How about some rampant speculation?
- Thread starter bbsam
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Ricochet1a
Well-Known Member
I'm going to have to get more info on this, it looks like Cheetah is an established company, whereas I was told about a program called Cheetah. I'm wondering if there is a coincidence somewhere, or if FedEx is looking at making another buyout of an existing company (like FedEx always does when it wants to expand into an existing niche).
Ricochet1a
Well-Known Member
Sorry for the string of posts, learning about this "project" on the fly
From the company's website
About Cheetah
Cheetah Software Systems, Inc. is the leader in real-time logistics & dispatch solutions for delivery, less-than-truckload (LTL), courier and private fleet operations.
Founded in 1987, Cheetah Software Systems is a top provider of logistics solutions. Cheetah has been setting the pace with real-time logistics solutions for the transportation industry and has successfully streamlined over 100 million business and home delivery transactions for industry leaders like Macy's, JS Logistics, Ward Trucking, Central Freight Lines, Frozen Food Express, and hundreds of other firms across North America. Cheetah is fast, competitive and cost effective.
Cheetah offers affordable integrated software and hardware solutions for communication, scheduling, loading, delivery and pickup that “connect the dots” between the key areas of your operations in real time. Cheetah products are now available to companies with small and mid-sized fleets with technology rivaling and even surpassing those used by FedEx® and UPS® for a small fraction of the cost.
It's beginning to look like another FedEx corporate acquisition is in the making...
From the company's website
About Cheetah
Cheetah Software Systems, Inc. is the leader in real-time logistics & dispatch solutions for delivery, less-than-truckload (LTL), courier and private fleet operations.
Founded in 1987, Cheetah Software Systems is a top provider of logistics solutions. Cheetah has been setting the pace with real-time logistics solutions for the transportation industry and has successfully streamlined over 100 million business and home delivery transactions for industry leaders like Macy's, JS Logistics, Ward Trucking, Central Freight Lines, Frozen Food Express, and hundreds of other firms across North America. Cheetah is fast, competitive and cost effective.
Cheetah offers affordable integrated software and hardware solutions for communication, scheduling, loading, delivery and pickup that “connect the dots” between the key areas of your operations in real time. Cheetah products are now available to companies with small and mid-sized fleets with technology rivaling and even surpassing those used by FedEx® and UPS® for a small fraction of the cost.
It's beginning to look like another FedEx corporate acquisition is in the making...
MrFedEx
Engorged Member
At least the name makes sense, as in "Cheater".
Some things to consider...a full-time workforce is more stable than a part-time one. My station only has 4 PTers now as we just couldn't keep PTers. They've structured things to have FTers help with afternoon pups.
Will they use 2 PTers in the place of one FTer? In extended areas one FTer would be more efficient than 2 PTers. Only one truck too. We have several rts that drive almost 2 hrs before their first stop.
I think you'll see a number of people not getting enough hrs to be happy, but getting more hrs than someone wanting 25 or so hrs will want. Sure there will be people who'll jump at the chance to work 32 hrs a week at $15hr. But they soon realize the demands FedEx makes on their employees and realize this isn't Walmart.
In their dreams and schemes I think FedEx might not be taking the human element into account. And it might bite them. If they end up doing this to all of us after all they've done already then I hope that's one big bite out of their ass.
Will they use 2 PTers in the place of one FTer? In extended areas one FTer would be more efficient than 2 PTers. Only one truck too. We have several rts that drive almost 2 hrs before their first stop.
I think you'll see a number of people not getting enough hrs to be happy, but getting more hrs than someone wanting 25 or so hrs will want. Sure there will be people who'll jump at the chance to work 32 hrs a week at $15hr. But they soon realize the demands FedEx makes on their employees and realize this isn't Walmart.
In their dreams and schemes I think FedEx might not be taking the human element into account. And it might bite them. If they end up doing this to all of us after all they've done already then I hope that's one big bite out of their ass.
Regardless of what they tell the American people in their endorsements of certain candidates, companies are more than happy to have unemployment above 8%. Keeps workers hungry and malleable.
Ricochet1a
Well-Known Member
!. You are using your local conditions to generalize to the national level. Simply cannot do that. Rural Texas isn't representative of the rest of the USA.
2. Months ago I stated that in areas with rural routes, that full-timers would most likely be maintained. As a portion of the total workforce of Express, those will be but a small portion of the total.
3. You are attempting to use how Express was organized in the past, as an indicator of how it will be organized in the future. Look at Ground - that is the vision of FedEx Corporation. The actual labor will spend a few years working, then quit as they find something else. EVERYTHING that is coming out of FedEx Corporation is looking at having the vast majority of wage employees being PART TIME in the future. Since all the "thinking" of the job can now be done by electronic devices, the employee is merely a vehicle operator and means to get the package out of the vehicle and to the customer. Doesn't take too much training to get that done. T
The whole "Cheetah" thing being tested in Office has electronic devices doing all the thinking as to where to direct the driver to make their next delivery. The electronics will have each address that a stop is to be made in memory, then software will make a determination as to which delivery is to be made next, going so far as to give GPS guided driving directions as how to get there the fastest.
4. Express is solidly on the path on reducing the number of W700s and replacing them with Sprinters whenever 700s are taken out of service. Stations are still screaming about losing 700s since they can't fit existing freight into Sprinters without splitting routes. Express "Memphis" knows this, yet does nothing. Should tell you something.
5. Express Couriers RIGHT NOW aren't too happy with how they are getting paid, yet they are still doing the job. FedEx has given up (and frankly doesn't care any longer) about employee happiness. All they care about is getting the task accomplished at the lowest labor cost possible. IF they aren't happy, they'll quit. If they show up to do the work and get the job done, how happy they are isn't important.
DOWNTRODDEN IN TEXAS
Well-Known Member
Maybe they are from Boston, they would have "cheetahs" and "cheatahs".
MrFedEx
Engorged Member
What really stands out for me is how disconnected Memphis is from reality. I totally get that all they care about is getting the job done for the least amount possible, but their operational cluelessness is astounding. They can bleed Express dry for all I care, but it makes you wonder how many overnight customers are really getting what they pay for. There will always be the shipper that needs something to go coast-to-coast overnight, a market Ground can't touch. It's as if they have just walked away from Express, which may prove to be a long-term mistake.
Relying totally on technology and engineers is also problematic. We've all seen the over-reliance on electronics at Express, and also witnessed the operational chaos created. ROADS and the new PowerPad are perfect examples of technology that doesn't perform as designed. I know that of Fred could, he'd train chimps to run our routes if it saved him a penny, but even if Express has software that will "perfectly" route the package to it's destination, we all know there would still be problems.
Cactus
Just telling it like it is
You bet that'll be a mistake, maybe not short term but long term, oh yeah I can see that. If the typical Ground driver is what's gonna represent the new FedEx I'm sure the public will not embrace it at all.
Can you say fiasco?
When those electronic gismos crap out which they frequently do, there will be more service failures than Memphis will care to admit. But yet they don't want to do anything about the existing problems with ROADS and powerpads. It's much less work for them to blame those problems on the couriers. So yes it really does seem that Memphis has walked away from Express already.
MrFedEx
Engorged Member
A smart, experienced courier cannot be replaced by technology. No matter how much technology you thrust into the hands of an idiot, they'll still be an incompetent employee. First, unless the technology is completely simplified, they won't be able to use it properly. Second, as you just pointed out, what happens when it fails (and it will) and the idiot I just mentioned has no guidance except his/her own feeble mentality? Bad things.
UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)
Well-Known Member
MFE, I could hand you my DIAD and with minimal training you could run my route using only the information on the DIAD.
MrFedEx
Engorged Member
Would I run it as well as you?
Within two weeks, I would.
UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)
Well-Known Member
Our on-cars spend two days on road training cover drivers on new areas. Most of this training focuses on the trace and delivery points. This training is made easier if the DOL (Delivery Order Listing) is set up properly.
Within the first week most of the casuals trained on my area could run it proficiently. If they ran it for two weeks straight they would have it down pat. Would they be as good as the old man? Close but not quite--that is where area knowledge comes in.
bbsam, I have no doubt that you could give this old man a run for his money.
UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)
Well-Known Member
Friday was a light day----122 stops, 383 pkgs, 26 pickups, 100 pkgs, 50 miles. Started at 0915, 10 min break, 45 min lunch (at least that's what the DIAD said--it was closer to an hour), punched out at 1815. The packages seemed to fall out of the car.
When I used to cover all the vacations in the terminal, I'd always feel comfortable in the route by Thursday...just in time for the next week! Routes have a certain rythm and when I find the rythm to a route things flow nicely. Like when football players can stop thinking and start playing.
You might want to break out a map. Your suppositions work fine for large urban areas with multiple stations, but much of the country is just like rural Texas. We're a small city of 100,000 with a service area of 400,000+. And this isn't a poor area. Between oil and gas and ranching we have quite a few well off people who like their catalog shipments. And plenty of people in the country depend on cellphones and most are P1 dels. Ground is certainly doing big business here but I have to ask, will Verizon and others increase their shipping facilities nationwide to take advantage of limited Ground overnight service or will they ship from one or two locations? If so they'll have to use Express for most of it as they have to please customers first. And if you look at that map you'll see alot of territory that has to be covered that's much closer to small stand alone cities than large urban areas.
The problem I have with all of this is the intent seems not to be a good Samaritan and warn others of impending betrayal but rather smacks of trying to hurt the company by trying to influence others to quit. As one who did quit in '97, I know what kind of financial stress that can result in. People get angry and all worked up and in the end are much worse off. If someone wants to quit more power to them, good luck. But do it with a solid job offer, not because you listened to someone else.
Ricochet1a
Well-Known Member
What FedEx Corp is looking at is eliminating employees who are compensated at an equivalent rate of $25-28/hr (sum total of compensation divided per hour worked) and replacing them with employees making just over half of that. The efficiencies in getting labor to get more SPH have already been reached (although they constantly try to squeeze a bit more out).
The two methods of achieving that almost 50% reduction in labor costs is done with a two pronged approach: utilize part-time labor where labor is needed, utilize technology to eliminate the need to train the labor extensively (thus making the labor disposable if they complain too much). Screw ups will happen, but remember, FedEx Corp is no longer looking at providing exceptional service (that just costs too damn much), they are looking at providing good enough.
Quality has a price (to customers) and a cost to providers. What is being proven out is that the majority of customers would prefer a reduction in price, if that can be done with a slight reduction in quality of service.
FedEx used to be the "First Class" of package delivery services. What is happening is that FedEx believes - continuing the analogy - that they cannot be profitable and only offer First Class service, they've got to stuff the proverbial aircraft with as many "Coach" paying customers as possible to keep the operation going (from their point of view). Well, keeping that "Coach" operation going means that the employees of that future company cannot be compensated as much while maintaining (or growing) margins. They can try to increase volume of pieces, but in the end, in order to increase margins in a market that is practically constant in volume, they have to reduce labor costs. So guess who is going to "pay" for this future growth of the Corporation...
Really, think about it. Once FedEx Corporation bought the predecessor company of Ground and stuck the FedEx brand on it, they were no longer concerned about the FedEx brand being the absolute best. They wanted to cash in on the recognition that brand had and start to make it really pay - even if the brand didn't maintain its luster.
You've been at Express long enough (I wasn't there to remember this, but have heard of it), when Couriers were practically inspected each day for grooming and appearance. Uniforms had to be in excellent condition, Couriers properly groomed and devoid of "BO". When I started Express, the uniform standards were still there (no tattered uniforms), but by the time I left, management no longer commented on grooming standards at all and many Couriers were wearing uniforms over 5 years old with visible wear. Express was more concerned with cutting their uniform expense than in keeping their Couriers looking sharp. That should tell you something.
When labor makes up close to half the the total cost incurred by FedEx Corp in moving volume, if that labor cost on the pickup/delivery side of the operation can be cut by half - while maintaining a constant product pricing level - then margins will go through the roof. This is where FedEx is looking at improving its current margins of 4-8% (depending on opco) and pushing them up to the 15% level where they really want them. They want to do this while keeping all the perks established for the FedEx Corporate execs too - having their cake and eating at the same time. The people that will pay the price for all of this is the employees (wage employees in particular, but lower level salaried too).
The amazing thing about the problems Express is experiencing with the introduction of technology to the Courier side of the package movement business says more about the ineptitude of the IT department in Express more than anything else. I'm thinking this is where that Cheetah deal comes in. I'm thinking (after talking to a contact and taking notes) that part of FedEx's rationale for doing this (either cutting a deal with the existing company or buying it outright) is to gain access to the software (which actually works from what I'm reading). If this is indeed the case, the current IT department in FedEx will get the boot and replaced with the system developed by this company.
The obvious implication for Express wage employees is that if this software system is acquired by FedEx, proved to work in the planned Office application, then it can easily be ported over to Express and presto - the experienced Courier is no longer needed.
The writing is on the wall. Some choose to ignore it, others not. The complete disregard that Express showed in the latest pay raises demonstrates that they don't give a squat for those with under 12 years of service. This is telling. If they can keep those past 50% progression happy enough (or eliminate them for various reasons) while FedEx gets their vision implemented, then the hammer can be dropped on the employees with less than 12 years (hire date on or after 2000), and they will be powerless to do anything about it.
If this technology can be ported over to Express, then in the very unlikely event that future Express Couriers do indeed organize (fat chance in hell now) - a lockout can be performed and people taken off the street, put through a week long course in how to operate the technology and not play bumper cars while driving - and replace the whole lot.
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