amazon has gone BASIC!!!

[ironylife]

had a amazon.com basic package today. I had to do a double take as this is the first time I had seen one. Looks like its from the same city as the Target wharehouse which has a business on amazon.com. Has anyone noticed the air that were getting from amazon this year. Last year I saw lots of fedex air on doorsteps, but this year have not seen any for them, just a few usps and everything else UPS. This is a good thing for ups since amazon has been blowing up with volume.

 

[speeddemon]

I just fear its going to hinder the hiring of more full time drivers. Glad Im already there.

 

[worldwide]

"I just fear its going to hinder the hiring of more full time drivers."

How is more volume going to hinder the hiring of more drivers? More drivers are needed to deliver this new additional volume that was previously sent via the USPS. Remember-Basic packages are picked up, sorted and delivered by UPS employees.

 

[wkmac]

You know Basic is a double edged sword. On the one hand it is a tool used to navigate around the union UPSers but on the otherhand it is a tool used to compete against FDX, DHL, etc. It is a service that bears watching but it is also a service that maybe in the bigger picture we should grant some cautious acceptance. I say that in light that any volume taken from FDX, DHL, etc. is taking money, in the case of FDX, directly away from a non-union competitor or another competitor who could grow stronger and become an even greater threat.

In a perfect world FDX goes away and UPS and DHL divy up the pie. The reason I say that is DHL (old Airborne) is Teamster and the influx of volume would fatten the stock price and make the Glenlake folks happy and the volume would create job growth at UPS and DHL in the union ranks thus helping the various pension plans out there with a huge influx of fresh dollars to waste! Sorry, had to get my one dig in but you get the obvious point I'm sure.

It's true Basic could directly effect union job growth within the company but if the competitor gets a free shot at getting stronger then it's possible instead of just looking at stagnate job growth at UPS we could see minor or even major job loss with many of us here being it's victims. I won't disagree with much of what the naysayers are suggesting about Basic but in light of the real world out there it may be a risk we have to take and accept.

Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't FDX have Amazon? If true then I'm glad we got it even if it is under Basic. Even with Basic at some point in the process a union UPSer has a job to do with it. With FDX, that's truly not the case at all. JMO.

 

[wkmac]

worldwide,
You're right in some degree but I think what concerns many is that a center has 500 Basic packages for example, one driver delivers them to the USPS for that final process to the customer. If those 500 packages were UPS ground or other standard UPS service then those 500 packages would likely be split out amongst many drivers instead of the one. From the driver standpoint I can appreciate and understand the concern they have about this service.

 

[spidey]

In the case of the Basics (all new volume), the drivers to whom those pkgs would have been divied up to would be wearing clown suits or spiffy green golf shirts. I'd rather have one driver in tattered brown deliver 500 than 50 competing drivers delivering 10 each. This saves our customer money, too...

 

[tieguy]

I can tell you that we get a lot less of the amazon smalls in todays world. Most of this has been going post office. If we could get this volume back with our basic service that would be huge. I have seen amazon trailers with as many as 10,000 packages in them. Where did you see that package coming from. The target.com shipping and regular amazon location I know of are in Delaware. Is that what your showing?

 

[johnny]

Aren't the basic packages that go to the USPS only for rural delivery areas?

 

[johnkyblue]

We have an amazon hub that does target here too. Most of the really small packages went to the post office, but we still do a lot of them.

They put at least 5 trailer full loads here a day, and as many as 40. I believe that many of their loads are sent elsewhere too.

I haven't seen a basic box yet.

 

[ok2bclever]

wkmac,

Small correction, DHL is not Teamster.

Airborne was Teamster in some locations and not in most.

As a foreign company taking over an American one for the purposes of appearing legally to be American to compete over here they are trying not to make waves and accepted the status quo at those locations where Airborne is Teamster.

I would say that the Teamsters as a national organization need to go after the entire DHL/former Airborne chain immediately while DHL is "contentious publicity" shy and try to convert the entire US section of the company into a unionized company to both benefit the Teamsters, the various Teamster pension funds and UPS.

 

[wkmac]

ok2bc,
I know DHL in total is not Teamster and thus my "old Airborne" footnote. Was not aware of status of old Airborne nationwide being Teamster I just knew in our local area all Airborne that became DHL is Teamster.

Good point about going after DHL in total by the IBT. I'm assuming Airborne was under the NLRA and therefore easier to organize site to site but what is DHL under? Are they another FDX with the Railway Act protections? You know we probably use the rail 10 times more than FDX but they reap the protection of the railway act. Go Figure (said with a chuckle!)

You guys in the areas where old Airborne wasn't union need to hound your local leadership about organizing efforts.

 

[wily_old_vet]

irony-are you sure it was a BASIC package. There is a new service in some of the software people are using called Shipper Release (in Worldship after Jan 1st I believe). You get the same screen when you scan it as you do BASIC about releasing the pkg without signature. A BASIC pkg will say BASIC just above the barcode. I delivered quite a few Target pkgs this Christmas that were shipper release.

 

[upsdude]

I delivered an Internet package today that was Shipper Release. Being a guy with several apartment complexes, Im all for Shipper Release.

 

[worldwide]

wkmac posted "You're right in some degree but I think what concerns many is that a center has 500 Basic packages for example, one driver delivers them to the USPS for that final process to the customer. If those 500 packages were UPS ground or other standard UPS service then those 500 packages would likely be split out amongst many drivers instead of the one. From the driver standpoint I can appreciate and understand the concern they have about this service."

I have to disagree with you. First, one driver will not deliver all the packages-they will be spread throughout the center. If 500 Basic packages come in to a center, they will all be delivered by several different UPS Teamster drivers. Those 500 packages were not in the UPS system before and were most likely with the USPS and not Fedex.

The majority of the Basic packages will be delivered to the final consignee by a UPS driver. A small percetage will be delivered to a post office in a rural or super-rural area by a UPS driver. Again-all deliveries are being made by UPS to the final customer. IN some cases the post office is the customer.

Think about which routes are most likely to be cut back and are NOT expanding--the rural routes due to high UPS residential rates compared to USPS rates. Some customers do not want to pay for all the "bells and whistles" of UPS Ground--they want a "basic" service. So, Basic service is actually sending more packages to the routes that are most likely to be cut back-the rural routes.

Basic is a win all around for UPS. UPS wins new volume from the USPS. ALL Basic packages are picked up, sorted and delivered by a Teamster, and the more volume in the system, the more (Teamster) employees that are needed to pickup, sort and deliver the packages.

Remember both Fedex and DHL have similar workshare programs that allow them to deliver packages to the USPS. The difference is that ALL of the packages are delivered to the USPS for delivery-neither DHL nor Fedex deliver the packages. Basic has an advantage over them becausse they are fully tracked in the UPS system and the majority are delivered by a UPS driver to the final consignee.

It's amazing how the Teamsters want to fight over new volume in the system and new jobs. Just look at the LTL industry to see what effect restrictive work rules have had, in part, in that industry. There are countless LTL companies that employed thousands of Teamsters that are out of business. Do the Teasters want to commit a slower demise at UPS as well?

 

[sweatyguy]

Then again, in my center/neck of the woods we just deliver all of our basic packages...So whether we get 10 or 1000, its new volume here for us...

 

[brownmonster]

One thing I noticed with the Chadwicks Basic pkgs is all the ARS returns we are seeing. That is also new volume. The DHL guys are being organized by the Teamsters in diff. areas. They are separate companies that contract to do deliveries for DHL, so unionizing the nationwide workforce at once is not possible.

 

[ironylife]

You guys.... this was a basic package. I have a center that has seen lots of basic packages, from checks direct, chadwicks, etc, and I can tell you that 90% of these packages are being delivered to the customer by us, not the post office. I know there are some of you guys that work in rural and super rural areas so you might be delivering stuff to the post office, but what ive seen in my center has been VERY positive. And one more thing, I have seen many packages from basic customers that have been 10 lb ground and also 2da and nda, so this is just bonus money for ups. It sucks to be in a small center and see that stuff go to mr postman, but there are drivers being hired on at larger centers, one of the reasons being volume growth from basic.

 

[ironylife]

Anyone get the ups teamster magazine from the ibt. it has an article on trying to organize fedex ground, and dhl contractors. One quick thing about amazon. I get lots of amazon still. I ordered two personal items from them and they both came from ups. Does anyone remember when we use to get cd's from amazon, those things use to get cracked all the time, so on that stuff its probably better off with the post office, all I know is that most of the parcels still come by ups.

 

[over9five]

Im waiting for a cable I ordered from Amazon. its coming Fedex ground. Was out for delivery Wednesday, but ended up "delayed by area weather". Bold faced lie, no weather here.

 

[tieguy]

"Does anyone remember when we use to get cd's from amazon,"

We actually saw some of the CD merchandise this year for the first time in a long time. When they first came out with the CD the packaging was an absolute nightmare for us.I hope they have gotten better.