UPS Produce Options For Reducing Carbon Footprint

There is no industry safe from the discussion on how to reduce carbon emissions and make their mark on the campaign to improve the state of the world’s energy usage. UPS have made their suggestion for improvements via a support for natural gas.

“United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS), the world’s largest package-delivery company, said it can save 40 percent in fuel costs by running its long-haul semi-tractor trailer fleet on natural gas instead of gasoline or diesel.

UPS is reducing gasoline and diesel use to cut emissions and operate more efficiently, Scott Wicker, the Atlanta-based company’s chief sustainability officer, said in an interview today. The company wants to reach 1 billion miles (1.62 billion kilometers) driven by alternative or advanced-technology vehicles by 2017, up from a previous target of around 400 million, it said today in its sustainability report.

‘It’s really the vehicles that are on the freeways that burn the most fuel,’ Wicker said. ‘Right now natural gas is the big game changer.’

Earlier this year, UPS said it would buy almost 1,000 liquefied natural gas, or LNG, tractors in the next two years to boost its fleet of 2,700 alternative fuel and advanced-technology vehicles. It’s adding LNG refueling infrastructure with partners in the U.S. Southwest and buying electric trucks, which work best in densely populated areas, Wicker said.

UPS has been cutting costs in recent quarters by trimming flying, retiring older vehicles and rolling out a system to adjust drivers’ routes in real-time. The company reported a 4 percent slip in second-quarter net revenue on July 23.

The efforts to make the company more sustainable help UPS’s bottom line, saving about $50 million for each mile saved a year, Wicker said. ‘We only do them when we have a return on investment that’s acceptable to us,’ Wicker said.

UPS has a fleet of more than 96,000 vehicles, including more than 2,600 that run on alternative fuel, according to its website.’”

This article was originally sourced from www.bloomberg.com.

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DHL Land Three Year Hankook Deal

Logistics company DHL have been granted a three year contract to manage Hankook’s UK based warehouses. Two of the warehouses will be in Daventry and DHL will be expected to take care of the receipt, check, stock and selection of all Hankook’s products; predominantly tyres.

“DHL Supply Chain has been awarded a three year contract to manage Hankook Tyres’ UK warehousing operations. Under the new agreement DHL has assumed responsibility for the receipt, check and stock replenishment of inbound tyre deliveries, plus picking for next day distribution from the South Korean manufacturer’s facilities in Daventry, Northamptonshire.

Hankook’s market share in the UK has increased significantly in recent years, requiring the tyre manufacturer to re-engineer its supply chain operations. In response to growing demand, a lease has been agreed on a warehouse adjacent to the company’s existing 85,000 sq. ft. facility, creating an additional 140,000 sq. ft. of space to support the company’s continued expansion.

While retaining control of the real estate, Hankook turned to DHL for strategic guidance on how to optimise its warehouse processes. A strong relationship has developed between the two organisations since 2008, when DHL was first awarded the contract to distribute Hankook’s tyres UK-wide through its collaborative tyre network. Since then, consistently excellent performance and DHL’s proven track record in tyre warehousing led to the new opportunity.

Taking time to understand how to drive significant improvements in the warehouse operations, DHL worked with Hankook to develop training, process design and operational changes to cope with increased business volumes, while improving customer service and cost effectiveness.

Within eight weeks, Hankook was able to push back its sales order cut off time from 15:00 to 17:30, enabling orders to be placed later for next day delivery, while the introduction of new processes has significantly increased pick accuracy. Increased levels of customer service performance are helping Hankook achieve higher sales and DHL has introduced two working shifts to manage the surge in demand.

Tony Lee, Managing Director at Hankook Tyre UK Ltd, said: ‘DHL has always provided a good distribution service for Hankook - something that we wanted to maintain and improve as our facilities expanded. Since DHL took over the management of our warehouse, the distribution service has been boosted in terms of handling accuracy, operational proficiency and flexibility.’

‘We have been able to provide our customers with an enhanced service, which we plan to improve further with the help of DHL. As a premium tyre manufacturer, providing a top-class logistics service is central to our current and future operations and is something that we anticipate will play a key role in Hankook's growth.’

Jim Marsh, Head of Tyres, DHL Supply Chain added: ‘I’m delighted that Hankook has chosen to outsource this important operation to DHL. The new warehousing operation complements DHL’s existing distribution service and will provide further opportunities for DHL to integrate and fully optimise Hankook’s logistics operations.’”

DHL’s services are available to both personal and business customers, so if you are interested in entering into a contract with them or simply using their services for a one off delivery – contact their customer services department. Click Here for all necessary contact details. This article was originally printed on the DHL website.

Reorganising Deliveries

Logistics companies are the backbone of society in the internet culture that we live in and there are hundreds of these companies offering their services to the public and other companies alike. The demand for logistics companies has spawned from this connection, everyone is always connected to the internet and this means that when a product or service is suddenly needed it is easily accessible. In conjunction with the ease that international travel and communication is undertaken as well, these products and services can also be sent internationally.

However, the problem that many customers find themselves faced with involves receiving the delivery as opposed to organising the delivery. There are several options for the delivery driver if you are not at the requested delivery address when they attempt to deliver: leave the parcel somewhere discrete on your property; leave the parcel with a neighbour; leave a card that instructs you to either reorganise a delivery date or collect the parcel from their local warehouse. It is this final option that can cause problems for lots of customers. With the combination of work and social lives colliding with when these companies are most likely to deliver means it can be nigh-on impossible, particularly because contacting these companies can be a Herculean task in itself.

The details that are left on these cards will include a package/parcel number as well as a customer reference number and one or both of these will need quoting when you call or visit the company’s website  to rearrange the delivery. This sounds simple enough but which one you quote can be confusing and occasionally correct procedures are followed but the options on the website (for example) are so limited that you are no better off than you were before.

Not all companies are this obstructive with assistance though and it has been known for the delivery driver to leave a contact number that is not charged at a premium rate and calling this number will allow you to arrange a specific time for delivery. One instance of this lead to the delivery driver writing on the relevant package that the only available delivery say was Saturday and therefore the package was eventually delivered on the earliest Saturday possible. This is one positive example and unfortunately there are more bad-experience stories circulating than good.

For more information on logistics companies and their willingness or lack thereof to assist with the delivery of your items, please read our Ezine page.

Logistics Companies’ Customer Service

The world revolves around the internet today. Everyone is connected, all the time and it allows us to send and receive information, packages, letters and correspondence – everything, anytime. This means that there is a high demand for logistics companies that act as the middle man between companies and customers.

The ease and consistency with which we are all connected to the internet also means that this service is utilised and people will make last minute purchases – let’s say a birthday present – that is needed imminently and expect to have it delivered in time. This means two things: firstly, that there is a niche market for offering exceptionally fast delivery and secondly that the market allows for a large number of logistics companies, making the competition very high.

Logistics companies need to offer exceptional customer service because their role in the transaction is major; they are nominated by the company selling the product to deliver it to the customer in the same condition that the product left the original company and in a timely manner no less. This means they are accountable for the condition of the product and so must have a well populated customer service department to handle all enquiries. Accidents and misunderstandings do happen and while some of these will be the logistics company’s fault it may just as much be the product provider’s fault or indeed the customers’ looking for an easy return – whatever the reason, the chances are the customer will call the logistics company looking for an answer.

The customer services assistants populating this line must be able to deal with angry customers, the most common reason for customers to contact a logistics company is to complain either about the lack of the delivery, delay in delivery or condition of the product upon arrival. Therefore the customer service assistants need to be able to offer explanations for all of these scenarios in such a way that pleases the customer but also maintains a positive business front for both the logistics company and the product company. No employee can be seen to be bad-mouthing any company, particularly not their own or a partner company but the repercussions of implying that a customer is in the wrong can be devastating.

The rise of the internet means that logistics companies are vertebrae in the backbone of society but society also demands choice and high customer service. Everything boils down to options and to stay ahead of the game in any division of the market, it is important to offer high quality customer service because there is too much choice – customers can move companies at the drop of a hat.

For more articles focussing on the role of customer services in business visit our Ezine homepage.