Is sure post going away in 2012?

[onehandsolo]

Several drivers(although not positive) have told me that the post office would not be renewing there sure and smart post contracts with Ups ans fed ex. This would make a big difference come route bid time.. My mainly residintial run was cut about 15 times last year and I am considering coming of it. What have you guys and girls heard.

 

[Catatonic]

Several drivers (although not positive) have told me that the post office would not be renewing there sure and smart post contracts with Ups and fed ex. This would make a big difference come route bid time.. My mainly residential run was cut about 15 times last year and I am considering coming of it. What have you guys and girls heard.

I would not pay much attention to USPS employees at the local level. The decisions are made at the top and what they have said is that SurePost and SmartPost are part of their pathway to profitability. This was the CEO and another c-level executive. I saw them on TV on the business channels earlier this year. I don't think the size of many of these packages are within the guidelines ... that could definitely be a concern for the USPS.

 

[satellitedriver]

I would not pay much attention to USPS employees at the local level. The decisions are made at the top and what they have said is that SurePost and SmartPost are part of their pathway to profitability. This was the CEO and another c-level executive. I saw them on TV on the business channels earlier this year. I don't think the size of many of these packages are within the guidelines ... that could definitely be a concern for the USPS.

The general concept of UPS discounting their rates to be able to ship to USPS and let USPS deliver the pkgs based on zipcodes, to save UPS miles run, and gaining volume is a very flawed conception.
The basis of this concept is to reduce miles on rural routes and the opposite is occurring.
I have taken note of who I deliver to and who is going to get their pkgs via surepost/basic.
85% of them are going to the same people I deliver to daily at full cost service.
Gaining volume by reducing your profit margin by 50% is not a good business model.
On a weekly basis, I have to break off trace after delivering to a customer and drive 5 to 15 miles to a post office so that USPS can deliver a package the next day to the same damn customer I just left.
Now to the pkg size issue.
Just last week I had three boxes to delivery to a podunk post office-(literally the office is 15' by 17')- and those boxes were so big that they would only fit in the center isle of my P700.
The mail carrier drives a subcompact vehicle. No freaking way was I going to dump them at the P.O and say just deal with it.
I delivered them to the consignee and saved 10 miles by doing so.-( yes,I had permission, from above, to do so)-
So, IMHO, the only one that is gaining on the bottom line is the USPS.
At least that is the way it pans out in the rural areas.

 

[Coldworld]

So what happens when they close thousands of post offices across the nation...because something like 70% of them are not profitable. The post office will not become profitable only because of UPS and FedEx deliveries....there is a crapload of work that needs to be done and one of them is staffing...so with less staff who will be delivering all of these basic pkgs....its only a short term solution

 

[Catatonic]

So what happens when they close thousands of post offices across the nation...because something like 70% of them are not profitable. The post office will not become profitable only because of UPS and FedEx deliveries....there is a crapload of work that needs to be done and one of them is staffing...so with less staff who will be delivering all of these basic pkgs....its only a short term solution

If the USPS stops delivering to residential and rural houses then we are good again.

Hey, I think everyone at UPS would be happy if the USPS backs out of SmartPost and SurePost.
UPS is just reacting to the competition's service pricing.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Sure/SmartPost are not going anywhere; if anything they will continue to grow. FedEx subcontracts that work by hauling it directly from the shipper to the USPS. I wouldn't be too surprised if this option is at least being discussed in Atlanta.

 

[HEFFERNAN]

I don't have a post office on my route but yesterday I saw what was going to my city's post office. You couldn't fit it in an 800 by itself !!!

The rural PO drivers can pack up their cars and keep getting out everytime but what about the mailmen that walk off 30 houses and are carrying 10 boxes with their sack of mail. The mailmen that I see everyday in my residential area was behind 2 hours from his usual point a month ago.

Trust me, its not all xmas cards !! lol

 

[Bubblehead]

What once was a good idea, in typical UPS fashion, has been run into the ground.
The expansion of this program from rural areas to include urban settings is costing UPS their opportunity to build its infrastructure and staffing for the future in order to satisfy the greed of the modern day stock holder.
When Scott Davis has bled every penny possible, he'll move on, leaving this company a shell of its former self.

 

[AKX]

I would keep the basic service but make it to where we dont deliver it to the P.O. Instead we would have the option to either deliver it that day if we were going right by it or to that very house already or "remote" it for the next day or two till we do have something in the area.

 

[3 done 3 to go]

At our center. Beginning next week there will be a 22ft box truck delivering all the big bulk mail. Off the bigger areas. Too bad my 6 post offices are too far away. Get to trip over those bags all day

 

[satellitedriver]

I would keep the basic service but make it to where we dont deliver it to the P.O. Instead we would have the option to either deliver it that day if we were going right by it or to that very house already or "remote" it for the next day or two till we do have something in the area.

Nice idea,
but,
are you willing to go spelunking into your load to glean that wheat from the chaff?
The two day remote concept was tried and failed.
Mainly it failed because of driver abuse.
This just fueled the fire for micro-management, and I can not blame upper management, for the decision.
The drivers that succeeded in making the remote program work towards profitability came from the old school of paper recorded deliveries.
Back then, we knew our customers and we knew the flux and flow of deliveries on our routes.
That was then.
Computers can only do calculations faster than the human brain, not think.

 

[onehandsolo]

There have been several drivers in my building, including one who' wive works in the post office, tell me that sure post is going be done away with in most centers and only used in rural areas... They said the contract ran out on 12/01/11 and both sides want to make changhes which will result in less packages for the usps to handle

 

[worldwide]

So what happens when they close thousands of post offices across the nation...because something like 70% of them are not profitable. The post office will not become profitable only because of UPS and FedEx deliveries....there is a crapload of work that needs to be done and one of them is staffing...so with less staff who will be delivering all of these basic pkgs....its only a short term solution

If the USPS starts closing offices, UPS will gain new customers. If they cut out SurePost and SmartPost, that volume will return to UPS Ground and Fedex Home Delivery since there really are not any viable delivery options. Either way, UPS and Fedex win.

Analysis: UPS, FedEx poised to gain from USPS pain | Reuters

 

[bottomups]

If the USPS starts closing offices, UPS will gain new customers. If they cut out SurePost and SmartPost, that volume will return to UPS Ground and Fedex Home Delivery since there really are not any viable delivery options. Either way, UPS and Fedex win.

Analysis: UPS, FedEx poised to gain from USPS pain | Reuters

If the USPS doesn't renew the contracts for Surepost and Smartpost, I recommend we contract with FedEX to deliver their Smartpost parcels. Would love to just be able to pull up the the consignee address and throw the parcel on the ground next to the mailbox.

 

[scratch]

I have been getting a few Surepost deliveries in my package car the last week, they are in my EDD like a regular package. It looks like the local letter carriers I deliver with are having problems actually having to carry packages up to the door.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

I have been getting a few Surepost deliveries in my package car the last week, they are in my EDD like a regular package. It looks like the local letter carriers I deliver with are having problems actually having to carry packages up to the door.

Do they have two sets of barcodes--ours going to the Post Office and theirs going to the consignee? If so, when you scan our barcode does it come up at the consignee's address or the P.O. address?

 

[UPSGUY72]

If sure post isn't going anywhere. Then the post office need to spend billions of dollars and invest in bigger cars and or more employees. I don't see that happening. I do however see sure post disappearing.

 

[cosmo1]

I have been getting a few Surepost deliveries in my package car the last week, they are in my EDD like a regular package. It looks like the local letter carriers I deliver with are having problems actually having to carry packages up to the door.

In our center, there is a cutoff time for all the PO pieces to be bagged and processed. Anything coming out of the trailers after that time get scanned into EDD and loaded with the normal pieces.

 

[UPSGUY72]

Do they have two sets of barcodes--ours going to the Post Office and theirs going to the consignee? If so, when you scan our barcode does it come up at the consignee's address or the P.O. address?

It comes up as the package being delivered to the post office. Santa order some stuff from Toysrus for the kids and it came surepost I didn't know that untill I check online to the status.

Pittsfield, MA, United States	12/01/2011	12:20 P.M.	Package delivered by local post office
	12/01/2011	8:06 A.M.	Package is out for delivery with the USPS
Pittsfield, MA, United States	11/30/2011	9:22 A.M.	Package transferred to post office
	11/30/2011	5:56 A.M.	Destination Scan
	11/30/2011	4:00 A.M.	Arrival Scan
Shrewsbury, MA, United States	11/30/2011	1:38 A.M.	Departure Scan
	11/30/2011	1:01 A.M.	Arrival Scan
Chelmsford, MA, United States	11/30/2011	12:05 A.M.	Departure Scan
Chelmsford, MA, United States	11/29/2011	11:19 A.M.	Origin Scan
United States	11/27/2011	2:26 A.M.	Order Processed: Ready for UPS

 

[Catatonic]

If sure post isn't going anywhere. Then the post office need to spend billions of dollars and invest in bigger cars and or more employees. I don't see that happening. I do however see sure post disappearing.

This is a rather sparse post with much left unsaid.
This is what I see based on your base assumption:
Base assumption #1 : USPS refuses any package from UPS and FedEx that does not fit through a coat hanger and weighs more than 3 pounds.
1) Volume goes back to UPS and FedEx Ground and number of Driver jobs at both companies increases.

Base assumption #2 : USPS does not renew their contacts with FedEx and UPS for SmartPost and SurePost.
2) Most packages will go to FedEx 60% or more and UPS Feeder and inside jobs will be reduced while the UPS driver jobs increase.

Base Assumption 3 : SurePost is eliminated by Teamster/UPS contract
3) All packages go to FedEx and UPS Driver positions are reduced as well as Feeder Drivers and inside employees. UPS will lose some packages at the other service levels since some compamies prefer to only have one carrier that fulfills all their transportation needs.