The Postal Service Emerges as Shipping Powerhouse for Small Businesses
photo credit: WSBTV
January 22, 2015 – The other week I was reading an article about how shipping carriers fared over the holidays. FedEx and United Parcel Service were mentioned, but noticeably absent was the U.S. Postal Service.
As someone who works closely with the U.S. Postal Service and developed technology to print its shipping labels from home, this baffled me. The postal service delivered 524 million packages in December (an 18 percent increase over 2013) versus UPS and FedEx’s projected 585 million and 290 million respectively. (The latter two companies haven’t released their figures yet.)
Of that 524 million, a record 28 million were delivered in a single day — December 22 — ensuring that packages arrived in time for Christmas. So why then when people speak about shipping carriers, is the postal service mentioned as an afterthought, if at all?
There’s a tendency to discuss shipping in terms of the Big 2 instead of the Big 3. So I want to set the record straight: Today’s postal service is just as capable of package delivery as FedEx and UPS.
In fact, the U.S. Postal Service has transformed itself from a humble mail carrier to a package delivery powerhouse, and if businesses fail to notice this change and adopt it as a part of their shipping mix, they will lose money in the long run.
Furthermore, I predict that 2015 will be an innovative year for the postal service. What’s fueling the innovation? Competition both from tech disruptors and from FedEx and UPS.
I haven’t witnessed any drag out fights to privatize us. Am I reading the wrong papers or TV news. And to blame crappy VA benefits on the Republicans is preposterous. What does the government do well? Democrat or Repub.
The vote 2 weeks ago was to protect the SS retirement funds from the deficit in the Disability Fund. You know the fund that most people paid into for their retirement vs the fund the “crazy” checks come out of. (Google it if u aren’t familar.)
UPS and Fed- Ex are deceitful to their customers.. When a customer goes to a UPS or Fed – Ex hub to ship a package and pay for it.. The clerk charges the customer their shipping price but uses us ( postal service ) to deliver the package.. The UPS and Fed- Ex clerk aren’t mandated by law to disclose that. I wish customers knew that!!! First thing, that customer would be saving a couple bucks in shipping costs.. 2nd thing, customers would save so much time and gas money since UPS/Fed- Ex only have one hub per county in most states. And with us ( postal service ) we have so many locations ( even with tons of closings )… It’s just sad that we have Republican leadership that want us Privatized sooooooo bad!!!!! That GOD President Obama doesn’t have that vision nor the rest of the Democratic Party.. I remember when Mitt Romney and Rep, Paul Ryan were running for President/Vice – President and the 3 Federal Agencies they wanted to eliminate and privatized…. Postal Service, EPA and Department of Education… The first thing this new Republican contolled Congress put up for a vote 2 weeks ago was to slash Social Security… Thank GOD President Obama told them he would VETO it.. It’s sad that there are so many Republicans at the Post Office that I work with and are stupid enough to keep voting this NUT JOBS into office.. Especially veterans. I work with so many at the Harrisburg, Pa P&DC and they are die-hard Republicans.. I try and educate them why their visit to the local VA is getting worse and why their military disability checks keep getting messed up each month. So many narrow minded people!!!!!!!
IT’S ALWAYS OUR SEASON!!
Why isn’t the USPS mentioned???? Because Congress is trying to privatize it!!!!! They don’t want any good press going out to the public when they are secretly working against it and ripping it apart. All the public gets is the bad news, on TV, internet, anywhere. It’s all smoke and mirrors baby!!!
Not to mention we are cheaper then both of them too. Which if more
businesses would have that serendipity moment to realize that we are
more efficient at delivery and priced lower a company could save big
bucks when looking at it in volume and still get great service. We also
receive packages from both Fedex and UPS where they don’t want to
take it the extra mile themselves so they have us deliver it for them.
Still can’t wrap my head around the postal services decision to close
so many facilities which could be used as hubs for package business
if it’s waning in productivity and volume in other mail classes. The
redistribution is only going to slow the service standards which was
the stigma of the postal service for years causing buisnesses to use
other alternatives such as Fedex and UPS in the first place.