Tag: Courier/Express/Parcels

Looking to cooperate more with its competitors, the U.S. Postal Service is hoping to expand its package returns service through major carriers UPS, FedEx Corp. and DHL, says Jim Cochrane, acting vice president of ground packages at the U.S.P.S. But while none of the three big carriers have yet to publicly express an interest in the service, the Postal Services’ sole returns partner for now, Newgistics Inc., plans a major expansion of the service this year, Newgistics CFO Mike Twomey says.

The Postal Service wants to expand the returns service—through which the U.S.P.S. takes packages from a consumer’s home address to a postal facility, where a private carrier picks it up to complete delivery back to a retailer or manufacturer—as part of a broad effort to expand its delivery business in cooperation with carrier companies. Newgistics specializes in serving apparel and consumer electronics retailers, so extending the U.S.P.S. returns service through other carriers could broaden its reach.

UPS, FedEx and DHL all declined to comment on the Postal Service plan. Cochrane, noting the three carriers were all aware of the Postal Service’s interest in working with them, also declined to say if the U.S.P.S. had entered contract negotiations with any of the carriers.

The Postal Service, in an attempt to run its own operations more efficiently, is providing its shipping partners financial incentives to pick up and deliver packages at direct-delivery units, such as local post offices, instead of at regional bulk mail centers. Newgistics will use its shipping management system to look at a matrix of carrier shipping rates and Postal Service incentives to determine whether it’s more cost-effective to ship to a direct-delivery unit or to a bulk mail center.