Federal Express

The sudden shutdown in March of freight consolidator APX Logistics brings July 1997 to mind. That was when UPS workers went on strike. The big difference, of course, was that UPS settled its strike within two weeks that year, and its trucks quickly returned to the road. APX — formerly RR Donnelley Logistics and CTC Distribution Direct, once used by many catalogers as a low-cost UPS alternative — is gone, leaving FedEx's SmartPost as the only comparable alternative. APX's demise brings to mind the lessons learned from the UPS strike: the need to spread out your ground shipments among several carriers. But since

Long gone are the days of relying solely on United Parcel Service (UPS) or the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) for all your small package ground delivery needs. Nowadays, most mailers are not only turning to a mixture of different carriers, but they’re also better able to negotiate carrier contracts than ever before. Rick Collins and Tim Geiken, both managing directors at transportation and shipping consultancy AFMS Inc., offered during a session at NCOF several negotiation pointers to catalog shippers when working out small parcel shipping contracts with carriers. Among these, -Understand your business better than your carrier does. -Look at your previous contracts and how well

Sometimes little changes can make a big difference in your pick and pack operations. Catalog and shipping industry experts presented such small changes at a rapid-fire “60 in 60” idea session at NCOF held earlier this month in Orlando, Fla. Here are some of the more noteworthy tips delivered by a panel that included FedEx Retail Industry Manager Jose Li, Longaberger Co. Director of Operations and Transportation William Monk, Fortna Inc. Account Manager John Giangrande, VendorNet CEO Sharon Gardner, Container Store Vice President of Logistics and Distribution Amy Carovillano and Taylor Systems Engineering Corp. CEO Mark Taylor: Li: To provide a perk that might be less

© Profile of Success, Catalog Success magazine, March 2006 Interview by Matt Griffin Catalog Success: When was the catalog established? John Economaki: Bridge City Tool Works began with a single space ad in the November/December 1983 issue of Fine Woodworking. CS: What is your primary merchandise? JE: A proprietary line of non-powered, precision woodworking hand tools. CS: What is your annual circulation? JE: We no longer produce a "catalog" per se. One of the realities we faced post 9/11 was the contraction of our market. Today we mail several smaller 16-to-32 page offers with total circulation less than 1 million pieces. CS: How did

© Profile of Success, Catalog Success magazine, March 2006 Interview by Matt Griffin Catalog Success: When was the catalog established? John Economaki: Bridge City Tool Works began with a single space ad in the November/December 1983 issue of Fine Woodworking. CS: What is your primary merchandise? JE: A proprietary line of non-powered, precision woodworking hand tools. CS: What is your annual circulation? JE: We no longer produce a "catalog" per se. One of the realities we faced post 9/11 was the contraction of our market. Today we mail several smaller 16-to-32 page offers with total circulation less than 1 million pieces. CS: How did

By Donna Loyle Shipping and handling (S&H) complaints usually rank pretty high on the list of gripes customers have against merchants. At the same time, consumers rate parcel delivery companies as some of the best in customer service*. Is there a disconnect in the consumer's mind, or is there more to this dichotomy than meets the eye? Catalog Success asked Jeff Kline, a veteran of catalog fulfillment, to share his advice on how you can increase the efficiency and reduce the cost of your outbound parcel shipping services — while at the same time maintaining or even improving your customer service objectives. Kline

Multichannel industry leaders such as Cabela’s, Talbots, Eddie Bauer, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Lands’ End and L.L. Bean have established themselves as the standard-setters for returns processing, allowing customers the flexibility of returning goods with a no-quibble guarantee. But there’s a downside to a liberal returns policy: Companies have seen return rates increase every year for the past 10 years. For example, $5 of every $100 worth of goods purchased on the Web are returned, compared to $6 for traditional retailers, according to The Boston Consulting Group and Shop.org. And for many merchandise categories, returns rates are much higher. Moreover, the study found

By Donna Loyle The following new products and services can help catalogers reduce costs and improve the efficiency of their outbound-shipping initiatives and their returns services. This is not meant to be an exhaustive accounting of the newest and most innovative solutions; rather, the products and services listed here represent a general roundup of what’s now available on the market and how they can benefit your catalog operation. FOR OUTBOUND SHIPMENTS Sturdy and Snug Fulfillment Packaging Tru-Tech’s Cold Fusion packaging process forms a snug fit around a product, thus reducing the amount of air that is shipped. It uses a top

Want to raise productivity levels in your mail and call centers? Who doesn’t—especially in the wake of the U.S. Postal Service’s (USPS) latest round of rate increases. To be sure, postal/mailing solutions encompass a vast array of products and services. Here we offer a small sampling of the numerous technology applications designed to save your company’s mail and call centers time and money. This list, while far from exhaustive, includes software that you can purchase, free applications available to customers of some outsource providers and Web-based application service providers. When known, we’ve included some cost estimates for these solutions and services.

To say Sovietski Collection catalog has a unique niche would be an understatement. Indeed, a quick flip through its pages is like taking a whirlwind trip around the former East Bloc. Its product selection includes militaria, such as Soviet MiG pilot helmets and copper diving helmets, Russian submarine clocks, East German tank commander binoculars and field phones. There’s also hand-crafted Polish sabers and Czech walking sticks, Lomonosov porcelain tableware, Romanian crystal goblets and Russian-made woolen shawls. The catalog even features a genuine Soviet “Strizh” spacesuit complete with communications helmet and umbilical life-support interfaces. Sovietski sells merchandise and artifacts sourced primarily from Europe