Tag: USA

A Budding Network

Posted by | Apr 23, 2007 | |

The many hands–and connections –that go into overnight delivery
Information about the package is as important as the package itself.” I said that in 1978, five years after FedEx created the modern express industry. Please don’t misunderstand me. We care a lot about what’s inside the box, but the ability to track and trace shipments and thereby manage inventory in motion revolutionized logistics. Of course, back then I couldn’t have imagined what we’d be witnessing today: the vast and steady integration of the world’s economy into one giant interdependent global network.

Global integration is not a new phenomenon. It happened in the Roman era, over a network of roads; it happened during the Renaissance, when trading and merchant companies crisscrossed oceans; and it happened in the 19th century, with help from railroads and telegraphs. But today it’s happening faster than ever before and it means the dispersion of products and services of the widest breadth imaginable to every corner of the world.

We can now get our computer problems solved in minutes by a phone rep in India or get a same-day medical consultation by doctors in Tokyo, London and New York. And we can ship high-tech and high-value-added goods within one to two business days, door-to-door, virtually anywhere on the planet.

We couldn’t do any of this without complex information networks. FedEx spends roughly $1.5 billion a year on information technology. Some rough numbers will give you an idea of why. Every second of every day we have to handle 3,000 transactions, as well as 1,000 inquiries on the status of a package. Orders go out to 70,000 handheld devices carried by our couriers and contractors and millions of our customers’ desktops. Every day FedEx handles 6 million shipments around the globe. We have close to 7,000 people in IT overseeing what Rob Carter, our chief information officer, understatedly calls “an intense computing environment.”

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eBay Seller’s Go Postal Over USPS Impending Rate Increase

Posted by | Apr 23, 2007 | |

World’s largest eBay seller’s group, Dallas eBaybes & eMales, will host a meeting with USPS officials to discuss looming rate increases. The meeting will be held at 6:00PM on Monday, April 23rd in Plano, Texas. The success of an eBay seller is directly affected by shipping costs and many eBay sellers are extremely upset about the impending doom of the USPS changes, which include eliminating some of the services completely.

eBay is a business partner to USPS and the majority of eBay sellers rely on the post office to ship all of their packages, as it has always been the most affordable option. As of May 14th, many eBay sellers may decide not to go postal after all and switch to one of the competitors, like FedEx, UPS or DHL. eBay sellers bring billions of dollars in revenue to the USPS, so it’s very important to their bottom line to maintain that partnership.

The Dallas eBay group has been together since 2002, meeting once a month to discuss eBay and how they can improve their bottom line and make a difference for all eBay sellers. Tonight’s meeting should be very interesting, heated and hopefully, none of the attendees will go postal.

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eBay gets ready for USPS rate increase

Posted by | Apr 23, 2007 | |

Shipping is a vital part of online sales, and eBay is getting ready to handle postal rate changes coming in May.

eBay is preparing its tools for the changes and providing updated information for its sellers. eBay said PayPal shipping labels that some eBay sellers use will calculate the new shipping rates to coincide with the USPS changes. All shipping labels printed on PayPal after May 14 will reflect the new rates and services, the company said. It will also update its Shipping Calculator so that the new rates will update automatically in early May.

In addition, sellers who use the Sell Your Item form will be able to click on the “See new rates” link in the Research Rates tool to see the future rates, starting in early May.

eBay is also hosting two online workshops to help sellers prepare for the changes.

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It's 'Passport Sunday' at post office

Posted by | Apr 21, 2007 | |

If you’re planning a trip outside the United States in the near future, you may have to add obtaining a passport to your travel to-do list – and make a visit to the post office this Sunday.

Recent changes to passport law mean such documentation is now required for re-entering the United States following travel to destinations that previously did not have passport requirements.

According to the United States State Department, since Jan. 23, anyone traveling by air between the United States and Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda, including any U.S. citizen, is required to present one of the following: a passport, an Air NEXUS card, or a U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Document. An Alien Registration Card, Form I-551, is required if applicable.

The demand for obtaining passports has become so great that the United States Postal Service has implemented “Passport Sunday.” This Sunday, a number of local post offices will be open to accommodate customers who need passports and may not be able to get to post offices during normal operating hours. The participating post offices will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

While the United States Postal Service accepts passport applications, it is the United States State Department that actually processes the applications, according to Russo. The post office, however, is one of the more common places people go to get passport applications and drop them off, she said.

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US Postal Service to raise postage rates for smaller publications

Posted by | Apr 20, 2007 | |

The US Postal Service has accepted a proposal from Time Warner to raise postage rates significantly for smaller publications while reducing rates for larger publishers like Hearst and Time Warner. A coalition of smaller, independent media, including Free Press, a national non-partisan organization working to reform media, and the Media Consortium, including Ms., magazine, Mother Jones, The Nation, American Prospect, The Progressive, In These Times, and other independent media, are working to send a massive number of letters to the Postal Service and Congress protesting this postage hike.

Time Warner’s plan was chosen — with no public input — instead of another proposal that would have imposed a mostly equal increase (approx. 12 percent) for all magazine publishers. If implemented, the Time Warner plan could force many smaller publications out of business, according to Free Press.

The US Postal Service is currently accepting comments on the postage change. Free Press, Ms., and other groups are working to collect thousands of comments calling on Congress to step in and reverse the postage hike.

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