There is a nice article in the Spring edition of Parcel magazine that refers to a new player in the small parcel shipping market – the United States Postal Service. The article’s author, Michael Ryan, concludes that the perceived differences in service between the USPS and UPS/Fed Ex are just that, perceived.

According to the article, USPS’ own reporting indicated an on-time service performance record of 96.4% in 2009, versus 99%+ for UPS and FedEx. On the surface there still appears to be a gap. However, Michael notes that USPS limits the amount of exclusions they make when reporting and refunding late packages. Exceptions (when a late delivery is not reported as late or does not receive a refund) only include significant events, such as “war, civil disturbance, weather, and acts of God”.

UPS and FedEx on the other hand, provide a laundry list of exceptions that are excluded from their on time service statistics, including mis-sorts and mis-scanned packages! So chances are if UPS or FedEx makes a mistake that results in your package not getting there on time, they aren’t going to report that as a late package. What does account for a missed delivery time? It’s hard to say. Incident/Accidents, Temporary Local Delays, and Origin Overlooked Package (whatever that is) are other reasons why you wouldn’t get a refund for a late delivery.

It’s good to know that USPS tries to keep their reporting as honest as possible. Based on the article, which can be found here, I will surely keep USPS in mind for future sourcing engagements. After all, the position the big two have taken in response to the sourcing process (more here) after DHL’s exit from the domestic market has made shippers hungry for another option.
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Joe Payne

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  1. People assumes that whoever have diabetes can drink artificially sweetened soft drink called diet soda without risk of raising their blood glucose level. This is not true. New research have shown that people who drink diet soda daily have a higher risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. Type 2 has several diseases combine with it. They are high blood pressure, abnormal blood lipid ( cholesterol and triglyceride) levels, insulin resistance, and excess abdominal fat.

    Diet sodas are currently sweetened with different types of low-calorie sweeteners. They are:
    Saccharin found in Sweet'N Low.
    Aspartame found in Equal and NutraSweet. It is 200 times sweeter than sugar. Aspartame breaks down into two chemicals - phenylalanine and aspartic acid. People with phenylketonuria can not process phenylalanine. It produces seizures, developmental problems, and brain damage.
    Acesulfame potassium is about 180 times sweeter than sugar. It is found in Sunett and Sweet One.
    Surcalose is artificial sweetener found in Splenda. It is 600 times sweeter than sugar.
    Stevia is synthetically produced. It is derived from the leaves of stevia rebaudiana, an herb grown in Brazil and Paraguay.
    Neotame is a artificial sweetener. It is 6,000-13,000 times sweeter than sugar.
    Alitame has not gotten the approval of FDA. it is made up of two amino acids, aspartic acid and alanine.
    Cyclamate is a sweetener that was banned in the United States in 1969.

    So please reduce the intake of diet soda in your diet, especially when you diet.

    -Yagnesh out!

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  2. According to the Wikipedia, osteoporosis is a disease of bones that leads to an increased risk of fracture. Two of the causes are low Calcium and Vitamin D. No artificial sweeteners contain Calcium or Vitamin D. Why is this? Artificial sweeteners are much sweeter than sugar, which is sweet. Teeth are made mostly of calcium. Osteoperosis can be cured by eating one's own teeth. If you drink diet soft drinks with artificial sweeteners your teeth will rot and you will get shorter. The sun is a great source of Vitamin D. Planes are closer to the sun than the ground. You can stay tall by not drinking diet soft drinks on planes. That is all. Thank you.

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  3. I agree with your hypothesis about teeth and the proximity to the sun. However, I think you should be careful to clarify in your article that if you fly a "red-eye" you would in fact be flying at night. Therefore, you would be closer to the moon than the sun and you might actually shrink instead of getting taller. A good travel agent can makes sure that you never fly at night, and will maintain a good height into your elder life.

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