When a Bike Company Put a TV on Its Box, Shipping Damages Went Down (2017)

#1

Post by edward » Sat, Jan 26, 2019, 9:01 PM UTC

When a Bike Company Put a TV on Its Box, Shipping Damages Went Down (2017)
bicycling.com

Re: When a Bike Company Put a TV on Its Box, Shipping Damages Went Down (2017)

#2

Post by warp_factor » Sat, Jan 26, 2019, 10:16 PM UTC

That's truly thinking "out of the box"

Re: When a Bike Company Put a TV on Its Box, Shipping Damages Went Down (2017)

#3

Post by whatshisface » Sat, Jan 26, 2019, 10:17 PM UTC

I've often wondered about what you would discover if you were to send accelerometers through various channels, over various distances, and inside of various packages. A database of carrier/packaging/haul distance/acceleration history tuples would be a valuable B2B product for many manufacturers.

Re: When a Bike Company Put a TV on Its Box, Shipping Damages Went Down (2017)

#4

Post by magnetic » Sat, Jan 26, 2019, 10:21 PM UTC

I wonder if another dimension got negatively affected, such as theft (porch pirates or the like).

Re: When a Bike Company Put a TV on Its Box, Shipping Damages Went Down (2017)

#5

Post by harshulpandav » Sat, Jan 26, 2019, 10:22 PM UTC

whatshisface wrote: post #3

I've often wondered about what you would discover if you were to send accelerometers through various channels, over various distances, and inside of various packages. A database of carrier/packaging/haul distance/acceleration history tuples would be a valuable B2B product for many manufacturers.

Shipping costs might increase

Re: When a Bike Company Put a TV on Its Box, Shipping Damages Went Down (2017)

#6

Post by xorgar831 » Sat, Jan 26, 2019, 10:23 PM UTC

Boeing does this with their seats in the factory too, they put a picture of a Lamborghini on the seats since they cost the same.

EDIT: Yes, it's hard to believe a seat costs the same as a Lamborghini, that's exactly why they put the picture on it. This is mainly for the first class seats, though rows apparently cost about the same too.

Re: When a Bike Company Put a TV on Its Box, Shipping Damages Went Down (2017)

#7

Post by harshulpandav » Sat, Jan 26, 2019, 10:23 PM UTC

magnetic wrote: post #4

I wonder if another dimension got negatively affected, such as theft (porch pirates or the like).

TV thieves will be disappointed, but may become fit.

Re: When a Bike Company Put a TV on Its Box, Shipping Damages Went Down (2017)

#8

Post by avip » Sat, Jan 26, 2019, 10:25 PM UTC

prev https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12572465

Re: When a Bike Company Put a TV on Its Box, Shipping Damages Went Down (2017)

#9

Post by hiccuphippo » Sat, Jan 26, 2019, 10:26 PM UTC

harshulpandav wrote: post #5

whatshisface wrote: post #3

I've often wondered about what you would discover if you were to send accelerometers through various channels, over various distances, and inside of various packages. A database of carrier/packaging/haul distance/acceleration history tuples would be a valuable B2B product for many manufacturers.

Shipping costs might increase

Who pays the bill when a product arrives damaged? Shipping costs might go up but insurance or returns could go down as well.

Re: When a Bike Company Put a TV on Its Box, Shipping Damages Went Down (2017)

#10

Post by anonytrary » Sat, Jan 26, 2019, 10:27 PM UTC

whatshisface wrote: post #3

I've often wondered about what you would discover if you were to send accelerometers through various channels, over various distances, and inside of various packages. A database of carrier/packaging/haul distance/acceleration history tuples would be a valuable B2B product for many manufacturers.

This is a very neat idea. I wonder if transport companies already do this to their own packages as a form of auditing and optimizing their own services. Or if they do it to other companies as a comparison metric.

As a 3rd party, you would need large N data points to have actionable information. It might be that collecting the data points costs more than what they are worth.