Ever wonder what happens to your FedEx packages after you send them out the door? We at DM News did, so we took a tour of a local FedEx Express facility – the 48th Street FedEx Express Station on 48th Street and Twelfth Avenue in New York. Each day it handles 20,000 packages en route to offices and residences in midtown Manhattan. We oberved a smoothly run operation that works well, even in bad weather. (The day we took our tour a torrential rainstorm had hit.)
We also took a trip to Woodbridge, NJ, to see how the largest FedEx Ground Hub operates. The hub, which uses state-of-the-art automated package processing and material handling technology, is also run efficiently. I’m sure our coverage will help you understand how FedEx, the $32 billion transportation services company, is consistently ranked among the world’s most admired and trusted companies.
But this issue of Deliver isn’t just about FedEx. It primarily focuses on data quality and the postal rate case.
Data quality is especially important to the mailing community this year, given that Postmaster General John E. Potter has called for a 50-percent reduction of undeliverable-as-addressed mail by 2010.
This edition of Deliver offers readers many ways to improve data and address quality. So be sure to read the articles by Epsilon’s David Thornbury, Business Objects’ Christopher Lein and the U.S Postal Service’s Richard Arvonio.
The upcoming rate increase is also on mailers’ minds. Beginning May 14, many of them will face large increases. To soften the blow, read the article by David Marinkovich, senior vice president of sales, marketing and customer service at DHL Global Mail, a USPS workshare partner. He suggests several ways you could save money by changing your mail processing in light of the upcoming increase.
Also check out tips from IWCO’s Debora Haskel, Pitney Bowes’ Robert Pipe, Structural Graphics’Mike Maguire andWindow Book’s Lisa Bowes.
Other articles discuss how you can mail more efficiently and save money. For example, QuebecorWorld Logistics’ JoelWeber discusses co-mailing and Japs-Olson‘s Peter Towner talks about comminingling. UPS’Bob Fonzo offers tips for maximizing carrier agreements.
Transcontinental Direct’s Jeff Thompson describes how mailers and their service providers can win at the security game.
Finally, do read Frank C. Hudetz’s article. Its title says it all: “Don’t call it a comeback: direct mail remains as effective as ever.”
Many thanks to all the contributors who helped make this guide a must-read and year-round keepsake. Thanks also to art director Gina Capone for her hard work, creativity and eye for design, to Daniel McMahon for his copy-editing expertise and to DM News’ editor in chief Mickey Alam Khan for his guidance.
The purpose of Deliver is to ensure you are up to speed with the latest developments and trends in the delivery business, and who better to explain it all than industry experts – those leading the changes and those adapting to them. Once again, we hope we have delivered.
The DM News Essential Guide to postal news, Deliver, is now available as a PDF file. Click on the the link below to see the full version. http://www.dmnews.com/cms/lib/7738.pdf
