SCMv2.0

This is how FEDEX started !!

I kinda found this real funny and had to reproduce :)-

Just in case you did not see this video on the news here it is again.

Round Up on the vertical !!

Aplogies to my readers for not posting more freqently. So this post is just a quick brief with a lot of pointers.

FEDEX

• Will increase average shipping rates by 3.5 percent at the beginning of the year.
• FEDEX to buy Prakash Air Freight for $30 million
• Fedex Lost Package
• FedEx Ground will now accept legal wine shipments to consumers within Vermont.

UPS

• Probs with UPS - "UPS Ground has screwed up in my case "
• Open Question: Does UPS ship to APO addresses? - Yes to the best of my knowledge !!
• UPS  plans to build on their ADS-B  foundation in 2007
• Has anyone done anything with UPS XML API?

DHL

• Bahrain Trade Unions sorting out their DHL woes
• Jozzua gets his first ADsense Check via DHL  !!
• DHL is Horrible
• Police intercept high-grade heroin worth R1m sent by courier [DHL courier company]
• Plaintiff filed a class action against Airborne Express (now DHL)

Supply Chain

• China may spin off postal system
• Managing the Financial Supply Chain - Part 3
• Project to mesh with supply chain
• Streamlining the Modern Supply Chain

Fedex and UPS forward looking predications

Analyst William J. Greene of Morgan Stanley started coverage of Memphis, Tenn.-based FedEx with an "Overweight" rating and target price of $135. [..]   Greene assigned earnings estimates for the fiscal year ending in May 2007 of $6.80 per share. He expects $7.75 per share in 2008 and $9.24 per share in 2009

Greene started Atlanta-based UPS with an "Equal-weight" rating and did not set a price target.

Yes, why are the predicates on rating not been assign or disclosed for UPS ? Maybe it has to do with their Q3 Earnings conference call coming up on 19th of Oct.

Note to Self :  must track what Greens predicates and roll up this analysts views in 2007 !!

Localized ads for FEDEX

This is the first time FedEx has launched India-centric ads. Sources said the campaign will give an Indian touch to the brand to connect with domestic consumers, while retaining its international flair.

It will be releasing an India-centric advertising campaign to create brand awareness

via

Global 500 listing

United Parcel Service (Charts) ranks no. 129 on FORTUNE's Global 500 this year, with $42.6 billion in revenues, up 16.4% from the previous year. The Atlanta, Georgia-based company was ranked no. 128 on the 2005 list. Its 2005 profits were $3.9 billion, up 16.1% from a year earlier. 2005 was a banner year for most Global 500 companies.

FedEx (Charts), ranked no. 197 on the Global 500 with $29.4 billion in revenues; and La Poste, ranked no. 252 on the Global 500 with $24 billion in revenues.

Via : CNNMoney  Full list can be found here

Both these companies are preparing for the Peak Season to start for this year.

The Long Tail effect in Supply Chain !

Yes, the big three are finally getting it- the long tail effects

Some 98 percent of the 23 million businesses in the United States are small enterprises, and the big logistics firms see small ventures as the fastest growing segment of the economy.In Latin America, the new buzzword is also small -- as in small initiatives and community projects serving as the building blocks of change.

Neck to Neck !!

They are always neck to neck in the race of transportation !! :)-

FedEx Corp. should be starting work on its new package-sorting center near Charlotte County Airport within the next four to six weeks -- and UPS won't be far behind in expanding its airport facility.

In a related development, UPS has asked the Charlotte County Airport Authority to increase its ground lease on Challenger Boulevard from 2.9 to 6.5 acres for a major expansion of the distribution center it currently operates on the site.

Don Lee, District 2 airport commissioner, said UPS's request will be discussed at Thursday's regular Airport Authority meeting. He anticipated no objections -- indeed, UPS's expansion has been anticipated for some time, although it's been running on a little slower track than the FedEx deal.

The going price is 25 cents a square foot.

FedEx Tests Northrop Grumman Anti-Missile System

Interesting tidbit of information, Fedex is getting into missle Technology !

FedEx is doing more than just delivering packages around the world at a breakneck pace; they're also going to put into service a counter terrorist missile system on its MD-10 freighters. FedEx will equip 11 of its MD-10 freighters over the next 18 months with Northrop Grumman's Guardian directed infrared countermeasures (DIRCM) technology.

The Guardian anti-missile system was developed to counter attacks from man-portable air defense systems (Manpads). Civil aircraft remain virtual "sitting ducks" to terrorists.

More info on the ManPad and CCM can be read here

DoD contract

The U.S. Air Force on Monday announced the awards of international airlift services contracts worth up to $2.3 billion to support the Civil Reserve Air Fleet program.

• Fedex = $185 million and up to $1.02 billion
• UPS = $25 million and as much as $119 million
• Continental Airlines Inc., was awarded a contract for up to $10 million.

Point to note : DHL is not mentioned.

Fedex plane on fire !!

"A spokeswoman for Memphis-based FedEx Corp. confirmed that the FedEx Express MD-10 airplane, which was arriving from Seattle, had an ``emergency situation'' upon landing and the three people aboard safely evacuated. FedEx Express is one of several independent companies operating under the FedEx umbrella, according to the company Web site. "

It just got on fire.. nobody knows what happened !!