Cracks in DHL's operation?

Anybody else here heard that DHL will suspend it's domestic overnight service? If true, and if drivers and service reps act quickly, it could be a real positive for all employed with BROWN. Nothing better than NDA letters for the creation of $$$$$.

Drivers, if it happens, let's not let the opportunity slip away while it's there.

I hadn't heard that one, but I did hear where they are going to spend close to 500 million this year to expand the ground and domestic services.

d

Sounds like a good plan, and if I wasn't already working 11 hour days, I would definately put in a lead.

Again with the “no new lead” policy, over9five? Well………. At least you are consistant!

the PCM today was that DHL is having technology problems servicing/routing packages to ohio and kentucky (i think), and that DHL is actually instructing their customers to go elsewhere.

I am consistantly over-dispatched too!

Touché, over9five……………

No, It will never happen. Overnight revenue is their bread and butter.

Yep the final puzzle piece is falling into place. With the additional volume we will finally be able to split off over95's dispatch into a second route.

Cracks in DHL Operations---yes there are!! But while they are willing to give up a little business in the U.S and restructure for future growth of the U.S. Market----they are buying up some large companies!!

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm...eutsche19.html

They just spent $6.5 BILLION on the aquisition of EXEL.UPS was looking to aquire them and got outbid by Deuche Post/DHL. They have deep-----deep pockets..as in the German Post Office and will continue to come after us---they will buy our customers business-------while we sit back and complain that we are overdispatched!! I have a solution for those who feel that they are overworked-----wait, complain, let our competitors( Fed Ex, DHL. USPS) buy our business from under us--than you will be complaining as to "How did UPS let this happen"?

tie, does that mean there is enough volume to dispatch another route plus 9.5 as well as keep his over 9.5.

Great!

dawg, if we are losing to our competitors it is being caused by management decisions and poor business development strategies far more than drivers complaining about over dispatch.

Same with going out of business, if it were to happen it would be because of management decisions, not from the worker's lack of effort.

Actually, in the thirty plus years I have been here, regardless whether the news of our competitors is good or bad, day in and day out the sky is still falling here and we are likely to go out of business.

This is despite record profits year after year, decade after decade.

You guys have to be drilled on this junk till you mumble it in your sleep.

Well, for the > 30 years that I have worked for UPS, we have always been concerned about competition----and it will never change!! Competition is not bad---it makes us better...everyone, management and hourly alike.

Regarding UPS making record profits---where do you think that we get the monies to aquire the Menlo Logistics/Overnite/Lynx companies--profit is not a bad thing....actually it is very good for "All" of us shareholders.

ok2bclever-------
dawg, if we are losing to our competitors it is being caused by management decisions and poor business development strategies far more than drivers complaining about over dispatch.

management decisions and poor BD?? How about the competition being able to charge/offer much lower rates because their costs are less--as in they don't have the burden of paying union wages and benefits---this is a poor UPS management decision that allows them to to that??

It is everyone's business to protect our current business and continue to grow it and keep our competitors from taking any more market share away from us.I remember REA--I remember the stacks of packages that customers had designated to be shipped REA and the UPS pile was 1 and 2 and than 5 and before you know it,we had it all and REA was a memory--I am not saying this to indicate that the sky is falling----but to "watch our back"!!

dawg, at no point have I ever said profits are bad.

Always, always management infers that for some reason.

Must be some guilt complex thing you all have, because I have no problem with profits and never have had.

Just the harping about "going out of business" or as you seem to be old enough, the old specific war cry of "going the way of the REA!" while increasing our profitability in the same year.

Every year.

Every decade.

Same thing, going out of business making more year after year.

Amazing luck!

So I do get tired of you guys calling wolf every single day.

The first word out of all of your mouths about anything you don't like regarding the employees is that we are going to go out of business to the competition.

It gets flat out sickening.

I guess you must have some stopped clock theory or some such.

Then you go and start chanting the second most frequent whine, the unfair union thing.

We have been unionized for decade after decade after decade after decade after decade competing against non-union competition and still we increase profits year after year while having to hear how we cannot compete because you have to pay us a decent wage and are going to go out of business.

A little originality sure would be nice.

My point is we bitch on the net to each other and we bitch to each other at work and we bitch to a select few friends outside of work and then we go out meet the public with a smile and a hard day of work and bring the profit home again.

Nothing changes there, but management does have the ability, far greater than the worker of putting us out of business with stupid short sighted decisions.

Like working the drivers too long, cranking the standards so high that supes get eyestrains fighting from rolling them until they actually significantly start undermining the workforce's ability to go out and do the job efficiently and cheerfully.

Too many decisions seem to be being made that look good on paper while causing massive and chronic service failures.

That could actually make the clock stop and it won't matter how many sales leads are turned in.

Hear, hear! Agree with Ok2s post 100%.

Sure there is Crack at the DHL operation. Have you tried to have a conversation with one of their drivers? They must smoke it.

"Too many decisions seem to be being made that look good on paper while causing massive and chronic service failures. "

Along with the statement of cranking the standards so high, I dont ever see how on paper this would look good. Of course unless they want to take away all the bonus areas. But then why do it in non bonus areas too?

Im sure that whom ever looks at the morning reports is impressed that the average driver across the USA is 68 over allowed each day after working a 9.98 hour day. I guess on paper that would look like we are trying to rip the company off and we are all lazy slobs. After all the same drivers on the same areas last year were beating the standards by 37 and getting in under 8.7 hours. I guess that would make me look good on paper. But how?

Add to that the effect it does have on drivers. At least the time studies were a level playing field. They were a constant that didnt change. But with a few simple key strokes that can change.

I might have gotten beat 10 times in my career at ups. As we pull down our pants in anticipation for PAS, they changed the standards. Now myself and every other driver in the center are overallowed each and every day. So to me, being over allowed now means nothing, where as before it was an indication of a bad day.

Like I said, still cant figure out why managment at upper levels, esp in the IE department would want to make drivers look bad. I dont see any benifit.

d

Danny, this type of thing is happening all over the company and in all different areas. And I think I know what is happening.

Let’s take PAS. Someone decided that we needed to find a better way to dispatch our drivers, so they came up with the PAS system idea, which is a GREAT idea. It would allow us to know the night before what packages will be on car the next morning so we could make changes to the loads before the packages even hit the center. It would also allow us flexibility on the preload side. No longer would it take months for a preloader to learn load patterns. Every package would have a label and tell the loader exactly where it should go. Heck, even I could handle that and I am idiot! So, once this system is in place, UPS package operations would be BETTER.

Okay, now it needs to be presented to the organization. Since we have gone public, the only way a project of this magnitude could get a green light is if it will save the company a ton of money. That is all Wall street wants to know. The days of taking on projects just to make us a better company are long gone. So now, cost saving need to be presented. Someone comes up with a statement that with this new system, we can put more packages on our drivers and because the loads are going to be so balanced, they can do more in less time. That equates to $1 billion (or whatever they said it would be) in cost savings. The higher ups are sold and the project moves forward. Once it is implemented, the savings are not as great as presented. But can the blame be put on whoever came up with the initial cost savings? Absolutely not! So now those number crunchers can point at the drivers and say “See? My projections were right! The drivers have just gotten more complacent! It’s not my fault! If they would put in the effort, then they would not be over dispatched!”

Same thing happens on the BD side of the house: Someone comes up with a new initiative, convinces the powers that be that it can increase our market share by 2 – 3 points, and then they sign off on it. No body notices that this initiative is going to add 5 – 10 hours of work (yes, you read that right) to an AE’s week and there are no plans to lessen that workload to allow the AE’s to absorb this new work. When the numbers start rolling in and the initiative is not bringing in the new business that was projected, the reason is that the sales force is lazy or inept and not doing what they are supposed to in order to make the initiative a success.

This happens time and time again………. Scary…… Scary……….

IT is for me. I try and deal with reality. IF something does not work like intended, I fix it or replace it. And if it still does not work, then we need to look at if the expectations were not correct for the reality.

Sounds like to me that Mr Eskew has all the yes people at corp too scared to tell the truth any more. Just keep telling the king his clothes look great.

d

Dboy,

I think it is time you step up and go into management. You are blessed with a particular insight and the ability to take control of a situation. Your problem solving abilities are clearly wasted as an hourly. Become a decision maker, instead of a decision follower.

Or then again I could just leave......

d

If you could swim...

The Plan
In the beginning was The Plan
And then came the Assumptions
And the assumptions were without form
And the plan was without substance
And the darkness was upon the face of the workers
And they spoke among themselves, saying
"It is a crock of shi#, and it stinketh"
And the workers went unto their supervisors and sayeth,
"It is a pail of dung and none may abide the odor thereof"
And the supervisors went unto their managers and sayeth unto them,
"It is a container of excrement and it is very strong, such that none may abide by it"
And the managers went unto their directors and sayeth,
"It is a vessel of fertilizer and none may abide its strength"
And the directors spoke among themselves, saying to one another,
"It contains that which aids plant growth and it is very powerful"
And the vice presidents went unto the president and sayeth unto him,
"This new plan will actively promote growth and efficiency of this company, and these areas in particular"
And the president looked upon the plan, and saw that it was good,
And the The Plan became Policy.
This is how shi# happens...

ok2b

dawg, at no point have I ever said profits are bad.

Always, always management infers that for some reason


I wasn't inferring that profits are bad at all--extremely necessary. The thread is regarding DHL and some of their service issues-----it reminds me of when we would lose business to RPS and some thought that it was just temporary and they will come back to UPS---and they did for awhile....until RPS got better and than FEDEX aquired them---we don't see too much coming back now after we lose it. The same is going to be true for DHL-----and even though UPS has made profits for decades and decades----this competitor is different---they have deep--deep-deep pockets and they will keep coming after us. I am not saying that UPS will go out of business---but volume mean}s jobs and less volume, less cars, less employees.

My point is not to be an alarmist---just to watch DHL with both eyes--they are here in the US market to stay and they want our business and FedEx's business and USPS business----they need marketshare and they need to be profitable by the end of 2007!

peacock,

I hope as much as the next person, that DHL doesn't take any UPS business. However, taking a picture of a DHL driver who was taking a 20 minute break, and then assuming that it was not a legitimate break is indicative of the problem that lies within UPS.

Myself, I see an employee that is saving his company money by not running the AC (yes, DHL has AC--FDX too) during his break.