volume

[parttimejon]

In charleston wv we have been getting speeches(PCM) about volume. They say and i quote FED EX is eating our lunches. Now i just read the annual report and the volume seems to be about the same for last quarter. We have been asked to go into bussiness' that we frequent and try to get their business because we are so hard up for volume. I just don't see it. I'm part time and have been part time for 7 years(not by my choice) Even if we did get some volume its not like they would give me a full time job. Look the moral of this story is if a person can go to one store and get this amount of groceries for 100 dollars and then go to another store and get the same amount for 70 dollars where do you think the will shop. Lower your rates and the volume will come

 

[whatsthetune]

jon,

Lowering rates puts pressure on your wages and benefits, like the state the airlines is in now. As they reduce their fares to keep up with Southwest (Fedex in this analogy) and the wages keep going up, they are now going bankrupt. And they fly about the same number of flights (volume) as they used to.

So, don't wish for the volume to keep going to Fedex. BTW, where do you think their 25% growth in ground volume is coming from? From our/your future.

 

[my2cents]

Let's not overlook the fact many companys now use multiple shipper accounts. I recently had a two part mail order from the same business. One part was shipped UPS ground and the other part Fedex ground. Strike threats are one of the reasons for this. Even though the economy is still soft, the lesson here seems to be strike threat = loss of market share.

 

[parttimejon]

strike threat? nah...we are in the beginning of a six year contract. there is no strike threat. but heres something interesting... I gave an idea to my boss the other day. Ups could give an introductory shipping price for bulk shippers. Just like a long distance phone company does. Say you ship 1 hundred packages a day with fed ex. You come over to ups and for one year we will give you a special rate. "If you bulid it they will come." Some will stay some will go at the end but you get some new customers that way. My boss' response to this was. For example charleston loads 2 roanoke trailers on their twilight sort. If we get so much volume that the trailer is going to blow out then its not in their best interest to pay a driver to pull the other trailer. so it wouldn't benefit ups by getting new volume. Sounds to me that ups doesn't want that new volume after all. Its ok though I'll be a 40 year old part-timer waiting on a full time job i guess!

 

[ups_vette]

parttimejon:
WOW...I'm surprised that you are still part time. With an attitude like yours, I find it hard to believe that you aren't the CEO by now.

After all, it's not your job to get new business. That is someone elses job. Heaven forbid that you demmonstrate your desire for UPS to grow and prosper. Please, don't go out of your way, let FEDEX and others keep taking the packages. That way your chances of going full time are reduced and with your attitude, UPS will have one less full timer that only cares about him/her self and not about future employees and the future of UPS.

 

[my2cents]

Its unclear to me if UPS has gained back the lost volume from the last strike threat. Some of that volume may be gone for good. I remember reading a newspaper article a couple of months ago estimating UPS's ground market share has dropped to 75% from 78%. Haven't seen any new data to confirm or refute this erosion of market share. It will be even tougher to keep market share as Fedex continues to develop their ground network over the next several years.

 

[upsdawg]

Part time John

Sounds like you are looking for UPS to make you full time just because you have been around for a while.It is everyone's job to grow our business and create opportunities for our future.

UPS attracts new business by offering tiered discounts---the more a customer ships the more discount they get.We have to offer this type of discount because if we just gave a company a discount with no incentive for them to increase it, they would be forced to go to our competition and get a better rate----we don't wan't to get into a rate war!!We would lose because our competitors are able to offer lower rates----because their costs are lower ( they don't have to pay the wages and benefits that UPS has to)

We need to attract new business and keep our current business by being the best and picking up and delivering packages----it's everyones responsibility!!

 

[coniferman]

Southwest (Fedex in this analogy) and the wages keep going up, they are now going bankrupt. And they fly about the same number of flights (volume) as they used to.
I may be wrong( I am sure someone will correct me pront if I am) but isnt Southwest Airlines a highly unionized air carrier. I don't just mean their pilots.

 

[lifer]

the companies who were hurt badly by the strike will not forget about it any time soon---and yes many are thinking about six years down the road.

carey really hurt us all there.

i couldnt have picked a worse time to try to go management----its sad that I am hoping to be promoted within a year and thinking that ill be lucky to get that with the big freeze on.

we need to do whatever it takes to keep what we have and take back what has been taken be FedEx

 

[feederdryver]

How much did the "what can Brown do for you ?" campaign ad cost?

I think they could have renamed it to "what can non-union UPS Logistics do fo you? "...hehehe

 

[tranham]

OK, here is my opinion. UPS is not interested in gaining more volume. They are only interested in getting more profit. These are two seperate things. Here is an example. We deliver to Vanderbilt Univ. in Nashville. Every year the students ship all thier stuff to the small Campus Post Office, 1000's of boxes. As a favor to the University UPS always sets up a trailer and mans it (with non-union employees). Students can pick up thier packages after getting a postcard to come get them. UPS said last year, no more. The University said it needs to be done or they will not use UPS. Now guess who the campus uses? Guess who they tell the students to use? The point here is that UPS does not think long term, they think only in the context of stock price. I have been told that the SE region needs to cut $600 million from its budget this year. WTF? How do you grow a company if you cut it's budget for the 3rd year in a row? I disagree with Coniferman. UPS can still put Fed Ex in a coffin. You cut rates below Fed-Ex. We have a surplus of cash and no debt. Fed-Ex has tons of debt. Who will bankrupt in this ecomony? This is how Toyota gained its market in the US, cutting price below profit margins. You may not agree and I know it won't happen, but in the long run UPS is screwed if something isn't done. There is a reason Fed-Ex is growing we are not, now what are you going to do about it?

"The graveyard is full of indespensible people." De Gaulle

 

[longups]

TRANHAM; well said, but did you not study American History in school? If UPS prices below cost the Gov will go after them for unfair competition. Also, you have to price each service such as a trailer in a school according to its worth and return. I do believe that it is good marketing to get the kiddies in the UPS boat up front and that in itself is worth some lost scheckles, but I guess we can'd do that.

I've said for the past several years UPS should buy FedEx(air) to get some benefits of scale! Let the Gov come after UPS and show that the air business is not a National business but worldwide and as such UPS may get by with the purchase. But a price war is not good for anyone (look at TWA, Eastern Airlines, PanAm, National and a lot more for proof.)

 

[upsdawg]

Tranham

You bring up some interesting topics......I would think that the main reason that we discontinued the UPS--student moving scenario is that we probably paid a lot of claims for these type of packages----if you try to send some household goods through a UPS Customer Counter hopefully you would be turned away----#1 Claims items are from people moving and sending household goods. Is this going to reduce our volume in the long run form all of the parents that send their sons and daughters presents on every holiday----yes --so hopefully we would maybe educate these folks first as to how to ship!!!

Your other point is also interesting--why don't we just get into a rate war and undercut the competition-------if we did that any competitor can sue us for "Predatory Pricing"------which means pricing below our actual cost!!!If we keep increasing our wages--we have to pass these costs along to our consumers (Shippers!)

The price of fuel will definitely hurt a lot of our competitors--and us as well,but we hedge our purchases out 6 months because of our financial clout.

We are at war with our competitors, and it is an extremely competitive market---we need to gat back to the basics as to what made this company successful in the beginning---the absolute best service at the lowest rates that we can afford to charge and still show a profit!!!

 

[parttimejon]

Good job tranham. I can see that upsdawg is a sup(stupervisor). And upvette must be a company man too. Wow...maybe some day I could get demoted to stupidvisor.Anyway, explain this one to me guys.Ups in charleston just lost a 1 million dollar a year account from mcjunkin. Now i do hope they save this account because they generate alot of volume to our hub but it'd be their own fault if they didn't. We were told it was because of missorts. But the week before charleston night sort won an award for the best missort frequency in our region. Now the real reason was mcjunkin shipped a few air packages a day through fed-ex.Ups hounded them about it until they said screw it we will just go to fed-ex. Just another example of ups being to big for their britches as we say here. And by the way yeah i do think they owe me a full time job just for being around a while.

 

[coniferman]

I disagree with Coniferman. UPS can still put Fed Ex in a coffin. You cut rates below Fed-Ex


tRANHAM, i NEVER SAID WE COULDN'T PUT fED eX IN A PINE BOX. I AM NEW TO THIS BOARD(POSTING) BUT I CAN'T HELP BUT TO NOTICE THAT IT SEEMS LIKE A MAJORITY OF THE POSTERS believe that if only we were non union, it would be utopia. My point was that while the other commercial airline are indeed failing, Southwest continues to thrive, despite also being a highly unionized carrier.
Wages are only a part of it. The UPS workforce is the most productive and effiecient in the workplace. I am proud to be a part of that winning team. However don't be fooled by the hourly wage issue. Management gets their piece of the pie too. Like the hourly most mgt are sucess driven and should be rewarded accordingly. I have no problems whatsoever with their MIP plan or stock plan or salary plan. I do however have a big problems with those who would have you believe that the companies woes are due to "our wage structure(read hourly rate)

 

[ups_vette]

Farttimejon:

Ha Ha ha....You don't have to wait, you've already proved yourself STUPID. It sounds as if you would be a perfect fit working for a company named mc JUNK in, since every word you spew is JUNK. Of course, I would expect nothing less, comming from the mouth of someone who thinks he is owed a full time job. Why would any company want to promote anyone to a full time position that thinks as you?

As for me being a "company man", I would like to think that every employee who draws a paycheck, would have the best interest of the company as their goal. Thankfully, you are in the minority.

Receiving a million dollars in revenue from a shipper sounds great. However, if the cost of handling those shipments exceed the million dollars, then it is a wise decision to allow that shipper to give their business to a competitor. Most people, not the stupid ones, would not pay a dollar for fifty cents worth of merchandise.

 

[parttimejon]

why you ask? cause its a union company and i have senority. senority= well not much except a good vacation pick. seems to me your a union hater. don't hate the players hate the game.BOSS

 

[smf0605]

parttimejon - you say you should be full time because you have seniority. Does that mean that a person junior to you has been made full-time while you have not?
Or are you saying a full-time job should be created for you, just because you've "been around for a while"??????

 

[tieguy]

He shouldn't be full time he doesn't have the attitude to represent us.

 

[proups]

parttimejon will realize once he does go full time what is at stake here. He, like other part timers, does not see what the drivers see on a regular basis - packages they were picking up a year ago now being picked up by FedEx.

There are really two reasons for our volume loss to FedEx: pricing and last summer's contract negotiations. FedEx went to our customers last summer and aggresively reminded them of 1997. Then they lured them into one year contracts. Our good service should get those packages back.

The other reason is pricing. FedEx is really undercutting our rates and they are going after the big shippers. Why can they do this? Realistically, it is the wage differential between our drivers and their drivers. It could be the salary differential between their management and our management too. Bottom line is that we are all well paid, and we should all try our best to get the business back that we lost through good service and the attempts of every employee, union or non-union, to let the customer know just what Brown can really do for them. I'm proud of this company and want it to be the best at what we do...and the most profitable.