UPS Will not be Dominant in the next Decade

[DeCurtis]

UPS leadership is foolish and have no concept of sound strategy. This is uncontroversial.

The reason why we're going to go down hard, and soon, however, is because UPS thinks it can play the cheap labor game with expensive union labor.

Instead of playing to our advantage: depth of service, we cut service (C.I.R.) and play to the competitor's advantage. A smart company would increase depth of service and force its competitors, by way of customer expectation, to increase their level of service beyond which their cheap labor-force can provide. For every service UPS provides its competitors must provide an offering.

UPS has totally lost control of the shipping industry by allowing cheap labor, and cost cutting, to become the rule. We have remained dominant in the dawn of cheap labor and half-assed service, but don't expect that to last.
Amazon can/will operate at a loss and their shareholders and investors accept that. How can expensive union labor compete against them by playing the game according to their rules?

Personally, I have spent the last three years investing in property, and other endeavors, so that in five years or so I can comfortably watch UPS crumble and its leadership and invertebrate minions commit suicide.
I kindly prompt all UPSers to do the same.

 

[sandwich]

UPS leadership is foolish and have no concept of sound strategy. This is uncontroversial.

The reason why we're going to go down hard, and soon, however, is because UPS thinks it can play the cheap labor game with expensive union labor.

Instead of playing to our advantage: depth of service, we cut service (C.I.R.) and play to the competitor's advantage. A smart company would increase depth of service and force its competitors, by way of customer expectation, to increase their level of service beyond which their cheap labor-force can provide. For every service UPS provides its competitors must provide an offering.

UPS has totally lost control of the shipping industry by allowing cheap labor, and cost cutting, to become the rule. We have remained dominant in the dawn of cheap labor and half-assed service, but don't expect that to last.
Amazon can/will operate at a loss and their shareholders and investors accept that. How can expensive union labor compete against them by playing the game according to their rules?

Personally, I have spent the last three years investing in property, and other endeavors, so that in five years or so I can comfortably watch UPS crumble and its leadership and invertebrate minions commit suicide.
I kindly prompt all UPSers to do the same.

 

[IVE GOTTA PACKAGE 4U]

UPS leadership is foolish and have no concept of sound strategy. This is uncontroversial.

The reason why we're going to go down hard, and soon, however, is because UPS thinks it can play the cheap labor game with expensive union labor.

Instead of playing to our advantage: depth of service, we cut service (C.I.R.) and play to the competitor's advantage. A smart company would increase depth of service and force its competitors, by way of customer expectation, to increase their level of service beyond which their cheap labor-force can provide. For every service UPS provides its competitors must provide an offering.

UPS has totally lost control of the shipping industry by allowing cheap labor, and cost cutting, to become the rule. We have remained dominant in the dawn of cheap labor and half-assed service, but don't expect that to last.
Amazon can/will operate at a loss and their shareholders and investors accept that. How can expensive union labor compete against them by playing the game according to their rules?

Personally, I have spent the last three years investing in property, and other endeavors, so that in five years or so I can comfortably watch UPS crumble and its leadership and invertebrate minions commit suicide.
I kindly prompt all UPSers to do the same.

UPS is spending Billions on infrastructure, speeding up time in transit and trying to make us competition that pays their employees a lot less.
Plus they are going to Saturday deliveries in more cities and also add and Sundays.

What else do you want?

 

[Maple Grove MN Driver]

UPS won't exist in the current form 10 years from now.

UPS is going to buy out the Union.

Same wages will be paid but you will have to pay for your Health Insurance like most people do.

 

[DeCurtis]

UPS is spending Billions on infrastructure, speeding up time in transit and trying to make us competition that pays their employees a lot less.
Plus they are going to Saturday deliveries in more cities and also add and Sundays.

What else do you want?

It's not a question of what I want. That being said, I would like to see success for the company I've given 20+ years of my life to.

It's a question of getting steamrolled by our competition.

You can not beat cheap labor and cost efficiency with expensive union labor, depth and quality of service is our strength leadership neglects.

Better use those paychecks to set yourself up to survive the fall.

 

[IVE GOTTA PACKAGE 4U]

It's not a question of what I want. That being said, I would like to see success for the company I've given 20+ years of my life to.

It's a question of getting steamrolled by our competition.

You can not beat cheap labor and cost efficiency with expensive union labor, depth and quality of service is our strength leadership neglects.

Better use those paychecks to set yourself up to survive the fall.

We all want the company to do well so they we continue to get our paycheck every week. I don't live paycheck to paycheck nor do I owe anybody any money.

 

[Wontmake9.5]

Geez this crap again.

 

[DeCurtis]

We all want the company to do well so they we continue to get our paycheck every week. I don't live paycheck to paycheck nor do I owe anybody any money.

That wasn't what was implied.

If you're a FSP you know what I'm talking about. On cars and center managers couldn't care less quality of service, just so long as it's made. The Fedex and Amazon driver model are the standard for the industry and UPS doesn't do anything to challenge it. A week or two after we rolled out the C.I.R. Fedex did the same thing, asking my customers to sign a paper waiving the need for commercial signatures. Fedex was like "as low as you can go I can go lower".

 

[IVE GOTTA PACKAGE 4U]

That wasn't what was implied.

If you're a FSP you know what I'm talking about. On cars and center managers couldn't care less quality of service, just so long as it's made. The Fedex and Amazon driver model are the standard for the industry and UPS doesn't do anything to challenge it. A week or two after we rolled out the C.I.R. Fedex did the same thing, asking my customers to sign a paper waiving the need for commercial signatures. Fedex was like "as low as you can go I can go lower".

CIR is good in many instances. When I go into a business and the customer is busy do something else, they don't have to stop working to sign for a package in most instances.

Believe it or not at one time this company didn't have driver release in most places.
Now it's throw and go. How many drivers even bother to knock on the door anymore?

 

[brownmonster]

UPS won't exist in the current form 10 years from now.

UPS is going to buy out the Union.

Same wages will be paid but you will have to pay for your Health Insurance like most people do.

That's a poor argument against universal healthcare.

 

[DeCurtis]

CIR is good in many instances. When I go into a business and the customer is busy do something else, they don't have to stop working to sign for a package in most instances.

Believe it or not at one time this company didn't have driver release in most places.
Now it's throw and go. How many drivers even bother to knock on the door anymore?

I would always ask, gesture, or have permission, to sign for my customers in inconvenient situations.

The Driver Release was just necessary to thrive in the residential delivery business. You're right, many drivers do not even right the doorbell nor do they try to conceal the package. It's hard to entirely blame the drivers for this though, especially rookies, when supervision constantly harasses them into feeling like they need to piss in bottles and go the whole day without a break. A normal person knows it doesn't take extra time to ring a doorbell, conceal or lower the profile of a package, put it in the porch or between doors etc., but get a guy all jacked up on stress and these easy tasks become difficult.

Tis may seem like the same ol' same ol', but this kind of behavior is going to cost us severely in the long run when Amazon gets going full-steam in the industry. For as hard as UPS can push and harass its employees Amazon can do it harder and worse.
Unless something changes I fear fully tying one's fate to UPS is risky.

 

[DOK]

The sky isn’t falling here but I expect ups to have a rough next 5-7 years. We’re spending a ton of money on infrastructure that’s out dated, hiring a bunch of fulltime drivers, starting Saturday and Sunday delivery, this all costs big money. A recession in this time period would really hurt.

 

[IVE GOTTA PACKAGE 4U]

The sky isn’t falling here but I expect ups to have a rough next 5-7 years. We’re spending a ton of money on infrastructure that’s out dated, hiring a bunch of fulltime drivers, starting Saturday and Sunday delivery, this all costs big money. A recession in this time period would really hurt.

Long over do
Hopefully it works out.

 

[MyTripisCut]

I would always ask, gesture, or have permission, to sign for my customers in inconvenient situations.

The Driver Release was just necessary to thrive in the residential delivery business. You're right, many drivers do not even right the doorbell nor do they try to conceal the package. It's hard to entirely blame the drivers for this though, especially rookies, when supervision constantly harasses them into feeling like they need to piss in bottles and go the whole day without a break. A normal person knows it doesn't take extra time to ring a doorbell, conceal or lower the profile of a package, put it in the porch or between doors etc., but get a guy all jacked up on stress and these easy tasks become difficult.

Tis may seem like the same ol' same ol', but this kind of behavior is going to cost us severely in the long run when Amazon gets going full-steam in the industry. For as hard as UPS can push and harass its employees Amazon can do it harder and worse.
Unless something changes I fear fully tying one's fate to UPS is risky.

I hear everything you’re saying, but honestly if e-commerce continues to grow at its current rate service doesn’t matter as much. People only care if they get their crap they ordered as soon as possible. The older drivers need to be the ones to take the time and show the young guns how to do the job right. They’ll be the ones paying our pensions. Right now amazon is 51% of e commerce, that more than every other shipper in the game combined. No one will be able to deliver it all, don’t be surprised if even another carrier gets in the game soon.

 

[upschuck]

I would always ask, gesture, or have permission, to sign for my customers in inconvenient situations.

Never sign for customers packages.

 

[IVE GOTTA PACKAGE 4U]

Never sign for customers packages.

Thanks Dave

 

[Indecisi0n]

Bitcoin

 

[upschuck]

Thanks Dave

You're welcome. Any other words of wisdom you need?

 

[brownmonster]

You're welcome. Any other words of wisdom you need?

Lease or buy?

 

[MyTripisCut]

You're welcome. Any other words of wisdom you need?

We will ask @Turdferguson if we do.