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Technology and Your Bottom Line
October 2007, Parcel Magazine, By Bob Ferri and Rob Shirley
Technology is continually touted as the method to gain information, improve service to our customers, improve productivity and reduce costs. But as time goes on we wonder why our bottom line still does not fully match our expectations.
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A Profitable Bonanza for Carriers
September 2007, Parcel Magazine, By Bob Ferri and Rob Shirley
Web 2.0 allows you to reap the benefits of technology.
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The Times, They Are A Changin’
August 2007, Parcel Magazine, By Bob Ferri and Rob Shirley
Just as email has changed the manner in which you communicate, how you manage your business is about to change as well. Those companies that rapidly seize upon new evolving business tools will have the opportunity to significantly increase market share and profitability.
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Mergers & Acquisitions - Making Money the Old Fashioned Way
July 2007, Parcel Magazine, By Rob Shirley
Most businesses are begun on the premise that great service and great products will win customers. Those customers in turn will provide revenue to build the company organically. However, every business day we find large companies buying other firms to sustain their organic growth. Even the Wall Street Journal has had a takeover offer.
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A Winning Combination: Adding Regional Carriers to Your Mix
March 2007, Parcel Magazine, By Rob Shirley
Demonstrating tenacity and creativity, regional carriers can be virtually anything you want them to be - a white knight in critical delivery times or a cost cutter in desperate financial times. If it's been done, they've probably done it.
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Partnering for Success: Negotiating with Carriers
February 2007, Parcel Magazine, By Rob Shirley
Prices continue to escalate in the parcel/express industry at an unprecedented rate. Last fall, PARCEL published a survey conducted by Morgan Stanley stating that only 11% of major shippers utilized consultants. The survey showed that those who did engage consultants to help in the parcel/express negotiation process realized a 49% improvement in discounts over those that did not.
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A Fork in the Road
February 2007, Parcel Magazine, By Rob Shirley
With the rise of Internet-based companies, traditional retailers have had to adapt their shipping strategies and pricing in order to compete
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Close to Home: When to Use Regional Carriers
December 2006, Multichannel Merchant, By William Atkinson
Fewer and fewer shippers are overlooking the regional carriers, and the number of such companies is growing as a result.
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Shipping Consolidator - how to find the right one
Oct 01, 2006, Multichannel Merchant, By Mark Del Franco
Direct marketers have long relied on shipping consolidators to help them get their packages farther down in the U.S. Postal Service mail stream so that they could cut delivery costs.
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Small Changes Can Mean Big Bucks
August 2006, Parcel Magazine, By Rob Shirley
National carriers offer a two-day service with guaranteed delivery, and the benefits of this service are very popular with shippers, particularly if they regularly ship packages long distances. Consider a five-pound package that is 10 inches square, which is going to a business in Newark, New Jersey and is picked up by UPS at a regularly scheduled pickup in Denver, Colorado. When UPS picks it up on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, it will be delivered in two days by 5:00 PM for $24.71 (list price).
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Trimming Your Transportation Costs
Jul 01, 2006, Multichannel Merchant, By Mark Del Franco
Along with death and taxes, multichannel merchants can count on rising transportation costs. The chief culprit for increasing costs is fuel, which affects your transportation costs on incoming shipments from your vendors and outgoing packages to your customers. According to Steve Holmes, spokesperson for Atlanta-based United Parcel Service, fuel costs for the parcel carrier were 48% higher in the
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Equalizing the Trade Imbalance
May 2006, Parcel Magazine, By Rob Shirley
Too often, companies fall into a rut. Managers complain about less than ideal conditions, but yet are at a loss as to how to remedy the situation. To give your business a breath of fresh air, why not review one of the most powerful options available to grow your business?
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Tips for Reducing Shipping Costs
Apr 01, 2006, Multichannel Merchant, By Rob Shirley
It comes as no surprise that shipping costs are increasing. What is a surprise is the extent to which costs have climbed. The increases are forcing companies large and small to seek new ways to pare expenses. When it comes to shipping, most people equate cost savings with carrier pricing. That's a valid assumption but you need to take the equation a few steps further. Benchmark yourself against similar
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Lesson learned from APX bankruptcy
Apr 01, 2006, Multichannel Merchant, Mark Del Franco
Chuck Frenette, the chief financial officer of Chippewa Falls, WI-based B.A. Mason Shoe, spent most of March 15 scrambling to reroute some 7,000 packages that had been on a trailer of third-party logistics provider APX Logistics. Frenette had received a call at 11 a.m. that day telling him that Santa Fe Springs, CA-based APX the parcel consolidator for about 95% of B.A. Mason's packages was filing
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APX Logistics to File for Chapter 11
Mar 15, 2006, Multichannel Merchant, By Mark Del Franco and Jim Tierney
MULTICHANNEL MERCHANT has heard from several sources that Santa Fe Springs, CA-based third-party logistics provider APX Logistics will be filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
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A Shift in the Industry
March 2006, Parcel Magazine, By Rob Shirley
In the 1980s, purchasing and procurement departments mandated vendor reduction and referred to it as "single sourcing." Major companies emphasized the benefits of having sole vendors large enough to provide all of the products or services required. Oh, how times have changed.
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The Case for Multicarrier Shipping Solutions
Feb 08, 2006, Multichannel Merchant, By Rob Shirley
The major package carriers began providing PCs and printers to shippers 20 years ago to help them fill out waybills (the paperwork needed for shipment) faster. These devices were designed to print shipping labels, track, store recipient addresses, and provide reports and invoices for one single carrier and were not accessible for other functions.
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