Editor's Note: This article was written in fall of 2023, but even though this most recent peak season is now over, we still thought this article from our November/December issue should be share... View More
During the course of my career, an uncomfortable conversation has occurred again and again. It is one most shippers know all too well. That conversation is one which historically occurred wit... View More
If you ship all your packages with one carrier, you are a single-sourcer. Single-sourcing isn’t necessarily bad, especially as a new company. It’s easy to process packages and it... View More
The last three years have been a rollercoaster in our industry, with higher demand and costs than we have ever seen. So where are we now, and where are we going with parcel costs in the future... View More
Consumers today want whatever they want whenever they want it. The demand for instant gratification has seeped into every corner of our lives, especially e-commerce, with 97% of shoppers calli... View More
During the 2022 peak holiday season, FedEx’s on-time delivery fell through the floor. It was a crazy time with nonexistent capacity and overwhelming demands on parcel carriers. Still, FedEx... View More
UPS has released high-level guidance that its 2024 General Rate Increase will mirror FedEx’s announcement at a 5.9% overall increase in rates. But, as always, the devil is in the de... View More
FedEx has announced an average General Rate Increase (GRI) of 5.9% that will go into effect January 1, 2024. The increases are generally softer than in 2023 (for reasons we’ll explain) but f... View More
As e-commerce surged and parcel excess capacity dried up in mid-late 2021 shippers the focus of many shippers shifted. For years, the primary goal, in many cases the only goal, of carrier nego... View More
Back in 2021, FedEx initiated a key change to its market strategy by rebranding FedEx SmartPost as FedEx Ground Economy. Effectively, this decision resulted in a complete network redesign –... View More
Most shippers understand the potential disruption an August 1 Teamsters strike at UPS would cause to their business, the economy, and UPS as a company. But have you considered the po... View More
In 2023, shippers are acutely aware of the annual rate increases by the prominent carriers. Additionally, the escalating labor negotiations between UPS and the Teamsters have also caught their... View More
Among the biggest factors affecting shippers as they craft logistics strategies are the annual general rate increases (GRIs) imposed by FedEx and UPS. Typically announced in the fall to take e... View More
Parcel rates keep going up. Shippers like you know that at the beginning of 2023, small parcel list rates went up about 7% for FedEx and UPS, but that is not the whole story. You may feel li... View More
To say the domestic parcel shipping landscape has changed in the last three to four years may be a gross understatement. Many long for the days before perpetual peak surcharges, 90+ page co... View More
“Here’s the reality. Let’s say you’re in charge of supply chain for a large company and you need to go in front of your boss or your board to say, ‘I guarantee there won’t... View More
In early January, Amazon announced the expansion of its “Buy with Prime” (BWP) service to all eligible US retailers. The program, which first launched as an invite-only beta in April 2022,... View More
On January 31, UPS held its Q4 2022 earnings call. Despite relatively positive packaging, results were mixed. After walking away from Q4 with continued strong margins and a 13.2% dividend incr... View More
"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” William Shakespeare's words from his iconic play Romeo and Juliet could sum up the proposed name change for the USPS’s Ground Services, i
With the onset of COVID, both UPS and FedEx suspended service guarantees that had been in place for years. These guarantees provided shippers a measure of compensation for the many potential issues ca
