office
- Internet retailer—has a website and ships product to customers
- Office—ships a small volume, mostly urgent envelopes and an occasional package
- Legal—ships documents
- Mailroom—processes envelopes mostly but needs to ship urgent envelopes and packages
- Warehouse—a distribution center or manufacturer that ships packages weighing less than 150 pounds
- 3PL—third party logistics company that fulfills and ships products for multiple companies.
- Campus—university or corporation with multiple shipping points on a campus type environment
- Multi-Warehouse—a company that has multiple distribution facilities
- Global—an organization with multiple shipping points globally
What kind of shipping operation do you have? Does one of these categories cover your type of shipping? Let me know if I missed a category and stay tuned as I will detail some of the different need of each type of shipper.
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Amazon, eBay | Tagged: integral shipping, parcel shipping | 
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Posted by mtaylortec
June 12, 2009
Are you frustrated by problems that are plaguing your parcel operation?
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Get some fresh new ideas. This year’s PARCEL Forum will feature a workshop for parcel executives to think and work together about how they can tackle their most serious issues.
In a trusted and confidential setting, this half-day workshop (up to14) company presidents and key executives in the parcel industry will help each other tackle the most challenging issues they face in running and growing their operations. I will be professionally facilitating this meeting and guide both the content and flow to ensure that every member receives the maximum return on the time they invest. It will entail a candid give-and-take, where trusted peers ask each other tough, in-depth questions that get to the heart of any shipping or operational problem they are facing. As part of this confidential meeting, members receive direct and honest feedback and derive actionable ideas that they want to and are expected to implement.
For more information, please call 212.867.5849.
Special Note: Only 14 seats available and participants must be pre-screened and sign a confidentiality agreement.
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Logistics, Shipping Challenge | Tagged: Parcel Forum | 
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Posted by mtaylortec
May 30, 2009
In my last post, I shared a real life example of a company that could have saved over $2,000 on shipping. I explained that ground service was guaranteed and would arrive at the same time as 3 Day Select for specific zip codes. I asked him if he would begin to compare rates and his response is astonishing—yet one I have heard too many times. He said no.
“Why?” I asked.
“Because we bill our customer for the shipping charge.” He responded.
“But you could save the customer 50% on those packages.” I replied.
“It doesn’t matter; it is too much of a hassle to change and it doesn’t save us any money.”
I see his point. Yet this is a serious problem. The carrier is the only one that benefits from this scenario. Why should he change? Why should he try to set up a system to compare service levels if it does not save his company any money?
What do you think?
1 Comment | Reduce shipping costs, Saving on shipping, UPS | Tagged: ground parcels, parcel shipping, Reduce shipping costs, save on shipping, UPS, ups shipping | Permalink
Posted by mtaylortec
May 24, 2009
Last week I was working with a CEO that was concerned about the profitability of his company. As I was searching for different ways to help him, I asked to look at a month’s worth of his UPS bills. He spends about $1,000 a day; however, on one day I noticed that he did $5,000. There were 100 packages that were shipped 3 day select. He explained that he shipped a large order for one of his clients. I began to look at the places where the packages were sent and noticed that more than half of them were sent to zip codes where the packages would have been received the same day or sooner if they had selected ground service.
Please take a look at the example in the picture. This 20 pound package arrives at end of the day Friday whether it is shipped ground service or 3 day select. The only difference is the price. The 3 day select package is $27.20; the ground package is $11.93.
Why pay double for the same service?
I asked that question and the response was that 3 day select is guaranteed to get there. Ground is also guaranteed! UPS and FedEx both guarantee that the package will be delivered on time or your money back. It is the same guarantee for both services.
My tip is to compare the service levels and you will substantially reduce your shipping costs!
2 Comments | Saving on shipping, Shipping Tips, UPS, Uncategorized | Tagged: Save on Parcel Shipping, Taylor's Tips, UPS | Permalink
Posted by mtaylortec
May 10, 2009
Is your shipping fragmented amongst different systems? Do you realize it could be costing you hundreds of thousands of dollars?
A Logistics News article, “The 10 Indicators You May Need a Multi-carrier Shipping System“, speaks to a major problem that many companies face. Reason #6 is “Fragmented parcel processes and automation through multiple departmental solutions.”
Here is the problem: companies have a sophisticated intelligent parcel shipping system in the warehouse and they don’t use it throughout their company. The front office processes overnight envelopes using the carrier’s website. The mailroom has a carrier’s free shipping system. The corporate office uses a different carrier system. The process for shipping is fragmented throughout the organization.
The result is that nobody has a handle on all the shipping costs and huge sums of money of money are wasted. I have seen many examples where the warehouse manager or VP of logistics has negotiated a great discount from a carrier for the warehouse and other offices of the same company are paying 50% more to ship with a different carrier. One hand doesn’t know what the other is doing.
According to the article, “The total savings opportunities from gaining visibility to these volumes across the enterprise and optimizing decisions about the best shipping method can be huge, and often much more than anyone in the company fully understands. Savings in the hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars per year are not uncommon for large companies.”
The solution is to utilize shipping technology that can work with your entire company, regardless of location.
Leave a Comment » | Multi-Carrier, Reduce shipping costs, Saving on shipping | Permalink
Posted by mtaylortec
January 5, 2009
The largest percentage increase in ground parcel rates from both UPS and FedEx go into effect today. While they announced that the average increase is 5.9%, it is important to know that this is only an average. Certain weights and zones are much higher.
What can you do about it?
- Minimize surcharges; the cost to ship to a residence is 30% more than a business. Ship your package to your recipients’ office rather than home.
- Compare rates with other carriers; look at the cost to ship the package with the USPS or regional carriers. It could be as much as 50% less
- Get a discount; if you have a discount, now may be the time to reassess your rates. If you want a professional analysis of whether you are getting the discounts that you deserve, let me know.
- Eliminate mistakes; the cost of an address correction has increased by $2 or 33%. It will cost you $8 extra if you don’t have the address correct. Use the carrier’s website or third party software to validate the address.
- Ship it with a cheaper service; ship it ground instead of express. Compare delivery times and days.
Leave a Comment » | FedEx, Saving on shipping, Taylor's Tips, UPS, USPS | Tagged: FedEx, Reduce shipping costs, save on shipping, UPS, USPS | Permalink
Posted by mtaylortec
December 20, 2008
I am on vacation with my family in Brazil.
For procrastinators, the US Post Office will be open on Christmas Eve and does deliver Express Mail on Christmas Day.
I wish you a happy holiday and will return next year.
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Posted by mtaylortec
December 15, 2008
Thinking of going to the Post Office today to ship your packages? 960 million pieces will be processed today, making it the busiest day of the year, according to the USPS.
Wednesday, December 17, will be the busiest delivery day. This validates that the average delivery time for USPS Priority Mail is two days.
If you want to avoid the lines, try shipping online. You can even save some money.
The following are some sites that you can process postage online, obtain discounts, and get free Delivery Confirmation with Priority Mail—a $.65 value.
For about $15 a month, and a 30 day free trial, you can get a subscription at the following:
www.endicia.com
www.stamps.com
and for no cost, with limited options, you can try
www.usps.com
Leave a Comment » | USPS | Tagged: Add new tag, parcel shipping, us post office, US Post Office discounts, USPS | Permalink
Posted by mtaylortec
