Walmart using UPS for Same-Day Delivery in Select Markets

'Lord Brown's bidding'

Well-Known Member
Caught this in the Tues 10/9/2012 Philadelphia Inquirer:

Business - philly.com

The passage that interested me was " Wal-Mart's service works this way: Customers place orders up until noon and then choose a four-hour window to receive the delivery the same day. Wal-Mart is using UPS delivery trucks to deliver the merchandise. For the San Francisco and San Jose markets, shoppers have to order by 7 a.m. that day to receive those items. Wal-Mart is using its own delivery trucks in those two regions."
 

'Lord Brown's bidding'

Well-Known Member
In previous discussions concerning Amazon offering same-day service it had been suggested UPS could not hope to obtain this volume. I've always believed that with UPS' infrastructure and know-how they could absolutely handle this work. Offer surepost pricing to Amazon, Walmart, and other very large shippers and I am sure the increase in volume could offset the reduction in profit-per-piece that would occur. Make the new jobs that would be necessary article 22.3 for now. Man, think of the possibilities!
 

Brownslave688

You want a toe? I can get you a toe.
In previous discussions concerning Amazon offering same-day service it had been suggested UPS could not hope to obtain this volume. I've always believed that with UPS' infrastructure and know-how they could absolutely handle this work. Offer surepost pricing to Amazon, Walmart, and other very large shippers and I am sure the increase in volume could offset the reduction in profit-per-piece that would occur. Make the new jobs that would be necessary article 22.3 for now. Man, think of the possibilities!

We can't shuttle late air or misloads without dozens of missed pieces or hours of supervisor working grievances. So please forgive me for being slightly less optimistic. Now don't get me wrong we will tell amazon everything they want to hear. Just have my doubts about us delivering.
 

OptimusPrime

Well-Known Member
Seems like a solution in search of a problem. Would be shocked that anyone who shops through Wal-Mart would be willing to pay what this service will probably cost. And how would it work? An On Demand Pickup that you had to deliver? And what would be the odds that it would actually be in the delivery area of the driver who does the Wal-Mart pickup? Not to mention how the driver would be able to plan his day around this. Customer makes an order at 11:59am, then all the sudden that driver has a ODS plus an out of area delivery? Not likely.
 

'Lord Brown's bidding'

Well-Known Member
We CAN shuttle late air without misloads or sups working, it's just now there may not seem to be a major need (from the company's point of view). This would be a major service, and they would do a lot to make this work; i.e. have the resources. UPS could win big here if they tried, as I don't think FedEx' Ground unit could handle this yet, and Express is currently being cannibalized for ground, removing some of its capacity.
 

HubBub

Well-Known Member
If the service area is a large metro area, and the volume was significant enough to make it worthwhile, I'd think the "logisitics" would be tricky. Either we would need to add some sort of "same day" sort in the building and figure out who is going to deliver the stuff, or drivers would need to pickup, sort, and deliver these packages by themselves, bypassing the building altogether.

If the volume was low enough that there's no large scale sorting required, then it wouldn't be too difficult, but would it be profitable?
 

'Lord Brown's bidding'

Well-Known Member
The tone of the responses here leads me to think some think regular pkg drivers-guys with routes-would be doing this. I think it is more likely this work is given to air drivers and "extras". Give these guys the air from regular drivers to do up to noon, and then do the walmart deliveries. Only in an emergency would a regular driver sniff this.

I am not excited for myself, but rather for the job implications if this succeeds or even better, UPS can parlay this into contracts with other large shippers.
 

Nimnim

The Nim
Depending on the volume I can potentially see this as being a bid route in of itself, or multiple. At least in my area there's 3 walmarts within something like 20 miles of me, if the volume warrants it I could see a driver, or possibly more, bidding on an extended area route reporting to a specified walmart and loading their pc with the deliveries of the day.
 

bbsam

Moderator
Staff member
Doesn't anyone else find it ironic that Walmart is offering this service through us yet decided to go with FedEx Ground for their deliveries?

Yes and no. I don't think UPS was in a position to turn it down no matter how ugly it was. If UPS wants that business back (and I think they do), they are going to jump through Walmarts hoops to get it.
 

brownmonster

Man of Great Wisdom
We break routes now that could have 100 stops in them. I don't see us sending out all these extra trucks for 5 or 10 stops all over a city.
 

TheDick

Well-Known Member
I see small reg delivery companies doing this. They ought to end up with this work cuz ups will want the work to go that way(independent contractors) instead of our way. I dont like it but ups does use indies. If 22.3's got this work that'd be fine if they got the pension contributions too.
 

sortaisle

Livin the cardboard dream
Sonic air still around? Is UPS Critical Services do this? Either way, it'll probably be a part of Critical services and handled by a courier service like Sonic Air is/was.
 
I think that this means more full time jobs. Ups just got back dell and gateway and now this. There is one thing ups is good at and it's $$making$$. Yes we work hard and make really good money and paid benefits. We have very secure union job and that's a blessing because there is not many place left out there that is demanding and paid like we are. Yes we all bitch about how hard we work, late hours too much work but we wake up every morning and work our ass off till that last package is attempted.

This is a big contract for or future we made ups billions in profit when this county was in a recession . I would like to see the part-timers pay increase, more full-time jobs and leave our medical alone. We are ups they can't replace us. Unlike management they think tel-a-matics is better than sliced bread. But now they can have less manager to watch us they have computers doing cutting the fat.
 

OptimusPrime

Well-Known Member
The tone of the responses here leads me to think some think regular pkg drivers-guys with routes-would be doing this. I think it is more likely this work is given to air drivers and "extras". Give these guys the air from regular drivers to do up to noon, and then do the walmart deliveries. Only in an emergency would a regular driver sniff this.

I am not excited for myself, but rather for the job implications if this succeeds or even better, UPS can parlay this into contracts with other large shippers.

No way is a center going eat a ton of NDA to keep an air driver on til noon. An hour and a half? We would be purposely delivery 10-15 late NDA's depending on the area. That would get expensive. And it would get equally sketchy using cover drivers. Doing an add/cut on a route just to keep the cover driver on the clock til noon? Sounds like grievance material to me. Or you could go completely absurd, and have a cover driver just sitting in the office getting paid to see if these deliveries come up, but I would assume that would lead to some issues as well.
 
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