A Race Against the Clock, Again, in Package Delivery

In this day in age, technology has allowed people to do this in unbeatable times. With the iPhone you can instantly download and start using an app within seconds. People expect things to be done correctly and instantly. People expect to have access to items within minutes not days. Delivery services are trying to keep up with people’s high demand in quick delivery services. Customers are able to purchases items online in mere meets, but are obligated to wait days to see their new purchases. Companies like Kozmo have attempted to shorten the delivery times, but have failed in doing so. The United States Postal Service has decided to take on this challenge.

The USPS has decided to experiment in same day delivery of online orders within San Francisco. This new type of delivery will be called Metro Post. The way Metro Post will work is that it will pick up goods ordered online from participating retails in the city before 2pm and plans to delivery to homes from 4pm to 8pm. In order for this to be successful, the United States Postal Service Metro Post packages will go through a different processing center by being directly passed between Post Service employees. A flat rate will be charged for any packages less than twenty-five pounds, but the pricing has yet to be released.

 

The USPS is hoping that this faster type of delivery will bring in more income. Other companies have already developed fast delivery options. Last Month, Wal-Mart announced that it will do same day delivery orders in a few cities. In addition, in lower Manhattan Urban Fetch showcases over 10,000 products that can be delivered within an hour. There is no delivery fee from Urban Fetch as long as the order is over $100.  Recent news has shared the United States Postal Service has been experiencing troubling times. Their finances have gone from bad to worse.

 

In class, we have discussed the important of customer satisfaction as well as quality. While faster delivery options would appeal to more clients, it’s important to still provide quality products. When things are rushed, more accidents tend to occur. I’m curious to see if USPS will be able to provide fast delivery that is accurate. When packages are being delivered, they are jostled around. It’s essential that USPS remembers to not only deliver products in a timely manner, but to still deliver them in one piece. Do you think people are becoming too impatient? Do you feel that same day delivery will provide quality work? What suggestions would you give the United States Postal Service in order to make same day delivery be successful? Is there a type of inspection process that would beneficial to the United States Postal Service?

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/11/technology/online-merchants-again-pursue-same-day-delivery-service.html?ref=technology

7 thoughts on “A Race Against the Clock, Again, in Package Delivery

  1. People are definitely becoming impatient, as you said this is in direct correlation with the speed and ease of buying goods and accessing what we consume online in an instant. There’s always a risk in trying to compete on an attribute such as delivery speed, usually quality suffers for the sake of time. Just because companies can deliver on time or fast, doesn’t mean they’ll do it well. USPS has been a tough spot in recent years, especially with the digital age’s boom, it comes as no surprise that they’re trying to up their game. The term “snail mail” is hard one to shake off.

  2. With all the advancements in technology and how easy/quick it is to purchase goods online, people definitely become impatient and want instant gratification. If USPS can pull off this same day delivery program efficiently, this will surely change people’s preconceptions about them. At first, I’m sure quality may be negativley affected to compensate for time; but, once the whole process can become standardized, USPS should have no problem delivering products quickly with little to no defects. If other companies have already been doing same day deliveries and have been successful, there should be no reason as to why USPS cannnot do the same.

  3. As far as USPS goes, they seem to be the cheapest form of delivery and for a good reason. I used to use USPS,Fedex and UPS for my online transactions when selling items through Ebay and purchasing items through Amazon and Ebay as well.I feel that they need to re-amp their whole system in order for it to work. USPS should possibly look at what they are doing wrong and possibly try not to play catch up with UPS and Fedex but maybe be able to out ship them both. The problem however, is the steady declining use of mail and the higher use of e-mails cutting in to their revenues. USPS may be in a tough spot, but I think this idea can work if they are able to implement it successfully.

  4. I agree that people are definitely much more impatient and that impatience leads to a very demanding market for products. If the USPS attempts to expand this they are going to need to ensure they have a proper procedure in place that is in place and understood by its employees and an accurate inventory system. However I think instead of funneling money into this they should work on the issues try have with current delivery and therefore make it possible to garner more income since they will have proven they can do as they have promised and sliver regular products in one piece quickly and efficiently, people would assume the extra money spent is a safe and intelligent investment.

  5. I would also agree that the we as a society are becoming more impatient. I also believe that same day delivery will eventually reach a high level of accuracy and quality. This may not be immediate, but after some time the issues that arise will be dealt and streamlined. The USPS must make the appropriate changes and not rush into the service. They must plan carefully and allocate the resources necessary in an efficient manner, otherwise their goal of having same-day delivery will never materialize.

  6. I think we can all agree that people are becoming impatient and want results right away. And this is definitely because of technology and how fast things can change in a matter of seconds. I think that each company will try to outdo one another and many of them will fail in trying to provide same day service but sooner or later someone will pull it off. I agree that there might be some problems like quality of the product.

  7. This is a timely topic, especially as Amazon begins to scale up their Same-Day delivery services. Last year, the California State Government started to apply pressure to the large online retailer to require Amazon (and other online retailers) to collect California State Sales Tax. Since this is one of Amazon’s primary market differentiators from brick and mortar retail stores, Amazon fought the state to repeal the law. Last fall, Amazon changed their strategy by settling with at least seven states and agreeing to collect state sales tax on online purchases. Instead, Amazon began offering same day delivery service in select metro areas in order to compete with the large brick and mortar retailers. They have yet to offer same-day delivery in California, but with more than $10 Million in planned investment in the state, you can be sure it’s soon to come.

    What will be interesting to monitor is how USPS intends to respond. Based on the article above, the USPS is in a perfect position to complement Amazon’s needs and could potentially compete directly against FedEx and UPS taking a larger role in the retail courier industry.

    Extra reading if you’re interested:
    http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200105970
    http://www.slate.com/articles/business/small_business/2012/07/amazon_same_day_delivery_how_the_e_commerce_giant_will_destroy_local_retail_.html
    http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/business/2012/10/walmart-amazon-team-for-same-day-delivery/

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *