Western Union Money Transfer: Making Customer Service Pay
Western Union Money Transfer: Making Customer Service Pay
Read MoreTag: USA
Building partnerships for effective e-fulfilment
Building partnerships for effective e-fulfilment
Read MoreUPS holds Investors Conference
UPS Chairman and CEO Scott Davis told Wall Street analysts and investors the company is poised for long-term growth, driven by globalization.
He said UPS has made significant progress in developing its global, multi-modal integrated transportation network. The UPS network now handles freight forwarding and less-than-truckload shipping as well as small package transportation on UPS-owned or third-party assets. This unique capability provides a seamless customer experience regardless of the type of shipment, the mode of transportation or the location around the world.
Chief Financial Officer Kurt Kuehn reviewed UPS’s 2010 goals. He stated the company remains on target to achieve the long-term goals that it revealed at its investor conference in November 2006. From 2005 to 2010 UPS anticipates:
– Revenue growth of 6-to-8 pct per year.
– Compound annual earnings per share growth of 9-to-14 pct.
– And return on invested capital of 23-to-25 pct.
After noting that several economic indicators have recently worsened, Kuehn provided insight into the company’s results for the first two months of 2008. He said the U.S. package segment experienced a solid January, but volume declined in February across virtually the entire customer base. “If these trends continue through March, our earnings guidance for the first quarter will be difficult to achieve,” Kuehn added.
Other areas of the business are performing well. For example, international average daily volume, including U.S. export volume, continues to show strong growth. Kuehn also indicated the international and supply chain segments remain on target for the quarter. Despite short-term economic challenges, UPS’s annual earnings guidance remains USD 4.30-to-USD 4.50 per share.
To capitalize on that opportunity, UPS has enhanced its service offerings to participate in a market in excess of USF 225 billion, encompassing small package, air and ground freight.
Read MoreUPS says slowing economy may weigh on first quarter
United Parcel Service Inc., said it may not meet its first-quarter earnings target as U.S. economic growth slows.
Domestic shipments at UPS have dropped for six straight weeks, Chief Financial Officer Kurt Kuehn said today at an investor presentation in New York. Air deliveries have fallen faster than ground shipments. The declines make UPS’s per-share profit goal of 94 cents to 98 cents “difficult to achieve,” Kuehn said. He reaffirmed full-year guidance of USD 4.30 to USD 4.50.
The economic outlook for this year is “uncertain at best,’ Chief Executive Officer Scott Davis told investors. Lower interest rates and tax rebates that are part of a federal economic stimulus package may help reinvigorate demand, he said.
“I’m not ready to proclaim the quarter lost, and I’m not ready to proclaim the economy lost,” Davis said.
Higher fuel costs, job losses and falling home values have dimmed growth prospects for the economy. It will expand 1.4 percent for all of 2008, the weakest since the last recession in 2001, based on the median estimate of 62 economists polled by Bloomberg from March 3 to March 10.
UPS will focus on expanding overseas sales to overcome slowing U.S. demand, Chief Operating Officer David Abney said.
The company is adding operations in 10 cities in China and buying seven Boeing Co. 747-400 wide-body freight airplanes, Abney said. He said India’s export volume jumped more than 25 percent last year, while European exports rose more than 10 percent.
Read MoreHBO goes postal (U.S)
Close your laptop, put away your BlackBerry and write a letter. That’s what John Adams would have wanted.
The U.S. Postal Service and HBO recently launched an ad campaign that focuses on the importance of handwritten correspondence and the heartfelt feelings it evokes. The effort, called “Power of the Letter,” promotes HBO’s miniseries John Adams, which details the life of the second U.S. president and his abundant letter writing.
HBO, seeking exposure for the miniseries that premieres on March 16, is footing the bill. “We didn’t have to spend a penny on this campaign,” said rep Sue Brennan at the USPS, Washington.
The campaign spans across TV, online and retail. A specialWeb site, poweroftheletter.com, was created by HBO, which provides a brief description of the miniseries and encourages consumers to write letters. Standees, which are 6-foot tall cardboard ads, were put up in more than 4,000 Postal Service retail locations around the country to drive consumers to the Web site, in addition to window clings with ads in 12,000-plus locations.
The campaign will run until the end of the month. Civic Entertainment Group, New York, handles.
“[The promotion] is in more Postal Service locations than there are Starbucks coffee shops and Wal-Mart stores in the U.S.,” said Spencer Rice, a director at Civic Entertainment.
Read MorePost & Parcel Magazine
Post & Parcel Magazine is our print publication, released 3 times a year. Packed with original content and thought-provoking features, Post & Parcel Magazine is a must-read for those who want the inside track on the industry.