W
wkmac
Guest
As we near the close of 2002' it's time to reflect on the past year in regard to UPS. Some of the bad is the growth of FedEx Ground, the loss of some volume and the need to tighten the belt of the business itself because of lost $$$$$$.
However, IMO the good overshadows the bad.
UPS and the Teamsters concluded a new 6 year labor agreement and did so under the contract deadline. The agreement is a 6 year contract which is also a good thing for all concerned. Another positive I've seen is in the past we've had certain peak runs carried by contract drivers whereas this year they've been moved by Buster Browns. I'm sure UPS is still making money with these loads but I also see an increase in positive moral because of this. That moral could also lead to better indirect profits as employees view these events in a more positive light as it pertains to their future opportunities within the company. The more upbeat employees are about UPS the more positive effect to the bottomline one tends to see. This contract also left some mud on FedEx's face who was crying wolf and I do believe some credibility was lost with some customers over this.
Even with the stock market down UPS did rather well IMO. In fact, one could argue the down stockmarket was just what UPS needed. Could UPS have made inclusion into the S&P had the market stayed bullish and maintained it's lofty valuation levels? Had certain events not taken place to effect the airline business UAL might not have taken it's fall and thus because of stock valuations been removed from the Dow Transports and UPS put in it's place. A year ago I would agree that UPS if they continued to build the business that one day we'd get our shot at the S&P and maybe the Transports but I would not believe we'd be there this soon. I guess now we'll see some of the Big Brown cheerleaders talking Dow 30! Slow down girls!
Lastly, I think the challenges we've faced over the last year to 18 months has forced us to look a little harder at ourselves. The area that really comes to mind is the focus on quality. At our location the focus has been hard on Scanning, Missorts, MisToggles, Time-n-Transit, Package Handling, etc. and I've seen all these areas make nice gains so it's good to see us take what we have and make it the very best it can be. This longterm is a very good thing for sure. We also continue to see major gains in the international arena and the logistics continues to make strides in the right direction. Some of my fellow union breathren object to the Logistics unit and I understand the concern but this part of the business also pumps some packages into our system that without right now would make things even tighter and some of us might not still be here or doing what were doing so it pays sometimes not to look a gift horse in the mouth.
I know this post is way off topic from the normal discussion that takes place here but I hope some will overlook this and allow a little business/stock discussion to take place if only for a short time.
Thanks.
Any thoughts along the lines of what I discussed?
However, IMO the good overshadows the bad.
UPS and the Teamsters concluded a new 6 year labor agreement and did so under the contract deadline. The agreement is a 6 year contract which is also a good thing for all concerned. Another positive I've seen is in the past we've had certain peak runs carried by contract drivers whereas this year they've been moved by Buster Browns. I'm sure UPS is still making money with these loads but I also see an increase in positive moral because of this. That moral could also lead to better indirect profits as employees view these events in a more positive light as it pertains to their future opportunities within the company. The more upbeat employees are about UPS the more positive effect to the bottomline one tends to see. This contract also left some mud on FedEx's face who was crying wolf and I do believe some credibility was lost with some customers over this.
Even with the stock market down UPS did rather well IMO. In fact, one could argue the down stockmarket was just what UPS needed. Could UPS have made inclusion into the S&P had the market stayed bullish and maintained it's lofty valuation levels? Had certain events not taken place to effect the airline business UAL might not have taken it's fall and thus because of stock valuations been removed from the Dow Transports and UPS put in it's place. A year ago I would agree that UPS if they continued to build the business that one day we'd get our shot at the S&P and maybe the Transports but I would not believe we'd be there this soon. I guess now we'll see some of the Big Brown cheerleaders talking Dow 30! Slow down girls!
Lastly, I think the challenges we've faced over the last year to 18 months has forced us to look a little harder at ourselves. The area that really comes to mind is the focus on quality. At our location the focus has been hard on Scanning, Missorts, MisToggles, Time-n-Transit, Package Handling, etc. and I've seen all these areas make nice gains so it's good to see us take what we have and make it the very best it can be. This longterm is a very good thing for sure. We also continue to see major gains in the international arena and the logistics continues to make strides in the right direction. Some of my fellow union breathren object to the Logistics unit and I understand the concern but this part of the business also pumps some packages into our system that without right now would make things even tighter and some of us might not still be here or doing what were doing so it pays sometimes not to look a gift horse in the mouth.
I know this post is way off topic from the normal discussion that takes place here but I hope some will overlook this and allow a little business/stock discussion to take place if only for a short time.
Any thoughts along the lines of what I discussed?
