Parcel - April 2008 - (Page 39)

side? It costs the integrated carriers (UPS, FedEx and DHL) signiﬁcantly more to deliver to residences than to businesses. So expect the cost of B to C shipping to outpace the CPI. 6. Ground shipping is no longer “up in the air.” The big shift from air to ground shipments started a few years ago and will continue for the foreseeable future. A number of factors are driving this trend, not the least of which is the ever-widening gap between air (currently over 20%) and ground (six percent). Another contributing factor is the recent ground transit time improvements by UPS, FedEx and the Postal Service. 7. Your customers will want to play a bigger part in your shipping decisions. As you probably already know, your customers’ shipping expectations are continuously on the rise. They not only want “free shipping,” they want it there faster, and they want to know precisely where that package is, from the time it leaves your distribution center until the time it’s delivered (and you probably do too!). But now they want something more — they want a stake in which carrier you use. Don’t believe me? Just check out customer feedback websites such as My3cents.com. Hopefully the shipping horror stories won’t mention your company by name! This article is a preview of Shoshana Grove’s and Doug Caldwell’s super session at the Postal Forum. If you weren’t able to make it to the session, drop Doug a line at Doug.Caldwell@ParcelPool. com, and he will email you a copy of the presentation. ■ 5. Shipping costs for the unwary will continue to rise, as oil hits over $100 per barrel. We’ve all seen so-called “accessorial” fees skyrocket over the last few years, and with oil at over $100 per barrel and rising by the day, it’s no wonder. And this trend is certain to accelerate over the next few years. Most of the fees with the biggest impact are related to “last mile” delivery, such as residential and rural surcharges. Here’s a tip: use the USPS “residential delivery indicator” ﬁle, which is the only foolproof way to determine whether an address is a residence, before you ship. www.PARCELindustry.com Spring 2008 39 http://My3cents.com http://www.precisionsoftware.com http://www.precisionsoftware.com http://www.PARCELindustry.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Parcel - April 2008

PARCEL - April 2008 Contents Editor's Note Moving Forward Recycling for Safety’s Sake Want Some Good News? Negotiations Have No Finish Line... Lowering your Parcel Shipping Costs Meeting Industry Challenges New Pricing, New Opportunities Time to Track It’s Scan-tastic! 10 Recycling Facts The New USPS Law Changes New Law, New Opportunities for Package Shippers A Diamond in the Rough Seven Shipping Trends for 2010 ...and Beyond The Move Update Changes A Simple Shipping Solution A Case Study in Efficiency New Products and Services Industry News Advertiser Index

Parcel - April 2008

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