A brief overview of the task
While comparing three delivery companies – the UPSD, FedEx, and the United States Postal Service, it is necessary to highlight some fundamentals on each agency.
The main purpose of the current report is to compare the delivery services, which compete with each other and define the unique features these services provide clients with. The selection criteria the services can be compared according to involve the kind of the domestic service and the time of delivery.
Other characteristics are considered to be inappropriate, as there are no general data the chosen services can be applied to. It is necessary to define the speed of delivery of each company and therefore, to choose the most appropriate delivery service.
A historical background
The United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service was established at the end of the 18th century in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The number of employees is approximately 574,001. Employees who work at the USPS are divided into several groups. They are classified according to the posts they fill. There are mail carriers, rural carriers, mail handlers and processors, and clerks. Non-managerial posts involve transitional employees. An independent agency of the USA is bind to serve all citizens of the country despite their geographical locations.
FedEx
A public company FedEx Corporation was founded in the early seventieth of the 20th century by Frederick Wallace Emma Smith. The number of employees is 290,000.
Depending upon the items a company is obligated to deliver, four Standard Carrier Alpha Codes are used: FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Freight and FedEx Custom Critical. FedEx Express is used to provide home and international air services (delivery takes a day).
FedEx Ground is used to perform a wide range of deliveries, including parcels from merchants (FedEx SmartPost) and the business deliveries (within Canada). It operates trucks. One of the divisions of FedEx Ground, which is called FedEx Home Delivery, is used to carry packages only within the USA. FedEx SmartPost cooperates with the USPS to perform the final delivery.
FedEx Freight also operates trucks. FedEx Freight, Inc. and FedEx Freight Canada are the divisions of Red Ex, which specializes in freight services. FedEx Custom Critical operates aircrafts and trucks and performs pressing deliveries. Some goods are not allowed to be transported. These involve alcohol, money, etc.
The UPSD
The United Parcel Service Delivery or the UPSD appeared at the beginning of the 20th century. The company specializes in logistics services, freight services and the courier deliveries. The number of employees is 398,300. The company performs packages and documents deliveries.
The divisions of a package delivery company include U.S. Domestic Package, International Package and Supply Chain and Freight, which performs a wide range of services, including “worldwide supply chain design, execution and management, freight forwarding and distribution, customs brokerage, mail and consulting services in more than 175 countries worldwide” (“UPS” par. 4). A package delivery company competes with a variety of other postal services; however, its most serious competitors include such companies as FedEx and the USPS.
A comparative analysis of the major delivery services
The USPS
Domestic Shipping and Mailing Services
- Express Mail® Overnight delivery
- Express Mail Flat Rate™ Overnight delivery (Express Mail Flat Rate™ is obligated to serve most of the U.S. addresses. It also performs deliveries to military addresses. The allowable weight of items is up to 70 lbs.).
- Priority Mail® 2-3 day delivery (Priority Mail® specializes in documents and packages deliveries).
- Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes and Envelopes® 2-3 day delivery (Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes and Envelopes® is the USPS’s domestic service, which is recognized to be the simplest way to ship. The allowable weight of items is up to 70 lbs.).
- Prepaid Forever® Priority Mail Flat Rate Packaging 2-3 day delivery
- Priority Mail Regional Rate Box® 2-3 day delivery (The service requires no extra costs. Priority Mail Regional Rate Box® performs Saturday deliveries. The allowable weight of items is up to 70 lbs.).
- First Class Mail® 2-3 day delivery
- Parcel Post® 2-8 day delivery (The kind of the service is mostly appropriate for oversized packages. Parcel Post® performs non-urgent deliveries).
- Media Mail® 2-8 day delivery (The service performs educational materials deliveries. Due to some circumstances transportation can be limited).
The UPSD
To calculate the cost of the services, special tools were designed. Thus, clients are to fill in a special form with certain data on weight, shipment date, origin, etc. to know the cost of deliveries.
Domestic Services
UPS Express Critical The same day (It specializes in urgent deliveries. The service performs deliveries to 50 states; although it is not available at locations of The UPS Store®, UPS Drop Boxes, UPS Customer Centers, UPS Alliance Locations (Office Depot or Staples), or UPS Authorized Shipping Outlets.
- UPS Next Day Air Early A.M. Next business day by 8.00 a.m. (The service performs deliveries to 48 states. It specializes in early morning deliveries. The service area also includes Hawaii, Alaska, Anchorage, Oahu).
- UPS Next Day Air Next business day by 10.30 a.m. (The service performs deliveries to 50 states).
- UPS Next Day Air Saver® Next business day by 3.00 p.m. The service performs deliveries to 48 states. “Not available to destinations where UPS Next Day Air delivery is committed by end of day” (“UPS Next Day Air Saver®” par. 2).
- UPS 2nd Day Air A.M. 2 business days (delivery by 10.30 a.m.). The service performs deliveries to 48 states
- UPS 2nd Day Air 2 business days (delivery by the end of the day). The service performs deliveries to 50 states
- UPS 3 Day Select 3 business days (delivery by the end of the day). The service performs deliveries to 48 states
- UPS Ground 1-5 business days (delivery depends upon distance). The service performs deliveries to 50 states.
FedEx Corporation
The FedEx Rate Tool is used to calculate shipping costs and delivery time. To obtain the required information, it is necessary to access their website. “FedEx offers flexible options to obtain rates for shipments, depending on clients’ needs” (“FedEx Rate Tools” par. 1).
Same-day delivery
- FedEx SameDay® cross-country delivery within hours
- FedEx SameDay® City cross-city delivery within hours
- The allowable weight is up to 150 lbs.
Next-business-day delivery
- FedEx First Overnight® first thing the next-business-day morning
- FedEx Priority Overnight® next-business-day morning
- FedEx Standard Overnight® next-business-day afternoon
- The allowable weight is up to 150 lbs.
2- or 3-business-day delivery
- FedEx 2Day® A.M. 2 business days in the morning
- FedEx 2Day® 2 business days
- FedEx Express Saver® 3 business days
- The allowable weight is up to 150 lbs.
Business delivery via ground
- FedEx Ground® 1-7 business days, based on distance to the destination
- The allowable weight is up to 150 lbs.
Residential delivery via ground
- FedEx Home Delivery® 1-7 business days, based on distance to the destination
- FedEx SmartPost® typically 2-7 business days for low-weight packages
- The allowable weight is up to 70 lbs. (“U.S. Package Shipping: 150 Lbs. or Less” par. 1).
Conclusion
Each company provides its clients with a wide range of services. For this reason, it is not easy to define the most appropriate delivery agency, as all the compared delivery services operate at a high level of organization. They all possess unique features and satisfy a variety of clients’ requirements. The selection criteria the three delivery services have in common involve a wide range of the offered services and the time of delivery.
When comparing the time of delivery, it becomes obvious that the variable of all the companies depends on the kind of the service a client wants to use. As far as FedEx SmartPost cooperates with The USPS to perform the final deliveries, one can conclude that an independent agency has certain competitive advantages.
On the other hand, FedEx and the UPSD perform freight services; so, the range of their operations seems to be somewhat wider. Delivery time of the USPS varies; although the company mostly specializes in 2-3 business day deliveries. The UPSD has a wide range of services, which perform next business day deliveries.
FedEx specializes in the same day deliveries, next business day deliveries and 2-3 business day deliveries. Thus, it seems to be obvious that FedEx is the most appropriate delivery service people can use to satisfy the corresponding needs.
Works Cited
“FedEx Rate Tools.” Fedex.com. n.d. Web.
“UPS.” Mahalo.com. n.d. Web.
“UPS Next Day Air Saver®.” Ups.com. n.d. Web.
“U.S. Package Shipping: 150 Lbs. or Less.” Fedex.com. n.d. Web.