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Bike manufacturer sees huge reduction in delivery damage by printing TV on box

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Re: Bike manufacturer sees huge reduction in delivery damage by printing TV on box

#171

Post by dvirsky »

WesleyJohnson wrote: post #165
aluhut wrote: post #68

It seems like people who are responsible don't care anymore. Maybe it's the wages, the pressure or whatever. It looks like it's about time to replace even more humans from the equation.

I worked at a distribution center for a large electronics retailer for 4+ years. It was my experience that a lot of those guys slinging boxes either didn't care, or just didn't have time to care. To the person who's been saving up for that $1200 4K TV, it's a big deal and having it come in damaged is incredibly frustrating and disappointing. To the guy loading his 3rd 58' trailer of his 10 hour shift in the middle of…

> Quotas, deadlines, bottom lines

I guess companies can in some cases track damages backwards and add these to the quotas and bottom lines.

When I was 18 I worked for a few months on the assembly line at a Motorola manufacturing plant, assembling radio communication devices. It was a shit job with minimum wage and we had to meet strict quotas, but assembly errors were also counted, (the goal was "six sigma", https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Sigma).

Once defects were a priority as well, and they were tracked to a specific person (by means of a sticker on each assembly stage), people started to care.

BTW the only cool thing about it was that the company REALLY cared about improving efficiency and reducing errors, and anyone who would come up with an improvement to any process, would get a reward, that could be a lot of money in extreme cases. I suggested a very basic "hack" that saved the company $100 a month or so, and got a small gift and a certificate of excellence or some bullshit.

Re: Bike manufacturer sees huge reduction in delivery damage by printing TV on box

#172

Post by nercht12 »

post-it wrote: post #166
treehau5 wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can we replace you with a robot so I never have to read such an ignorant, inhumane comment again? Why don't we try treating low wage workers like their valuable, and give them more credit when they do a good job instead of their CEO's getting the big bonuses? You'd be amazed what people are capable of when treated right. If you still get losers smashing up boxes, fire them. By that point there will be a line of appli…

Why do you want people to have to work? A job automated is a person that doesn't need to work.

We live in a capitalistic system (surprise!) - You don't work, you don't eat. So if all tasks are automated, then only big companies make money and everyone else starves. But the big biz will save themselves by going overseas until they've harvested that money. In the end, it all doesn't matter anyways - "the rich will get richer and the poor, poorer."

Re: Bike manufacturer sees huge reduction in delivery damage by printing TV on box

#173

Post by easychris »

gregpilling wrote: post #161
jws wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A couple of years ago I shot footage of two UPS trucks exchange packages in my parking lot. They were tossing them out into a great heap on the ground, then going through them and tossing them back into the trucks. It was something like the day before Christmas, so I hope no one was expecting to have a fragile gift arrive intact. I suppose UPS is fine dong this, I think they say you should pack to survive a six foot…

When we make a new box, we throw it about 20 feet across the warehouse to simulate the UPS/Fedex treatment. As a manufacturer, I can assure you that they try really hard to not pay your damage claims unless it can survive that. It would be great if someone could disrupt the duopoly of bad service.

Interestingly in Germany UPS has a good reputation (niche premium carrier). And it really seems that they handle packages better than our local carriers DHL, Hermes, DPD et al.

Probably it's just impossible to find enough good employees (for the salary they are willing to pay), and once you reach a certain scale, you will always face such issues.

Re: Bike manufacturer sees huge reduction in delivery damage by printing TV on box

#174

Post by AskHeaven »

treehau5 wrote: post #117
aluhut wrote: post #68

It seems like people who are responsible don't care anymore. Maybe it's the wages, the pressure or whatever. It looks like it's about time to replace even more humans from the equation.

Can we replace you with a robot so I never have to read such an ignorant, inhumane comment again? Why don't we try treating low wage workers like their valuable, and give them more credit when they do a good job instead of their CEO's getting the big bonuses? You'd be amazed what people are capable of when treated right. If you still get losers smashing up boxes, fire them. By that point there will be a line of appli…

I don't really understand this 'get the credit' logic. Firstly, CEOs aren't getting the lion's share of the profits - the shareholders are. Secondly, if you or the shareholders think that replacing their CEO would benefit them, they should and would have done that already. The reality is that some jobs are easier to do and hence more replaceable, while others are not.

Just look at how Harvard's endowment is doing after they bowed down to political pressure and replaced their highly-paid management. https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2016-09-23/harvard-d...

Re: Bike manufacturer sees huge reduction in delivery damage by printing TV on box

#175

Post by AskHeaven »

nercht12 wrote: post #172
post-it wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do you want people to have to work? A job automated is a person that doesn't need to work.

We live in a capitalistic system (surprise!) - You don't work, you don't eat. So if all tasks are automated, then only big companies make money and everyone else starves. But the big biz will save themselves by going overseas until they've harvested that money. In the end, it all doesn't matter anyways - "the rich will get richer and the poor, poorer."

Isn't that the duty of the tax system and the government? Just because the system is pretty broken down in its current state, in the US, doesn't mean it cannot work. Some european countries are doing pretty well.

I think that protectionist policies are a step backwards, we should come up with new solutions to our new problems instead of looking at the past and trying to selectively apply the nice things in the past.

Re: Bike manufacturer sees huge reduction in delivery damage by printing TV on box

#177

Post by btcprint »

gregpilling wrote: post #161
jws wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A couple of years ago I shot footage of two UPS trucks exchange packages in my parking lot. They were tossing them out into a great heap on the ground, then going through them and tossing them back into the trucks. It was something like the day before Christmas, so I hope no one was expecting to have a fragile gift arrive intact. I suppose UPS is fine dong this, I think they say you should pack to survive a six foot…

When we make a new box, we throw it about 20 feet across the warehouse to simulate the UPS/Fedex treatment. As a manufacturer, I can assure you that they try really hard to not pay your damage claims unless it can survive that. It would be great if someone could disrupt the duopoly of bad service.

Well, if you really want to ensure they pay damage claims you must ship your packaged product to UPS Chicago testing facility (or approved ISTA testing facility) to get your Packaging approved to ensure it's adequate for the application.

I work in Packaging design and love problem solving. Any startups that need custom Packaging designed (design is usually free as value added service to get the mfg contract) feel free to PM me to discuss. I love to help/advise whether it becomes a mutually beneficial Business relationship, or a one sided help you only situation. ;)

Re: Bike manufacturer sees huge reduction in delivery damage by printing TV on box

#178

Post by verbify »

kalleboo wrote: post #163
rrdharan wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bikes cost as much or more than televisions these days almost across the board. Obviously the cheapest bikes cost less than the most expensive televisions, but a decent 50" flat panel is around 600$ USD now and an entry level road bike is maybe 750-800$?

The US's bizarre bike culture never stops surprising me. I guess since it's so impractical, it gets treated as a lifestyle instead of a method of transportation. I bought the most expensive bike of my life last month (automatic hub-powered LED lights!) and despite having to customize the saddle pole and handlebars to fit me, it was $250 (with a 2 year insurance and maintenance plan). $800 for an entry-level road bike…

It's not just the US. People here in London would happily spend four figures on their (ultralight aerodynamic) bike.

My perspective: I used to be like you and spend around $250. The bikes would break more easily (although maybe with an insurance/maintenance plan I would have been happier).

Meanwhile, everyone else spends four figures a year on transportation (driving costs about £1000 a year, the tube costs the same). I figured if I would buy an expensive bike once it would justify the cost over many years.

I bought a folding bike (a brompton) rather than a road bike - it cost around £900. They last for decades if treated right. So the cost, divided over the years of use, is negligible compared to other modes of transport.

Re: Bike manufacturer sees huge reduction in delivery damage by printing TV on box

#179

Post by Dylan16807 »

GigabyteCoin wrote: post #156

Popular Mechanics found different results when they did a similar study [0]. >"One disheartening result was that our package received more abuse when marked "Fragile" or "This Side Up." The carriers flipped the package more, and it registered above-average acceleration spikes during trips for which we requested careful treatment." [0] http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/reviews/a6284/whi...

Across a sample size of 12 trips total.

Re: Bike manufacturer sees huge reduction in delivery damage by printing TV on box

#180

Post by johnchristopher »

outericky wrote: post #126
charlieegan3 wrote: post #88

Related: https://www.atheistberlin.com/study - Shoe company finds relationship between lost packages and package branding.

A friend of mine shipped books to me via usps, once, one physics book was replaced by a bible. Very odd.

I wonder if the person who made the switch thought it was the funny thing to do or the good thing to do.
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