US Postal Service Loses $2 Billion, Can Same-Day Delivery Help?

The US Postal Service has tried to turn the tide in the recent years and everything appeared to be head in the right direction. However, the earnings for the second quarter has the mailing company holding its' head down for the moment.

With some disheartening figures, the US Postal Service lost $2 billion in the 2nd quarter of this year. The losses were between April and June. This is a huge difference from a net loss of $740 million during the same period in 2013. Therefore, its' losses more than doubled in direct comparison. One contributor to the hit is the falling use of first-class mail, which use to be a key profit maker for the USPS. It fell 1.4 percent, yet was offset by the 3.2 percent rise in revenues for the same product

Joseph Corbett, the USPS Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President, did comment on the stunning numbers, yet appears to be focused on the operational needs as the solution. "To continue to provide world-class service and remain competitive, we must invest up to $10 billion to replace our aging vehicle fleet, purchase additional package-sorting equipment, and make necessary upgrades to our infrastructure". The delivery fleet is one of the competitive advantages for the company, which it can't do without, especially because its' trucks can be used for other business ventures.

These figures were staggering the company attempting to regroup and make a comeback from multiple years of high-digit losses. The USPS says the big hits are a result of the government's requirement to reserve billions to ensure that its' retirees have their future health benefits. The payments are made in installments of $5.7 billion, which it has already defaulted on three of its' payments, as another payment is due September 30th, which is weeks away. It can be challenging to get ahead with these constant payments required and the USPS finds what little revenue it has received since last year to quickly turn into losses.

The mailing company attempted to be innovative last year, launched PostMate, which offering same-day delivery of packages and other items. It also began working with Amazon to provide deliveries as well. Amazon knows that the USPS has the delivery system it takes to really nail down a solid foundation for delivering online orders the same day. It definitely has the robust fleet size it takes to perform same-day delivery in multiple US cities nationwide.

Can same-day delivery help the US Postal Service? With the growth of same-day delivery throughout the US, all the company needs is a strong partnership coupled with a strong business innovation in regards to e-retail. Amazon, Google, eBay and more all desire a grounded delivery fleet. The USPS appears to turning more and more towards innovation to get out of the red, which just might work. Any company can partner with a Same-Day Courier like A-1 Express and implement same-day delivery for online order fulfillment. The New York Courier has the expertise and delivery system it takes to help any company thrive delivering products the same day.

Reference: 8.12.14, www.msn.com, Elvina Nawaguna, U.S. Postal Service loses $2 billion in second quarter

Barnes & Noble Partners With Google For Same-Day Delivery

Google matches Amazon again as it moves forward with same-day delivery in an area that will certainly help one large book retailer in a big way. CNN Money recently reported that Barnes & Noble has partnered with Google to provide same-day delivery. The two retailers will work together to offer the service in Manhattan, West Los Angeles and the San Francisco peninsula.

It is an interesting, yet unsurprising concept that Barnes & Noble has decided to venture into with Google. The book retailer may be turning all of the stores within those cities, including the Manhattan Union Square store in New York City, into an actual warehouse in which Google will deliver books for the company same day. This gives us insight on the wave of innovative selling that same-day delivery is injecting into the retail industry for brick-and-mortar stores.

Jaime Carey, Barnes & Noble's chief merchandising officer, stated in the report, "The way the program is set up, they're using our local stores as the hub for this". Google employees will essentially pull the books for Barnes & Noble shelves, then give them to Google couriers who then deliver the books to the end customer. This is a set up that will probably work, as a Same-Day Courier like A-1 Express will have the delivery expertise and routing optimization tools to get it done. As more and more books are ordered, a strong delivery base will be a must.

Barnes & Noble will have delivery windows for customers to choose from. The windows will be 9am to 1pm, 1pm to 5pm and 6pm to 10 pm daily. The report didn't state any information regarding any time constraints in which the customer must placed their order. However, these windows are wide enough for couriers to pick up and delivery books on time. Couriers are use to delivering within very short windows, therefore, Barnes & Noble should be able to create a good foundation for same-day delivery, including working our any kinks that arise.

Online customers are now who Barnes & Nobles has its' sights on, as same-day delivery will give it the market entry strategy it needs. "For us, it's fantastic that we can bring new customers to those local stores," Carey said. Online retail has consistently grown 16% in recent years and is getting stronger, therefore, it's a good move for Barnes & Noble to venture into the market. Also, being a brick-and-mortar store with today's e-commerce just won't due any more. Your strategy has to be dual, aggressively pursuing business from both physical store and e-retail fronts.

Google's Shopping Express is proving to open doors for the retailer to get it's same-day delivery service in the hands of other physical store companies that need help selling their products. It appears this is the objective for partnership with Barnes & Noble. With the convenience of technology, customers are able to order online with ease and from anywhere. Therefore, it gives reason to not have to leave home, but rather save time and gas to do other things. A-1 Express is a New York Courier that retailers like Barnes & Noble can turn to deliver books nationwide.

Reference: 8.7.14, CNN Money, Aaron Smith, Barnes & Noble teams with Google for same-day delivery

Amazon Launches Same-Day Delivery in 6 Major Cities

It hasn't been an easy race for many e-retailers to keep up with Amazon, as the robust online company has outpaced many with its' marketing and distribution expertise. One of the areas Amazon began becoming very vocally aggressive about since last year was same-day delivery. From same-day delivery drone use to Sunday deliveries, Amazon is now withholding nothing. From it's latest major move, it's very clear that the Amazon and nationwide same-day delivery assumptions of many experts have been right all along.

Amazon has announced the expansion of same-day delivery in 6 major US cities. The "Get It Today" same-day service will be offered in New York City, Dallas, Baltimore, Indianapolis, Washington DC and Philadelphia within the metro-populated city areas. The e-retailer will be offering a million eligible items beginning today. Seven days a week, all orders placed by noon will receive their online items the same day. Customers will have at their disposal numerous of products, including video games, movies, last-minute travel needs, fix-it needs, back-to-school supplies, baby wipes,electronics, and more.

Prime members will have the first good draw at a low price for the same-day service. For $5.99, members will be able to order all of the items they want. Non-prime customers can still get their items same day, yet their charge is $9.98 for the first item and $0.99 for each additional item.

The same-day service will be easy for shoppers to get to on Amazon's site. Within the Amazon product selection, shoppers will have available a "Get It Today" filter, which shows all of the items that can be purchased and delivered same-day. Amazon also has "Get It Tomorrow" filter for millions of more items that can be delivered next day. Many customers want their online shopping to be quick and easy, especially when its' done via pad or smartphone. These site options by Amazon make for fast shopping, and is now backed with fast delivery.

Amazon appears to be very excited about the new roll-out and what it will ultimately offer its' customers. Greg Greeley, Vice president of Amazon Prime, stated in the report, "Imagine how much time you will save now that you can get sunscreen, memory cards, toothpaste, hit movies, text books and HDMI cables all delivered to your home in hours, seven days a week, in one order from Amazon. New convenient pricing also allows Prime members to fill up their same-day shopping cart with everything they may need for one low price. With more than a million eligible items, we aim to offer the largest same-day selection at the lowest price.”

The new expansion of same-day delivery may involve Amazon's new Firefly smartphone. Firefly has an element about the phone specific for Amazon.com shopping, which allows users to scan actual physical objects at retail stores and shop at the same time. It also recognizes almost 100 million objects via a visual database. Therefore, a shopper using Firefly can find an item in a physical store they are considering buying, phone-scan it and automatically see all the listings on Amazon.com for it. The flexibility then comes in when that customer can now order from Amazon, then "Get It Today" delivery and have it waiting at their door step before they get there.

With same-day delivery being so heavily pursued by Amazon, the heavyweight retailer could partner with a same-day courier service like A-1 Express to perform its' deliveries. The New York Courier has a nationwide footprint and utilizes the latest in courier technology that enables it to deliver fast.

References: 8.6.14, Yahoo Finances, Amazon Same-Day Delivery Expanding - “Get It Today” Available in Six More Cities

US Postal Service Testing Same-Day Delivery In New York

It can be said about the US Postal Service that the company has no quit in it. With the recent years of drought in first-class mail sales and losing billions due to lower mail volume, the Postal Service could have started cutting services or even shutting its’ doors. However, it didn’t. The company chose to roll up its’ sleeves, find another way to use their assets and make something work. Looks like it finally has.

The US Postal Service has reported that in the last three months of 2013, the company delivered 1 billion packages. This is a 10% increase in comparison to the same period in 2012. It also showed revenue went up 14% to $3.4 billion within that time. This is a huge sign for the future of the postal giant. Metro Post, its’ new same-day delivery service, was also launched last year in San Francisco and in New York in December, also helping the USPS gain some momentum. Same-day delivery is a new concept that a number of online retailers, such as Amazon, Wal-Mart, eBay, Google, and more, are testing to meet online demand.

Metro Post in New York is doing a whole lot better than the pilot program in San Francisco. It was launched last year in hopes of same-day delivery working in one of the most popular cities for it, however, it didn’t do well at all. San Francisco Metro Post delivered only 95 packages in five months. “It was a rushed pilot—they announced it, but it wasn’t really ready to go. Sometimes you learn more from the failures than the successful ones.” said Jim Sauber, chief of staff of the letter carriers’ union. This is not the case for the New York Metro Post. Since its’ December conception, the service has had 68 packages delivered within a day.

Another move the USPS has engaged with New York Metro Post is partnering with web-based retailers and deliver for them on Sundays. The postal company is currently working with web-based online giant Amazon in not only New York, but also Philadelphia and Los Angeles. The article discussed how the Sunday service is very attractive to customers and is growing quickly. So far, Metro Post has delivered over 2.5 million packages for Amazon. If this continues to go well, it could lead to other innovative ways the two companies can partner up and perform same-day delivery elsewhere. There is known the USPS only has five letter carriers operating in New York.

With the downswing of first-class mail sales, the Postal Service is making the right turns now to generate revenue by venturing out and offering other services. The core driver of all of their sales is the growth of business online. Other web-based and physical store retailers that don’t have their own vehicle fleet like the Postal Service, can turn to a same-day courier services like A-1 Express to make their deliveries. This New York Courier has the courier expertise and superior performance to meet a wide range of same-day delivery needs nationwide.

Reference: 2.13.14, www.businessweek.com, Devin Leonard, The U.S. Postal Service Tests Same-Day Delivery

Amazon Set To Launch Same-Day Delivery Grocery Service In New York

Amazon is doing a lot of good things with its' same-day delivery grocery service AmazonFresh. It is a service many experts didn't expect to go this far, yet Amazon is proving the naysayers wrong. The service is having success in various cities, as Amazon has established the service on the west coast. Now the retail giant is making leaps to expand the new service to one of the biggest cities in the US--New York.

Internet Retailer reported Amazon has announced it will be launching AmazonFresh in the New York. This will be the first actual launching of the service on the eastern coast of the US. The retail giant has already started Amazon Fresh in San Francisco, Seattle, and Los Angeles. AmazonFresh customers pay a $299 annual fee for free delivery of orders of more than $35, which includes delivery of the items Amazon is more known for selling—such as books, movies, toys and electronics. Currently, Amazon charges $10 per for all orders under $100 bucks, and if it is over $100, there is no charge for delivery.

There is some concern on whether the branding of Amazon will be received by customers to actually buy groceries from the online retailer. “To me the competitive advantage is the brand,” stated Tom Forte, a senior analyst with Telsey Advisory Group LP. “It’s having customers who are familiar with Amazon, who have been ordering with Amazon for an extended period of time, that can deliver them groceries and other items from Amazon in a timely manner.” Amazon is widely known for offering a variety of products, yet will the company be able to market Amazon Fresh just right to create the same level of trust by customers relative to groceries.

Amazon will also have its' fair share of competition on the east coast. Two of the big name online retailers that are already performing same-day delivery of groceries there is Peapod and Fresh Direct. Peapod is the leading grocery service provider, which reached $525 million in online sales in 2012. The company is already services Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Milwaukee, Washington DC, and Indianapolis. Fresh Direct had $400 million in sales the same year, yet only services New York and Philadelphia.

Forte also stated in the report his thoughts on why Amazon is in the grocery delivery business in the first place. “AmazonFresh is another same-day-shipping-type move by Amazon that’s all about getting people to buy products on Amazon and not somewhere else. The reason that Amazon is interested in grocery is because the frequency of delivery. Amazon wants to have multiple touch points with the consumer and this is another move in that direction.” This will also add to the volume of service and increase profit per delivery, especially because the delivery price is has to remain at low cost for shoppers to buy into it.

Time will tell whether Amazon's same-day delivery of groceries in New York will be well-received by customers there. Either way, Amazon will still need an effective delivery solution to make sure the groceries arrive at the customer's front door on time. Same-Day Couriers like A-1 Express can partner e-retailers like Amazon and perform same-day grocery delivery nationwide. The New York Courier has the courier expertise and innovation to quickly implement same-day delivery to help Amazon continue to gain ground in the grocery retail market.

Reference: 12.13.13, Internet Retailer, Stefany Moore, Can Amazon sell groceries in the Big Apple?