Parcel - October 2008 - (Page 10) 2008 SURVEY RESULTS PARCEL SHIPPERS MAKE MOVES TO OFFSET ECONOMIC FORCES Part 1: Results of the PARCEL Annual Best Practices Survey hat a year for the PARCEL shipping industry! This is the year that will probably redefine our industry for years to come. Why? Transportation companies recognize opportunities. And as more companies see potential in the parcel market, we will have change. But it is not just the transportation companies that see opportunities; it is you, as shippers, who are creating the need for more competition in the marketplace. Yes, your parcel volume may be stagnant but your drive to lower costs (your number one challenge in ’08) is pushing the marketplace to create more transportation options in the delivery of packages. As you read through this year’s PARCEL Best Practices Survey results, co-conducted by PARCEL and Morgan Stanley, it will become obvious that with DHL’s repositioning of its America service offerings, shippers are considering more alternatives than UPS and FedEx. They are making sure there is a competitive landscape as they turn to the USPS, regional carriers, consolidators and LTL transportation companies for some relief on pricing. The question remains, however; can these peripheral companies compete with the “gold” service standards set by UPS and FedEx. But UPS and FedEx are not sitting on their laurels; they have become sensitive to the changing landscape and have been careful not to price themselves out of the market. Rate increases have been minimal and discounts have improved slightly. To track your moves this year, we actually conducted an additional mid-year survey. Since Morgan Stanley conducted its survey in March ’08, before the major announcements by DHL, we opted to conduct a survey in August to note trends after the announcement. (Morgan Stanley will conduct another survey later this fall to continue to look at trends; W By Marll Thiede please take the time to fill out that survey as well.) The biggest change: earlier this year, Morgan Stanley asked how many of you had changed primary domestic carriers in the past six months. Six percent changed air carriers and 12% switched ground carriers. When asked similar questions in August, 36% of shippers said that they had changed carriers in the last 12 months and 22% of shippers anticipate that they will change carriers in the upcoming 12 months. What will your peers do in the next 12 months? Will they indeed move to more LTL, regional, consolidator and USPS modes of transportation? Will UPS, FedEx and DHL price accordingly? When will the USPS have its volume discount programs entrenched to be more competitive? Stay tuned. We will continue to monitor trends in the industry and report them to you. The results of the PARCEL August survey are based on 443 responses. We thank those who took the time to complete the survey; it is lengthy but by finishing it, you have helped us track and report on industry trends. Morgan Stanley, a global financial services firm and a market leader in securities, investment management and credit services, coconducts the survey to help their clients make well-founded decisions on transportation investments. In the November issue of PARCEL, we continue the survey results focusing on the operations side of the parcel industry. We will delve into packaging, technology, management challenges and a host of other concerns for those involved in logistics. Also in November, look for the results of an additional survey we conducted with Traffic World on the trends in shipping and handling charges — another hot issue in this economy! Improved from ‘07 Worsened from ‘07 FedEx* UPS U.S. Postal Service Rate Your Carriers1 Scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the best) DHL CUSTOMER SERVICE ON-TIME SERVICE PERFORMANCE DELIVERY PERFORMANCE CLAIMS PROCESSING REFUNDS FOR LATE DELIVERY PRICING → → → → → → → → 4.9 5.5 5.8 4.4 4.3 5.8 7.3 7.9 8.0 7.5 6.4 6.5 7.0 → 8.1 — 8.1 6.7 → 6.8 5.2 6.6 — 6.5 → 6.7 4.4 6.4 6.8 — → * Compared to FedEx Express in ‘07 1. Data from PARCEL’s August ‘08 Survey. 2. Data from Morgan Stanley’s March ‘08 Survey of PARCEL readers and other shippers. 10 October 2008 www.PARCELindustry.com → → → → → → → → → → → http://www.PARCELindustry.com
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Parcel - October 2008 Parcel - October 2008 Contents Editor's Note What Would Augello Say? Best Practices Survey Results Going with the Flow Is Your Parcel Network Optimized? Last (Mile), but Not Least Moving From Manual to Automated Fulfillment A Race for Excellence Making Ends Meet Is Your Job Killing You? Software Selection Demystified Controlling Costs On the Mark Product Profile New Products & Services Advertiser Index Wrap Up Parcel - October 2008 Parcel - October 2008 - Parcel - October 2008 (Page Cover1) Parcel - October 2008 - Parcel - October 2008 (Page Cover2) Parcel - October 2008 - Parcel - October 2008 (Page 3) Parcel - October 2008 - Contents (Page 4) Parcel - October 2008 - Contents (Page 5) Parcel - October 2008 - Editor's Note (Page 6) Parcel - October 2008 - Editor's Note (Page 7) Parcel - October 2008 - What Would Augello Say? (Page 8) Parcel - October 2008 - What Would Augello Say? (Page 9) Parcel - October 2008 - Best Practices Survey Results (Page 10) Parcel - October 2008 - Best Practices Survey Results (Page Cover3) Parcel - October 2008 - Best Practices Survey Results (Page Cover4)
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