Consumers today have everything they want right at their fingertips. They are educated and thoughtful buyers who want choices that fit their needs and wants. Retailers who are smart are paying attention to the myriad of consumer data available today, so they can match the products they offer to their customers’ interests. Once the buying decision is made, fast and accurate delivery becomes the consumers’ next expectation.

Retailers can access a variety of tools to close the gap between the time when the customer places the order and when the product is delivered to the customer’s door. One option is to create more fulfillment centers to close the gap and shorten the delivery distance to the customer. Many carriers also see the advantage of multi-carrier shipping software to expand their shipping options and control their costs. Once the most cost effective carrier is selected, the software will create a compliant shipping label to remove any errors that might delay delivery to the customer.

The right selection of a shipping partner is critical to pleasing the customer. Shippers have more choices than they may realize when it comes to which logistics company handles their shipping. Regional carriers like LSO, the largest region in the southwest, offer competitive pricing with up to a 40% discount, provide often faster service within an expanded and flexible network, and a much more user-friendly experience, plus offering a wider schedule of pickup and delivery times that will be attractive to many customers.  

In today’s world, you need to be fast. Give customers the product choices they want, then work with your delivery partner to ensure the entire experience is one that makes them come back. LSO can be that delivery partner for you. Visit lso.com for a multitude of shipping options.

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Across the world and now much closer to home in our own country, the coronavirus disease 2019 (abbreviated “COVID-19”) is affecting organizations in ways that require alert awareness to business practices and personal interactions. The virus is now currently being spread via personal contact as well as more recently through “community spread”, which means people are infected but not sure where they got it. Unlike many other communicable diseases that have spread in the past, at this time, there is no vaccine to protect against COVID-19 and no medications approved to treat it.  While not yet creating an overwhelming impact on standard operating procedures for many U.S. companies, the business segment of our economy is monitoring updates daily to ensure they are reacting in a prudent and timely manner to all official recommendations.

Some of the impact on businesses today:

• Companies are restricting business travel to high-risk areas or encouraging employees to stay home from work that has recently visited any of the high-risk countries (China, Hong Kong, Iran, Italy, Japan, and South Korea).
• Human Resource departments are developing or redistributing a Communicable Disease policy to their employees and vendors.
• Global commerce has experienced the largest effect: Companies that make and sell products are struggling to secure available supply lines as business disruptions reach far beyond China, where the virus originated.
• Shopping and travel plans have changed: More people are stocking up on essential items in bulk to avoid public contact, affecting supply chain norms, and many are eliminating elective travel, affecting the revenue of the airlines, accommodations industry, and entertainment industries.  It has been reported that the virus has already had a bigger impact on the airline industry than 9/11.    
• Due to China being a major source of both raw and finished goods to many retailers, eCommerce may suffer this spring due to supply chain delays and a lack of available products.
• Many businesses are already revising the second quarter and annual financial projection in anticipation of the worse to come.  

On a community level, if the virus does spread to high alert levels, we can anticipate more closures in companies, schools, and public places. Emergency and law enforcement workers’ responsiveness may be affected, and public transportation may be limited. Public healthcare and healthcare systems will become overloaded.  

Taking advice from the Center for Disease Control (CDC), we all must be proactive: know the symptoms of the disease and pay attention to your health if you have symptoms. Everyone can do their part to prevent the spread of the disease in significant ways.  

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LSO / Lone Star Overnight, the Southwest’s leading regional parcel carrier, is announcing a general rate increase (GRI), effective Jan. 1, 2021, that will average 4.9%. This announcement follows the earlier rate increase announcements from FedEx and UPS.

Richard M. Metzler, LSO President, and Chief Executive Officer commented, “Overall, LSO rates continue to be less expensive than FedEx and UPS for 2021. Also, we have slashed rates on heavier next day 10:30 a.m. service and are now ~52% less than FedEx and UPS. We are also 47% less expensive than FedEx and UPS for next day by 3:00 p.m. and nearly 16% less for heavier Ground packages.”

Metzler went on to say, “ShipMatrix has recently reported that FedEx and UPS Ground on-time service levels have been in the 96-97% range when we were consistently at 98% or higher. Also, ShipMatrix reported that since FedEx suspended its guaranteed delivery commitment earlier this year, its Priority Overnight (next by 10:30 a.m.) on-time service levels have been in the 80s. Our customers, and theirs, continue to tell us that LSO has better on-time reliability, is less expensive, and has proven to be more flexible; especially during the pandemic.”

See lso.com/rates for details.