Monthly Archives: May 2015

USPS Has $1.5 billion loss, Same-Day Air Delivery Can Boost Revenue

Courier ServiceUS Postal Service has incurred consecutive years with billions in losses.  In 2012, it lost $15.9 billion.  In 2013, the USPS loss $740 million during the April-June period and $5.5 billion in 2014.  The US Postal Service has attempted new business strategies, service innovations and more to turn their ship around.  With their adjustments, the mail company was looking to have a sizable upswing in revenue this year, however, it’s not looking very favorable overall so far.

The US Postal Service has reported a $1.5 billion loss during first three months of this year.  The mail giant says that it has experienced positive results with more consumers utilizing its’ shipping and packaging services; however, the challenge has been its’ costs and declining product sales.  The shipping and package volume increased by 14.4 percent increase in shipping and package volume, which equated to 1.3 percent or $223 million in higher operating revenue.  However, during the period, the Postal Service sent 420 million fewer pieces of mail in comparison to the same period last year.  It’s First-class mail decreased by 2.1 percent, in addition to its’ standard mail numbers falling by 1.1 percent.

“Shipping and package services are a key business driver. However, operating margins in this business are lower than in mailing services,” said Joseph Corbett, the Postal Service’s chief financial officer.  He went on to say, “And, while we’re pleased to see a small increase in controllable income, to improve our margins, we’ll need to make investments in our network infrastructure and delivery vehicles.”  The article mentions how if the retiree health benefit prefunding expense obligation via the government was excluded, its’ net loss would have been only $44 million versus a $447 million loss during this time last year.

New product innovation may help the US Postal Service recover from other declining mail sales.  One viable option the USPS is to begin offering a same-day delivery service to customers that need their packages delivered fast.  A courier service company like 1-800Courier can offer a time-sensitive shipping method for this market of consumers.

Couriers also consolidate packages which results in competitive pricing for same-day air as well.  The US Postal Service and other delivery companies seeking more product lines can easily count on 1-800Couier!

Reference:  5.8.15, The Daily Astorian, US Postal Service reports $1.5 billion loss

QVC Mobile Sales Up, Same-Day Delivery Can Help Grow Even More

Courier ServiceOne thing about the mobile devices being incorporated into day-to-day living is it definitely helps people shop.  Retailers are glad about it too, even those that are beginning to incorporate same-day delivery into their service options.  Television, web and mobile web retailer QVC would highly agree and its’ recent first quarter numbers show it.

Internet Retailer recently reported that QVC’s mobile sales accounted for 52.13%, or $813 million, of its’ overall sales in the first quarter of this year.  This is a big swing upward from 38.47% this same period last year.  Liberty Interactive, QVC’s parent company, also experienced growth with online retailers Backcountry.com and Bodybuilding.com.  “The expansion in mobile orders was exceptional,” said Greg Maffei, Liberty Interactive president and CEO.

The sales numbers from mobile devices equated to $423.81 million in the first quarter, which is up 42.5% from $297.37 million last year.  QVC’s e-commerce sales increased 5.2% and its’ web now accounted for 42% of total sales, compared with 39% in 2014.  The figures are clear that mobile devices are growing for QVC, as shoppers have become more comfortable with using tech gadgets to make their purchases.  It is also convenient when you have quick access to QVC and can take advantage of all of the discounts the retailer offers regularly.

The article went on to discuss how in spite of greater revenue this past quarter with mobile sales, QVC’s overall revenue declined by 2.4% to $1.938 billion, versus $1.986 billion last year. It stated that QVC blamed the strong dollar from bringing down the abroad dollar-denominated sales.  International sales declined by 12%, which equated to $81 million.  However, its’ US sales increased nearly 3%.  Also, US e-commerce revenue grew 7.12% to $632 million from $590 million a year ago.

Mobile sales appears to be proven to work with QVC, and they should only continue to be on the upswing ahead.  Consumers enjoy getting their online purchases fast.  QVC and other e-retailers could partner with a same-day courier like 1-800 Courier to enable themselves to produce same-day delivery for their online items, which will help market to ton-demand consumer sector.  When mobile shoppers can have their on-line shopping done quickly, 1-800 Courier is a New York Courier that can get it delivered in time.

Reference:  5.11.15, www.internetretailer.com, Katie Evans, Mobile accounts for more than half of online sales at QVC

Boeing Looking to Store Less Parts, Could Turn To Same-Day Delivery

Dallas CourierWhen you’re a company like Boeing, your costs can skyrocket producing your airplanes and jetliners.  Competition with Airbus is getting more intense and the right production systems needs to be in place to gain an advantage.  This is why Boeing is making strategic moves to implement a cost-saving approach to building planes, first beginning with Walter Odisho, who it hired in December 2013.

Reuters reported how the 52 year-old Odisho came from working with Toyota at its’ $6 billion plant in Kentucky and is an expect when it comes to auto manufacturing.  He is the company’s vice president of manufacturing and safety.  Boeing would like to convert to more of a standardized method of manufacturing, as auto makers do.  The first product in which Boeing is implementing a different building approach is with it’s new jetliner 777X.  The article mentions how the new jet is projected to pave the way for a new manufacturing process to flow deeper within its’ plants.

“I think the 777X will be our first opportunity to show the ideas that we have to date,” said Walter Odisho.  This new plane is the world’s largest twin-engined jet that is due to enter service in 2020.  Construction of the 777X has shown that this type of building can work with Boeing’s other products also, even within the assembly lines.  There are so many innovations that businesses are creating, as they begin to think outside-the-box to get ahead.  For Boeing, the article mentions how improving the sequencing of parts reduces inventory and eases cash flow, which has been a recent focus for its’ investors.

It also means less space is needed to store parts, which results in less overhead costs.  A wide range of businesses know that a huge chunk of their costs is overhead, and the less inventory you carry, the more efficient your operation is.  This is why same-day delivery has become such a staple for companies because it keeps costs down and limits inventory.

“The idea of achieving significant savings in a single action is a fallacy. We’ll take the opportunities and when you add them all up together, I think they will amount to quite significant improvements,” Odisho said.  With the changes Boeing is implementing, there will be an affect of inventory and parts delivered into its’ manufacturing facilities.  Here is where a same-day courier like 1-800 Courier can be an asset for Boeing.  The Dallas Courier can perform part distribution deliveries across the US and make sure on-demand parts are available for replenish the same day.  With time-sensitive parts, especially for operation machine breakdowns, 1-800 Courier can be Boeing’s one-source for all of their same-day delivery needs.

Reference:  4.28.15, www.reuters.com, Tim Helpher and Alwyn Scott, Boeing looks to car industry expert for jet production savings

More Amazon Same-Day Delivery, Expands to Baltimore and Miami

Miami CourierA number of retailers are competing against Amazon for more of the market online.  However, Amazon continues to aggressively plow forward with same-day delivery and advancing with its’ expansion plans.  The latest news shows that Amazon’s growth won’t be slowing down.

Amazon has just announced more expansion of same-day delivery with now officially offering the service in Baltimore and Miami.  Just late last year, the retail leader launched same-day delivery programs in several major US cities at the same time.  Those cities included New York City, Dallas, Indianapolis, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Dallas, and lastly, Atlanta.  Bloomsberg reported how Prime Now members in the Baltimore and Miami area will be available in certain zip codes for the initial roll out.  It will then expand into more city areas.

Dave Clark, Amazon’s senior vice president of worldwide operations commented in the e-retailer’s original statement in regards to the new launch.  “Since launching, we’ve seen high demand on everything from essentials like water and paper towels to more surprising deliveries like getting a customer a hard-to-find, top-selling toy,” said Clark.  Amazon has tens of thousands of products for its’ customers, from household products and shampoo, to electronics and tools. Prime Now one-hour delivery is $7.99 and two-hour delivery is free.  Physical store retailers will have to compete with Amazon for shoppers, therefore, same-day delivery is more than just optional.

Amazon’s 40 million Prime members pay $99 annually and for the service, they will only have the additional charge for same-day delivery.  Online competitor Google Express, has its’ service priced at $4.99 per order or customers can pay $10 per month and $95 annually.  Newcomer Petco is charging $5 bucks for same-day delivery in 33 of its’ 4,400 stores in select cities in Arizona, Illinois, Texas, Colorado, Maryland, and Florida.  Wal-Mart’s same-day service is a flat $10, regardless of the order size.

Amazon is forcing brick-and-mortar stores to invest in online retail growth via same-day delivery.  Macy’s is one retailer that launched same-day programs in a volume of stores, which included Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, Houston, Chicago, Washington DC, and New Jersey.  Sister company Bloomingdale’s, also made the service available in Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Jose.  Macy’s service is a flat rate of $5 for orders over $99.  It partnered with Deliv to perform the actual deliveries, a fairly new delivery company.

Department stores like Macy’s and e-retailers can partner with a same-day courier like 1-800Courier to provide last-mile deliveries.  Consolidated deliveries is what the Miami courier specializes in and is able to create cost efficiency for order volume.  A courier has the driver and logistical expertise to develop an optimal same-day solution for any retailer.  With Amazon’s pace, retailers will have to keep up and one way is by investing into a same-day operation.

With online retail’s projected growth of $500 billion by 2018, it’s no wonder why Amazon is in hot pursuit to establish its’ reach within major US cities.  Same-day delivery in Baltimore and Miami are only a few cities that Amazon will expand in, which more are reported to come on line this year also.

Reference:  3.19.15, www.bloomberg.com, Annie Massa, Amazon Expands Same-Day Delivery to Baltimore and Miami