USPS

Another point the USPS should take into consideration when restructuring, is that it is too easy for most Americans nowadays to forget the significance of a hand written letter or card, when we can communicate within seconds through technology. Come to think of it, I remember running to the mailbox in excitement every November to collect a special, pink birthday card from my grandma with her messy cursive scrawled across the envelope. Now, my “special” birthday wishes are in a 30 second voicemail she leaves from her cell phone every year. The USPS must remind us of the significant difference it can make in communication by recapturing its emotional importance through advertising.

a) Economies of scale—the top three carriers (Federal Express, UPS, and Airborne Express) serve slightly more than 85% of the domestic express mail market. All three carriers deliver a high volume of packages, and thus, are able to spread fixed costs over more units. Also, each carrier has integrated technological systems that improved operational efficiency. In addition, intensive training programs of employees increase service and delivery efficiency.

According to a Case Study-United States Postal Service (Jan 06, 2010), retrieved from: http://www.slideshare.net/bakeursilly/usps; since 1175 when Benjamin Franklin was appointed as the first postmaster general of the United States, the agency known as the United States Postal Service (USPS) has grown to become an institution that delivers about half of the world’s mail in snow, rain, and the dark of the night. Employing about 656,000 workers and 218,684 vehicles, 36,496 total retail and delivery facilities nationwide, 599 processing facilities, 584 million pieces is the average volume per day, and a total work hour of 1,258,025 per year delivering over 200 billion items per year via air and highway.

In July 2009, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) listed the budget of the United States Postal Service as “high risk” and recommended oversight from Congress and the Executive Branch. Specifically, the GAO stated that “Amid challenging economic conditions and a changing business environment, USPS is facing a deteriorating financial situation in which it does not expect to cover its expenses and financial obligations in fiscal years 2009 and 2010” (“Restructuring”, 2009, pg. 1). The GAO claimed that the mail volume in 2009 would likely decrease by about 28 billion as compared to 2008 and that the USPS would likely see declining volumes for the next five years (“Restructuring”, 2009, pg. 1). Clearly, the USPS is currently facing a

In Daniel Stone’s editorial article, “Flying Like an Eagle”, he advises the USPS some guidance to boost up their profit and their usage to the community. One of his inputs on the

The Post Office Department known as the United States Postal Services (USPS) (Annual Report, 2009) today, is a dominate player in the mail delivery arena and has been existence since 1776. The Post Office was originally a governmental agency, but due to mismanagement by Congress, was reorganized in 1971 and no longer a part of the presidential cabinet; but became an independent establishment of the executive branch of the Government. To date, the USPS maintains a monopoly on the day-to-day delivery of mail but competitors do share the market on some of the other types of deliveries; shares the market on some of the other types of deliveries (i.e. express

There are a great deal of changes that the USPS systems needs to make. For one, they need to stop bombarding their customers with junk mail. According to (SOURCE E), 44 percent of marketing mail isn’t opened. Nineteen states have opted to pass bills that would allow people to opt out

Congress also imposes various obligations on the USPS, like delivering mail at uniform price throughout the nation, that only make the USPS financial situation worse. While residents see these price guarantees as a benefit, the uniform price guarantee only adds to the financial strain. Now competitors, UPS and FedEx, are providing competition on package delivery services that the USPS cannot compete with, because of Congress, creating greater revenue losses. One of very few benefits the USPS receives from its association with congress is its monopoly over first class and standard mail. With increasing technological advancements that allow Americans bypass the USPS all together makes the USPS monopoly over first class and standard mail delivery obsolete, making Congress even more of an obstacle. Other countries who have repealed the monopoly of their mail services, like New Zealand and Sweden, have shown this competition to be beneficial. The EU moved in 2008 to eliminate monopolies of mail services by 2013 in all member states. Without this monopoly in the United States, other first class and standard mail service companies would be able to participate in the market and perhaps do it more efficiently, driving the USPS towards efficiency also. Also, by privatizing the USPS it would allow the USPS to diversify and expand

The United States Postal Service (USPS) is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing mail service in the United States. It is one of the few government agencies explicitly authorized by the United States Constitution. Within the United States, it is commonly referred to as the "Post Office", "Postal Service", or "U.S. Mail". Employing 656,000 workers and 260,000 vehicles, it is the second-largest civilian employer in the United States and the operator of the largest civilian vehicle fleet in the world. The USPS is obligated to serve all Americans, regardless of geography, at uniform price and quality. Conversely, it has exclusive access to U.S. mail boxes and non-urgent letters. It

The USPS could also use its association with the US Congress to “make a play for control of government broadband,” effectively making the USPS a “communications-delivery service, rather than just a team of letter carriers.” Evolving the USPS to fit today’s technology-filled world would likely broaden its horizons beyond simply mailing letters. Another step that could be taken by the USPS is to “rebrand” (Source A). Branding is undeniably a key aspect of any business or company because it is what draws people in and makes a business unforgettable. For example, everyone has heard of the “I’m Lovin’

The evolution of the express mail industry had become a quick on-time shipping and delivery of packages. The service had become effective, reliable, and prompt, which most of the top companies could deliver on these guaranteed promises 96-99% of the time. But, delivery services were only a portion of the services being offered to their customers. Carriers had mastered information management that they shared with their customers. Customers were now able to fill out labels, track the route of their package, and assisted in billing using both via carrier provided software or the Internet.

In the modern world, electronic ways of communicating have become the normal way to contact someone. With the advancements in this technology, we’ve been able to send messages and e-mails to someone all the way across the world; however, this technology originated from postal services, one being the United States Postal Service. The United States Postal Service,(USPS) was a pioneer for bringing mail to people all over the U.S. The key difference between these two services is the physicality of the USPS. If you wanted to send a love letter to your girlfriend or boyfriend across the country, an email can still be heartfelt, but also easily missed and disregarded.

The USPS is at a point where it does not have the financing available to maintain its operations. One reason for the annual net losses is due to the declining rate of first-class mail. The second reason has to do with the required prepayment of $5.5 billion per year toward retirees’ healthcare costs. In order for the USPS to overcome this deficit, they will need to consider their short time frame, government restrictions and labor union backfire in considering the best alternative. One alternative would be to privatize postal services operations which would allow the USPS to change its pricing structure, yet it would potentially significantly reduce market share. A second alternative would be to undergo a system-wide

United Parcel Service (UPS), is the world’s largest express package delivery firm that handled more than 4.7 billion packages and documents in 2015. This global transportation and logistics service provider operates in more than 220 countries, and offers an array of supply chain management solutions (UPS Fact Sheet, n.d.). The firm has diversified its products and/or services to include freight forwarding and logistics services via air, ground, rail, and sea. U.S. Domestic Package operations, International Package operations, and Supply Chain and Freight operations are the three operating segments UPS. Through technology advancements UPS delivers online package tracking, e-commerce services, and specialized

The parcel service industry is made up of four main competitors. These competitors are UPS, FedEx, Airborne Express, and the U.S. Postal Service. Since 2000, American consumers have spent more than $50 billion to ship parcels, packages, and overnight letters. New parcel distribution patterns developed due to the way U.S. manufacturing companies are operating. The Internet has expanded the reach of direct marketing, particularly with retail transactions requiring home delivery. Globalization has also created the need for parcel carriers to expand worldwide.