newsworthy
Office Depot exec has no fear of parcel “duopoly”
Not every shipper, it seems, fears the big, bad parcel duopoly of FedEx Corp. and UPS Inc.
Brent R. Beabout, vice president, global network strategy
and transportation for office supply giant Office Depot,
challenged the conventional wisdom that FedEx and UPS
can now run wild in the U.S. market in the wake of DHL
Express’s January 2009 exit. Beabout told the National
Logistics and Distribution Conference’s annual meeting in
April that smaller parcel delivery firms have emerged to
aggressively and effectively compete with the two giants.
The smaller players’ customer service and package tracking capabilities may not be quite on par with the big boys’,
Beabout said, but the deeply discounted rates offered by the
small firms more than offset the minor service shortfall.
Beabout, who made the comments at a shipper panel discussion, did not identify specific carriers.
“I see FedEx and UPS losing ground, and we are taking
advantage,” said Beabout, whose company spends slightly
more than $50 million a year on parcel services.
Beabout added that UPS’s unionized status results in
higher labor costs that make it “non-competitive” with
FedEx and others on a per-pound basis. However, he lauded UPS for offering great customer service and superior
shipment tracking features.
Looming capacity crunch
Also speaking on the panel was Ben Cubitt, vice president,
supply chain for packaging products maker Rock-Tenn Co.
Cubitt said shippers need to brace themselves for rapidly
tightening truckload capacity, driver shortages, and higher
rates, especially as the U.S. economy improves.
The era of ample truckload capacity at rock-bottom rates
appears to be over, Cubitt said. “This is probably the easiest
three to four years I’ve ever experienced,” he said, adding
“there’s no trend that looks good for me as far as capacity is
concerned.”
Gough Grubbs, senior vice president, distribution/logistics
for retailer Stage Stores, said he’d like to see “our outbound car-
riers move more of our inbound freight” to reduce empty miles
and improve asset utilization. This so-called continuous moves
strategy has proved tricky for shippers to implement, but it can
cut shipping costs and carbon emissions if successful.
The panel concurred that one idea that needs to be closely
examined is “collaborative distribution,” where multiple
shippers combine shipments to create a truckload movement
rather than ship individually in costlier less-than-truckload
moves. The panelists said the potential for cost savings and a
reduced carbon footprint will make companies more receptive to the idea of sharing a truck with rivals. ;
newsmakers
; Hytrol Conveyor Co. has appointed Phillip
Poston manager of marketing. Poston’s new
responsibilities include advertising, literature
development, distributor training and education, and the ongoing development of multimedia tools for enhanced communication
and sales promotion. During his 10 years at
Hytrol, Poston has worked in customer service, sales, and
marketing. He most recently served as focus factory coordinator in Hytrol’s manufacturing facility.
POSTON
; Jacobson Companies has named Peter Knapp president
of international logistics services, a newly created position at
the company. Knapp joins Jacobson from APL Logistics,
where he served as vice president of contract logistics. Prior
to that, Knapp held a number of senior management positions, including vice president of business development in
Asia Pacific for DHL Exel Supply Chain. Jacobson is a third-party logistics services specialist that provides value-added
warehousing, packaging, contract manufacturing, staffing,
contract logistics, and associated freight management and
transportation services.
; Matt Shay has been selected as the next president and
CEO of the National Retail Federation (NRF). He joins NRF
from the International Franchise Association (IFA), where he
served as president and CEO. Shay, who began his career at
the Ohio Council of Retail Merchants, joined the IFA in 1993
and served in several positions, including executive vice president and COO.
; Kevin Thuet has joined TGW as director of systems development. Thuet brings extensive industry experience to TGW, having worked with companies like Diamond Phoenix, Tompkins
Associates, and Daifuku/Eskay. During his career, Thuet has
designed over 300 different distribution and manufacturing
facilities worldwide.
; Gary Mayfield, CEO of Kenco Logistic Services, has been
elected chairman of the International Warehouse Logistics
Association (IWLA). Mayfield has more than 30 years of supply chain experience with third-party logistics and manufacturing companies. As IWLA chairman, he will focus on membership recruitment and retention, as well as improving communication regarding IWLA’s government affairs activities.
