UPS Tracking

[wa-loaf]

I ordered a couple things from Amazon (not ski related) and they are taking the most stops I think I have ever seen:

Item 1:
Date Time Location Event Details
June 4, 2009 05:48:00 AM WORCESTER MA US Arrival Scan
June 3, 2009 08:58:00 PM WORCESTER MA US Arrival Scan
June 3, 2009 04:41:00 PM SHREWSBURY MA US Arrival Scan
June 3, 2009 06:18:00 AM NEW STANTON PA US Departure Scan
June 3, 2009 05:50:00 AM NEW STANTON PA US Arrival Scan
June 3, 2009 01:40:00 AM COLUMBUS OH US Departure Scan
June 3, 2009 01:02:00 AM COLUMBUS OH US Arrival Scan
June 2, 2009 10:35:00 PM CINCINNATI OH US Departure Scan
June 2, 2009 05:57:00 PM CINCINNATI OH US Shipment received by carrier
June 2, 2009 01:14:51 PM Hebron KY US Shipment has left seller facility and is in transit

Item 2:
Date Time Location Event Details
June 4, 2009 06:14:00 AM WORCESTER MA US Arrival Scan
June 4, 2009 04:14:00 AM SHREWSBURY MA US Arrival Scan
June 4, 2009 03:21:00 AM CHELMSFORD MA US Departure Scan
June 4, 2009 12:44:00 AM CHELMSFORD MA US Arrival Scan
June 3, 2009 11:02:00 PM CHELMSFORD MA US Arrival Scan
June 3, 2009 08:48:00 PM HARTFORD CT US Departure Scan
June 3, 2009 08:33:00 PM HARTFORD CT US Arrival Scan
June 3, 2009 05:27:00 PM SECAUCUS NJ US Departure Scan
June 3, 2009 01:30:00 PM SECAUCUS NJ US Shipment received by carrier
June 2, 2009 03:42:18 PM Lexington KY US Shipment has left seller facility and is in transit

Shrewsbury, btw, is closer to me than Worcester ...

 

[billski]

They're cutting costs too....

 

[Grassi21]

Speaking of UPS tracking. I have tracked packages so closely that when the status read delivered I ran down to the mail room in my office and the UPS guys is still there unloading boxes.

 

[bvibert]

That's pretty funny. I've never seen packages make that many stops.

Recently I was waiting for a package and I saw it arrive in Windsor, CT early in the morning. Sometimes they'll deliver from there, but this time they sent it down to Watertown (our normal depot), where it got there too late to get on the delivery truck. That pissed me off a little since I had paid for express delivery and it was due at my house that day. :angry: If they had just sent it out for delivery from Windsor it would have gotten to my house no problem... Luckily I work 2 minutes from the Watertown depot, so I ran down there and got it during work.

I've also had packages go from NJ to Shrewsbury, MA (presumably going through CT in the process) and then back down to CT...

It's frustrating seeing some of the weird maneuvers these packages make, but then I think of how many packages go through these places everyday, it must be a nightmare to coordinate.

 

[wa-loaf]

Yeah, I think Shrewsbury is a big distribution center so they don't make deliveries from there, but it is kinda funny to be so close and then head away. There are all supposed to be delivered today and I don't see an out for delivery yet ...

 

[billski]

Yeah, I think Shrewsbury is a big distribution center so they don't make deliveries from there, but it is kinda funny to be so close and then head away. There are all supposed to be delivered today and I don't see an out for delivery yet ...

We did a case study on Fedex in b-school. Their original operating model had EVERYTHING go to one central distribution center in Atlanta. It actually worked quite well for several years. For various reasons (including more sophisticated automation) they later dispersed.

Another interesting thing, about five or six years ago now during the holidays, Fedex damned the torpedos and shipped everything as fast as they could regardless of the class of service. I was getting things overnight when I paid for 5-7 days service. That only lasted one season. Now, if it's 5-7 days, it generally comes no earlier - it sits in a distribution center. Smart move, else who would pay more for same service??!!!

Chelmsford is where all local UPS delivery trucks are loaded from for metro north. I used to drive past the Rte 110/Rte 3 interchange every morning, about 7 AM. The little brown trucks would stream onto the highway by the dozens. It looked like troop movements, but never screwed up the traffic flow. They were on a mission.
At night, you would seem them all coming back about 5-6pm at the same place, like bees coming in for the night. Pretty efficient operation....

BTW, those wireless scanners are simply amazing. I had notice of delivery before my wife had even opened the door to take the package one day!

 

[wa-loaf]

Lesson learned, don't rely on Amazon giving you the correct info. I had just been using the track your package function their website. This time I copied the tracking numbers to the UPS site. They have my packages listed as out for deliver from ... Shrewsbury.

 

[thetrailboss]

Gotta love UPS ground. :roll: Last year one of my packages was delayed. The reason? The message said, "TRAIN DERAILMENT." That was funny.

 

[Mildcat]

Lesson learned, don't rely on Amazon giving you the correct info. I had just been using the track your package function their website. This time I copied the tracking numbers to the UPS site. They have my packages listed as out for deliver from ... Shrewsbury.

That makes more sense. Did it still have as many stops when you checked it on UPS's site?

 

[Geoff]

With the recession, they can't fill enough trucks to have as many point-to-point routes as they used to. That's why you're seeing all the intermediate stops. No different from the airlines. You pay for the fuel and labor regardless of whether the flight goes out full or empty.

 

[wa-loaf]

That makes more sense. Did it still have as many stops when you checked it on UPS's site?

Yes, it still had all the stops, but the multiple check-ins and stuff were gone as was Worcester.

 

[drjeff]

Meanwhile as your UPS stuff is stopping more often than a school bus, I've spent the last hour driving around trying to find a friggin' FedEx document sized envelope to ship some items with pre-printed labels in to no avail And of course the usual stash of them we have in the office were all used up and nobody bothered to reorder some