In the first part of this article, which appeared in the July-August digital-only issue, I went through the basic BI (Business Intelligence) tools that one can utilize to increase efficiency and reduce... View More

One of the most frequent complaints I hear in my work with leaders of organizations is the following: “I am sick and tired of my people not following through.” As managers, we depend on our... View More

Economic issues have impacted all US companies. One answer is to seek volume elsewhere, and a great market exists to the north. The Canadian dollar is approximately 10% lower than the US dollar currently... View More

The two previous installments of PARCEL Counsel discuss the first two rules of contracting: (1) Know with Whom You Are Dealing and (2) Get It in Writing. In this issue, we will look at the four remaining... View More

For most companies, various internal and external support functions are housed in different departments, which can lead to inefficiencies, dropped customer requests and long wait times as they try to coordinate... View More

Almost everyone in the US recognizes the phrase, “What can Brown do for you?” And if someone wants to send a letter overnight in the US, they often say they will “FedEx it.” If... View More

Welcome to the special fall issue of PARCEL. This, the U.S. Postal Service-sponsored issue, is dedicated to the products and services of the Postal Service and its business partners. We give major parcel... View More

In today's frenetic markets, your customers are shopping. Build your contacts within existing accounts while you have easy access to them. It is a competitive world, and running your team has aspects that... View More

The question is: How many test cases should you have? The hindsight answer always seems like, "One more.•bCrLf People say learn by burn is the most effective approach. This learning curve can be a... View More

In order to be effective, data must be strategic, accurate, and collected and analyzed regularly in a format that is readily understood. In this two-part series, we will examine some of the types of information... View More

Don’t you hate it when you make a mistake? You feel stupid and embarrassed. We tend to avoid mistakes at all costs. What if you were to learn that the key to mastery in any field is making mistakes?... View More

One of my clients was shipping a lot of small packages from Asia to the US on a regular basis and had negotiated very good discounts with a freight forwarder. Due to a temporary manufacturing delay, he... View More

PARCEL is committed to keeping you up-to-date on what is going on in our industry. In order to best accomplish that goal, we’ve changed a lot over the past few years. From exclusively print, we’ve... View More

In the last installment of PARCEL Counsel, the focus was on the first rule of contracting: Know with Whom You Are Dealing. In this issue, we will consider the second rule of contracting: Get it in Writing.... View More

Most shippers believe that shipping is not and cannot be a profit center. Many assume that by offering free shipping, they will drive additional revenue to the bottom line that will more than offset the... View More

Over the past several years, UPS and FedEx have fundamentally changed the way they offer discounts to their customers. Instead of giving discounts by service, regardless of the level of spend, they now... View More

In this issue, we will begin a review of six basic principals of contracting and, in particular, how these rules apply when contracting for transportation services. The first rule is “Know with Whom... View More

Entrepreneurs have recognized that the recession presents major opportunities for offering new services. Some Regional Carriers are leading the way with many bold new initiatives. Estafeta is the largest... View More

On a recent carrier contract review with a client, I was trying to explain how their packages were getting shipping charge corrections due to dimensional weight issues. The client responded by explaining... View More

In a normal business environment, Operational Excellence for most companies means leveraging Lean Six Sigma teams to optimize and control critical processes. In this strained economy, however, it means... View More