Fwd: [Moving Mountains] Experiences with ground service providers

[Fred Finch]

Kerri,

We had a delivery between MINITEX in Minneapolis, Minnesota and Bemidji 
State University in Bemidji, Minnesota.  The distance is 230 miles.  We had 
initially used a contract courier with poor results.  We became 
dissatisfied with the service for many reasons.  Primarily was that when 
the weather would become a factor in any way, service was delayed or 
cancelled.  This happened far too frequently.

We started the UPS service during the mid-winter.  MINITEX established an 
account for Bemidji State to use and we were billed directly.  Bemidji used 
a computer to process the materials on their end.  Bemidji also established 
a secure location for the items to be staged so where their driver could 
access the tubs without entering the office.  This worked well because the 
pickups on their end would happen after the office hours for the library.

We sent the items in a plastic Buckhorn style tote with a lid that would be 
secured using nylon cable ties.  We paid an extra handling fee of $5.00/day 
each direction for using the plastic tote but it was less than what we were 
paying in total for service using a courier.

The service that UPS provided was excellent.  With only a handful of delays 
because of weather our service went off without a hitch.  It was 
consistently next-day and would arrive at the same time daily.  We have 
since gone back to a courier but we are confident that we could return to 
UPS providing service without a problem.

We have a similar service currently happening between MINITEX and the North 
Dakota State Library.  The distance is 429 miles one way.  The UPS Service 
area does not guarantee that this is an overnight service for ground 
transportation.  Therefore this has been a 2 day service.  We issue return 
tags that we print and place in the totes.  This way the North Dakota State 
Library does not need to have a UPS account.

Again, consistent service and very little wear and tear on our materials.

Fred




>>While I would love to develop in-house delivery service, that's not 
>>realistic for the Alaska Library Network at this time. We're not a formal 
>>organization yet (although we have 30+ years of informal library 
>>collaboration all called the Alaska Library Network) and I think what 
>>funds we'll have on hand at the beginning will best be served elsewhere.
>>
>>Given that, I am in the process of developing delivery service between 
>>Fairbanks and Anchorage (one way - 360 miles). Very simple stuff; single 
>>pick-up/drop-off location in each city, one delivery per day, five days a 
>>week. I've spoken with both UPS and FedEx, and  I'm playing telephone tag 
>>with DHL. UPS seems the most likely candidate because they have 
>>guaranteed overnight ground service between those cities and they can set 
>>it up to be an automatic daily pick-up/drop-off. FedEx could make it work 
>>and DHL (from what the national service rep told me) would be willing to 
>>talk to me about it.
>>
>>I'm looking for experiences with using UPS and FedEx ground service for 
>>regular deliveries. Particularly from areas with similar winter 
>>conditions. The highway between Fairbanks and Anchorage is well 
>>maintained during the winter but it can still be icy and extremely cold. 
>>Summer conditions are only a problem if there are large scale forest 
>>fires near the highway (very infrequent).
>>
>>Even if you don't have winter conditions even close to Alaska's I'd be 
>>happy to hear your comments. Thanks!
>>
>>Kerri Canepa
>>Coordinator
>>Alaska Library Network
>>334 W. 3rd Avenue, Ste 125
>>Anchorage, AK 99501
>>907-269-6567
>><mailto:kerri.canepa at alaska.gov>kerri.canepa at alaska.gov
>>_______________________________________________
>>MovingMountains mailing list
>>MovingMountains at swonlibraries.org
>>http://www.swonlibraries.org/mailman/listinfo/movingmountains
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