That ethereal voice was enough for Ray Kinsella to build a baseball diamond in his cornfield in the movie Field of Dreams. But is this approach a sound business model for same-day delivery providers? It seems to be the model they are following: provide same-day delivery in anticipation that customers will eventually consider it standard practice – and actually want it.
The 2013 holiday season turned out to be a particularly eventful one for e-tailers and the shippers that deliver all those packages to your door.
Factors like fewer than average shopping days between Thanksgiving and Christmas and an increasing comfort level with online buying helped push holiday e-commerce up significantly. In fact, demand exceeded expectations and stressed shippers’ capacity, causing some late deliveries of their goods.
This week the Postal Service announced plans to move into one of the few remaining frontiers of package delivery – Sundays.
Under a new negotiated service agreement approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission, e-tailing giant Amazon.com will use the Postal Service’s Parcel Select service to ship everything from clothing to garden tools on Sundays. The program is running now in the New York and Los Angeles metropolitan areas, with a rollout planned in 2014 in Dallas, Houston, New Orleans, and Phoenix, to name a few.
As Kermit the Frog sang, it’s not easy being green. Well, Kermit, try achieving corporate sustainability. It’s more than just “going green.” It generally means giving consideration to the environmental, economic, and social impact of a company's business practices.
While it’s not...
Read More
Technology plays a huge role in the fast-moving package delivery market. Package delivery companies that skimp on innovation investments do so at their own risk.
As part of its effort to be the “shipper of choice” for customers, the U.S. Postal Service has invested millions of dollars in...
Read More
Registered Mail might seem like a service from yesteryear in this day and age of Intelligent Mail barcodes and Informed Delivery, which give customers a sneak peek into their mail via email alerts.
But with proof of mailing and delivery along with strict rules and controls, Registered...
Read More
The U.S. Postal Service will spend about $4 billion for almost 8,700 highway contract route (HCR) contracts in fiscal year 2017. The Postal Service uses these competitive fixed-price contracts to transport mail between post offices, network distribution centers, and other designated stops.
... Read More
The 2006 Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA) allows the U.S. Postal Service to enter into bilateral agreements with foreign posts to promote an efficient operation of postal services with other nations. These agreements govern the exchange of international products and services...
Read More
The U.S. Postal Service has contracts for goods and services that are managed in three systems – the Contract Authoring and Management System, the Transportation Contracting Support System, and the electronic Facilities Management System. The contracting officer (CO) is ultimately responsible...
Read More