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Parcel giant works to clear problems caused by the surge of e-commerce orders coupled with the tight market for seasonal workers<\/h2>\n

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S<\/span>crambling<\/strong> to deliver a crush of holiday shipments before Christmas, United Parcel Service Inc. is using hundreds of its accountants, marketers and other office staff to deliver packages at the last minute.<\/span><\/p>\n

UPS normally has \u201cready teams,\u201d or office workers that help to sort, load or deliver packages, that it sends out to clear problem spots throughout the network. The initial sign-ups are voluntary and usually set weeks before the busiest periods.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Imagine your\u00a0<\/strong>Ad<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0placed\u00a0here<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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But UPS had to supplement those workers this year by calling in employees from various desk jobs with little notice. Some are delivering packages using their personal vehicles. A shift to online shopping coupled with a tight market for seasonal workers left\u00a0gaps in manpower across the delivery network<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

UPS spokesman Steve Gaut said \u201cseveral hundred\u201d office employees have been assigned to various operations roles, from sorting packages to assisting drivers as seasonal helpers, over the last few weeks. He acknowledged the number was higher than in the past but declined to say by how much.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn some cases, people were asked to change clothes and go to a local site that day or the next day because incoming volume tendered in trailer loads to specific sites was beyond the plan level,\u201d Mr. Gaut said. \u201cUPS wanted to ensure we avoided getting behind.\u201d He said that most of those temporary field jobs have now ended.<\/span><\/p>\n

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“In some cases people were asked to change clothes and go to a local site that day or the next day because incoming volume tendered in trailer loads to specific sites was beyond the plan level. UPS wanted to ensure we avoided getting behind.”<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

– UPS spokesman Steve Gaut<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

UPS, after processing a record number of packages out of its main Louisville, Ky., hub Thursday night, is \u201cwell-positioned to finish pre-Christmas deliveries strong, in line with customer commitments,\u201d Mr<\/span>. Gaut said on Friday.<\/span><\/p>\n

The company plans to continue deliveries on Saturday, including in some markets where it hasn\u2019t fully rolled out weekend service and has contingency plans to deliver packages on Sunday \u201cif there are exceptional events in specific locations.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

UPS needs to react quickly to curveballs in the cadence of the peak delivery period, when daily package volumes double from normal levels, to avoid bottlenecks as the next surge of packages flow through the network. UPS works closely with retailers for months to map out how many orders are expected to flow out from which hubs and into what markets. This year, it started charging\u00a0extra fees for deliveries during peak shipping days<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Like other delivery companies, UPS needs to balance the need for delivering all of its packages on time with keeping a tight lid on costs. \u201cFinance is trying to manage costs and maximize profits for shareholders, while operations is trying to ramp up the staffing so they can process all the volume,\u201d said John Haber, chief executive of the supply chain consultant Spend Management Experts. \u201cYou have two competing factions.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Following congestion that added a day or two to delivery promises following Cyber Monday, UPS sent ready teams to Atlanta, Denver, Kansas City and Houston to assist in processing packages. It has also asked some of its regular drivers to work 70 hours over an eight-day period, instead of 60 hours over seven days.<\/span><\/p>\n

UPS performance has improved since, according to Satish Jindel, president of ShipMatrix Inc., a software provider that analyzes shipping data. UPS deliveries through its ground network arrived on time 97.3% of the time for the week ended Dec. 16, while 98.1% of FedEx Corp.\u2019s ground deliveries arrived on time. Both levels were equal to or better than last year.<\/span><\/p>\n

This year\u2019s challenges were amplified by\u00a0a tighter than usual market for seasonal workers<\/a>. A robust economy and unemployment rate of 4.1% in November, the lowest since December 2000, is shrinking a pool of workers that can help fulfill orders for only a few weeks. \u201cIt was more competitive in some markets to recruit and retain seasonal employees,\u201d Mr<\/span>. Gaut said.<\/span><\/p>\n

UPS originally targeted hiring 95,000 seasonal employees this year, about the same level as the past two years, and continued to hire some workers late into the season to address turnover. The flat hiring number came despite projection of a 5% increase in volume to about 750 million packages. UPS has said that it\u00a0kept its hiring figure steady\u00a0<\/a>because of more automated equipment and additional workers brought on board earlier in the year.<\/span><\/p>\n

UPS faces competition for seasonal work from a host of places, from online warehouses, retailers or other delivery companies. Rival FedEx forecast hiring 50,000 seasonal workers, close to last year\u2019s total, while Amazon.com Inc. said it was looking to hire 120,000 U.S. workers for the holiday season, the same as last year.<\/span><\/p>\n

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FedEx executives earlier this week said the carrier hasn\u2019t had any problem maintaining appropriate staffing levels\u00a0during this peak season<\/a>. Henry Maier, head of the company\u2019s ground business, said that \u201ctargeted peak wage rates\u201d in certain regions and more automated facilities allowed FedEx to \u201cmaintain fully staffed facilities across the entire network this peak.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Another problem during the final week is weather. FedEx on Saturday warned of possible delays, as severe wind shear at its main Memphis hub had caused \u201csubstantial flight and sort disruptions.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A FedEx spokesman said Saturday evening that the carrier expects \u201cto make our deliveries despite flight delays.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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