[ILL-L] Postage

[Tom Bruno]

We are also feeling the pinch with increased shipping costs.
Currently we ship everything via FedEx 2-Day Express, with an average
cost of $11.31 per item (up from $9.30 last year!) due to scheduled
rate increases and high fuel surcharges.

Needless to say we're in the middle of doing our own comparison
shopping and figured that if we moved to USPS we could get the cost
down to $6.83 per item if we added delivery confirmation and minimal
insurance -- this number also figures in the cost of shipping supplies
for an average year.

What we'd lose in the bargain, of course, would be speed and
convenience.  Currently our Lending processing workflow is optimized
for FedEx delivery, and it certainly doesn't hurt that we get free
shipping supplies as part of the bargain.  We're also concerned that
if we were to switch from 2-Day delivery to Library Rate we'd lose
customers due to the increased turnaround time.

Has anyone out there recently jumped ship from a commercial carrier in
favor of USPS?  If so, what have your impressions been?  Are you
troubleshooting as much as you thought you would with regards to
missing or lost packages?  Have your Lending customers complained
about longer waits for their materials?

Thanks,
Tom Bruno
Head of Interlibrary Loan
Widener Library
Harvard University


2009/2/6 Document Delivery <DocDelivery at iona.edu>:
> It seems that USPS costs about half as much as UPS, but can't be tracked. We
> send articles electronically,
>
>
>
> Edward Helmrich
> ILL Office
> Ryan Library
> Iona College VXI
> 914-633-2352
> docdelivery at iona.edu
>
>
>
> From: ill-l-bounces at webjunction.org [mailto:ill-l-bounces at webjunction.org]
> On Behalf Of Janice Shipp
> Sent: Friday, February 06, 2009 10:58 AM
> To: Interlibrary Loan Listserv
> Subject: [ILL-L] Postage
>
>
>
> Due to budget restraints, postage is now a huge concern for our ILL
> operations.  In December 2008 to help reduce the cost of postage we
> started scanning and emailing ILL lending articles as pdf attachments
> whenever possible.  I am interested to know what changes/polices were made
> in our ILL office to reduce the cost of postage as it relates to both
> borrowing and lending.  Please respond to me directly.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Janice Shipp, Interlibrary Loan Coordinator
>
> SCAD - Jen Library | Interlibrary Loan Department
> 201 E Broughton Street | Savannah, GA  31401
> Phone: 912.525.4658 | Fax:912.525.4660 | Email: jshipp at scad.edu
>
>
>
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