Home
Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
New posts
Latest activity
Members
Current visitors
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Home
Forums
The Competition
FedEx Discussions
Fred is Hedging His Bet
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Ricochet1a" data-source="post: 876192" data-attributes="member: 22880"><p>In regards to Express keeping its "service" orientation/reputation going, FedEx isn't worried about it.</p><p></p><p>Right now, there is a "race to the bottom" - provide the minimal service for a price the customer is willing to pay which allows the greatest profit margin. </p><p></p><p>Everyone knows what has happened to airline service in the past 10 years, service has progressively gotten worse, and things which used to be included as part of a ticket purchase are now additional fees. Have luggage to check, pay an additional fee, need a paper boarding pass, pay a fee, change your departure time, pay a BIG fee. </p><p></p><p>The primary reason for this is the competition provided by the electronic booking services (Orbitz, Travelocity, etc). A potential customer can pull up quotations for air travel via all carriers, and they more often than not decide which carrier to use based solely on the lowest price shown on the screen (then they complain when they have to pay those fees). </p><p></p><p>Getting back to shipping....</p><p></p><p>The same phenomena is going in the shipping world. Customers that go to non-FedEx locations can get price quotes for UPS, FedEx and the USPS all at the same time. They more often than not choose based on bottom line price. Express is now trying to compete on that basis - whereas in the past, Express only concerned itself with being "competitive", not the absolute lowest price for a given service level. </p><p></p><p>Even large customers now have software which allows them to pull up quotes for both UPS and FedEx at the same time. They're not stupid, they will utilize the carrier which will provide the lowest price quote for the service level they desire (transit time). If you do a pick up route and have a customer which has both volume for UPS and Express - you know what is going on. This is why in the program which had Couriers give sales leads (can't remember the name, it has been awhile for me), pointedly told Couriers to look for UPS volume at locations which use Express. This would be a key indicator to sales to "sharpen their pencil" (give a better shipping rate) to that customer in future contract negotiations. The Courier wouldn't get a single penny for that "strategic information", but sales would use it to judge how good of a deal to give that customer in the future. </p><p></p><p><u>How that package moves through the systems of a potential carrier isn't a concern for the shipper, only the price and getting to the location at the time specified in the shipping quote. </u>This is why FedEx isn't worried about moving non-overnight volume over to Ground for final delivery in the future - as long as the volume is delivered and the consignee receives their items on time, what does it matter that a different company makes the final delivery? Look up Smartpost and the UPS branded system where they utilize USPS for final delivery of volume - it is the "wave" of the future. </p><p></p><p>The other thing that is driving this is that the USPS is in the process of tanking right now. Congress will have to bail the USPS out, but FedEx is looking to position itself to take as much volume from USPS as possible. Competing on the basis of price and not service level will enable FedEx to grab a chunk of the shipping market - I've already posted on this topic. </p><p></p><p>The changes that are going on within Express right now aren't accidental. The frog is in the kettle of water and the heat just got turned up. What are you going to do about it? (Other than complain here). </p><p></p><p><a href="http://www.teamster.org/content/organizing-assistance-request-form" target="_blank">http://www.teamster.org/content/organizing-assistance-request-form</a></p><p></p><p><a href="http://fedxmx.com/sites/fedxmx.com/files/FedEx_RepresentationCard.pdf" target="_blank">http://fedxmx.com/sites/fedxmx.com/files/FedEx_RepresentationCard.pdf</a></p><p></p><p></p><p>[h=5]How do I become an organizer?[/h]Check with your local to see if it has an organizing program and sign up to be a volunteer member organizer. This will allow you to see an organizing campaign from the inside and gain experience if you wish to work for the union as a full-time organizer. If your local doesn't have an organizing program, check with your Joint Council and volunteer to help out on one of the Teamsters national organizing campaigns. If you have organizing experience and want to work for the Teamsters Organizing Department, you can send your resume to:</p><p><strong>Organizing Department</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>International Brotherhood of Teamsters</strong></p><p><strong>25 Louisiana Ave. N.W.</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>Washington, D.C. 20001</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p>---------------</p><p></p><p>Take note the emphasis on "volunteer" member - you are strictly a volunteer unless you have substantial experience with labor organizing.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Ricochet1a, post: 876192, member: 22880"] In regards to Express keeping its "service" orientation/reputation going, FedEx isn't worried about it. Right now, there is a "race to the bottom" - provide the minimal service for a price the customer is willing to pay which allows the greatest profit margin. Everyone knows what has happened to airline service in the past 10 years, service has progressively gotten worse, and things which used to be included as part of a ticket purchase are now additional fees. Have luggage to check, pay an additional fee, need a paper boarding pass, pay a fee, change your departure time, pay a BIG fee. The primary reason for this is the competition provided by the electronic booking services (Orbitz, Travelocity, etc). A potential customer can pull up quotations for air travel via all carriers, and they more often than not decide which carrier to use based solely on the lowest price shown on the screen (then they complain when they have to pay those fees). Getting back to shipping.... The same phenomena is going in the shipping world. Customers that go to non-FedEx locations can get price quotes for UPS, FedEx and the USPS all at the same time. They more often than not choose based on bottom line price. Express is now trying to compete on that basis - whereas in the past, Express only concerned itself with being "competitive", not the absolute lowest price for a given service level. Even large customers now have software which allows them to pull up quotes for both UPS and FedEx at the same time. They're not stupid, they will utilize the carrier which will provide the lowest price quote for the service level they desire (transit time). If you do a pick up route and have a customer which has both volume for UPS and Express - you know what is going on. This is why in the program which had Couriers give sales leads (can't remember the name, it has been awhile for me), pointedly told Couriers to look for UPS volume at locations which use Express. This would be a key indicator to sales to "sharpen their pencil" (give a better shipping rate) to that customer in future contract negotiations. The Courier wouldn't get a single penny for that "strategic information", but sales would use it to judge how good of a deal to give that customer in the future. [U]How that package moves through the systems of a potential carrier isn't a concern for the shipper, only the price and getting to the location at the time specified in the shipping quote. [/U]This is why FedEx isn't worried about moving non-overnight volume over to Ground for final delivery in the future - as long as the volume is delivered and the consignee receives their items on time, what does it matter that a different company makes the final delivery? Look up Smartpost and the UPS branded system where they utilize USPS for final delivery of volume - it is the "wave" of the future. The other thing that is driving this is that the USPS is in the process of tanking right now. Congress will have to bail the USPS out, but FedEx is looking to position itself to take as much volume from USPS as possible. Competing on the basis of price and not service level will enable FedEx to grab a chunk of the shipping market - I've already posted on this topic. The changes that are going on within Express right now aren't accidental. The frog is in the kettle of water and the heat just got turned up. What are you going to do about it? (Other than complain here). [URL]http://www.teamster.org/content/organizing-assistance-request-form[/URL] [URL]http://fedxmx.com/sites/fedxmx.com/files/FedEx_RepresentationCard.pdf[/URL] [h=5]How do I become an organizer?[/h]Check with your local to see if it has an organizing program and sign up to be a volunteer member organizer. This will allow you to see an organizing campaign from the inside and gain experience if you wish to work for the union as a full-time organizer. If your local doesn't have an organizing program, check with your Joint Council and volunteer to help out on one of the Teamsters national organizing campaigns. If you have organizing experience and want to work for the Teamsters Organizing Department, you can send your resume to: [B]Organizing Department International Brotherhood of Teamsters 25 Louisiana Ave. N.W. Washington, D.C. 20001 [/B] --------------- Take note the emphasis on "volunteer" member - you are strictly a volunteer unless you have substantial experience with labor organizing. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Home
Forums
The Competition
FedEx Discussions
Fred is Hedging His Bet
Top