Amazon building an air hub..do you think they can make ups go down?

Undertow

Well-Known Member
You just explained UPS to a "T"
It's certainly a similar dynamic compared to the other three, although I think our situation differs in that a substantial portion of the UPS drivers actually do care about serving the customer and still can succeed at doing so a majority of the time without the near constant interference and ineptitude from the boardroom. (FedEx also still has some well trained drivers in its ranks as well)

The one big advantage Amazon holds over the other three with regard to strategic planning is that it has the most up to the minute real time data on what the customer is buying so in theory they could be in a better position to proactively allocate resources more efficiently compared to UPS having to react and pay for unused capacity in areas they were caught short in during the previous peak cycle (Rental trucks taking up space for instance).

Can they turn that leverage into a long term advantage that renders UPS obsolete? I'm nowhere near convinced of that. Most every UPS driver has seen the just how much commitment a new hire at 17 or 18 dollars an hour is willing to show and that's with the understanding of gradually achieving an hourly rate of around double that. How many Amazon employees are going to feel like lifting 150 pound parcels for nowhere near that potential hourly rate while billionaire Jef Bezos demands concessions in other areas any time those employees even ask for a raise? None of us do this job for the scenery or the working conditions. We do it because we feel at least to this point in time we are at least fairly compensated in exchange for dealing with often very poor working conditions.

I can remember a time around 15 years ago when folks were here predicting the beginning of the end when the German Post Office managed to do an end around with the acquisition of DHL and how we'd all be on the street within a couple years. It didn't take long to see how that turned out when they purged any delivery talent that made above minimum wage in favor of "temporary" or "high turnover" personnel. Once all the "temporary" DHL employees walked out on the company in several areas a day before Christmas Eve one year, that was pretty much the end of that.

It could easily happen again on a far bigger scale.
 

Johney

Well-Known Member
The problem Amazon is going to have is when UPS and other carriers refuse to give them the discounts they receive now, not sure about other places but Amazon here in the Miami area(where they do their own deliveries)they are only delivering a 20 mile radius so what happens with the rest?
 

MAKAVELI

Well-Known Member
The problem Amazon is going to have is when UPS and other carriers refuse to give them the discounts they receive now, not sure about other places but Amazon here in the Miami area(where they do their own deliveries)they are only delivering a 20 mile radius so what happens with the rest?
Post office.
 

PeakMode

Arrive Peak Leave
UPS itself is the only thing that can take down UPS. Amazon is setting up an infrusture but they will soon find out the can of worms it takes to sustain it.
 

Wally

BrownCafe Innovator & King of Puns
The "other" is taking the bulk of their volume so far. I imagine that will change this coming week.
Ho Ho Ho!

downloadfile-6-png.169764
 

FromOffTheStreets

Well-Known Member
I don't see Amazon "stealing" away business from the other shippers like Walmart or mom & pop shop down the street. These businesses don't want to pay the competition to help shut them down.

While there is a ton of Amazon boxes being shipped out every day it's a much smaller piece of the pie than the whole picture.

So his little fleet will run around delivering resis & it will most likely prove unprofitable for them. It depends on whether "others" deliver his rural/big stuff for pennies. In the meantime the other shippers will get smaller as well.

@ this point Bozos will turn his attention into the acquisition of either Ups or X in an attempt to make the shipping side profitable. X the most likely candidate with non-union, lower wages.
 

MAKAVELI

Well-Known Member
I don't see Amazon "stealing" away business from the other shippers like Walmart or mom & pop shop down the street. These businesses don't want to pay the competition to help shut them down.

While there is a ton of Amazon boxes being shipped out every day it's a much smaller piece of the pie than the whole picture.

So his little fleet will run around delivering resis & it will most likely prove unprofitable for them. It depends on whether "others" deliver his rural/big stuff for pennies. In the meantime the other shippers will get smaller as well.

@ this point Bozos will turn his attention into the acquisition of either Ups or X in an attempt to make the shipping side profitable. X the most likely candidate with non-union, lower wages.
There are a ton of mom and pop shops that have joined Amazon's market place. Walmart may be the king of brick and mortar shopping but no where near the top of internet shopping. Look at the trend and you'll see where this is going.:happy2:
 

siouxman

siouxman
UPS is the only thing that will bring UPS down. You don't have to talk to all that many Amazon, Post Office, or Fed Ex employees to know that those places get things wrong all the time and have workforces that hate the management.

The day Amazon finally figures out how not to pack a glass vase into a box big enough for a dishwasher to fit in might be the day they are truly ready to compete on a fleet wide level of any kind.

They won't rise above a level of UPS. Chances are much better UPS and it's out of touch upper management will drag the company further below it's current benchmarks if not completely off a cliff.
Buy ups stock it's on sale
 

no_map_needed

Knowledge is key, Experience is power.
This won't be a threat for at least a few years. How will customers get their stuff to the airport? Amazon can't keep using its AWS side to expand forever. Their prices aren't the best anymore and once they hit near level profits with AWS and amazon.com they will start hemorrhaging money faster than any company in the history of mankind.
 
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