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Stamps.com turned the world upside down when he revealed that his relationship with USPS was changing dramatically. Stamps.com CEO Ken McBride said he no longer sees an exclusive partnership with USPS as the right strategy for Stamps.com, and he has laid out a new strategic direction for the company while keeping in mind the growing presence of Amazon.
'When our customers are offered services such as shipping with Amazon, FedEx One Rate, new UPS products, regional carriers, Uber shipping, shipping from the store and all the rest – we have to offer these solutions to our clients so that they can always choose the best alternative for their business, "McBride said during a conference call with Wall Street analysts to discuss the fourth quarter results.
It is difficult to pin down the ramifications and winners and losers of this development; Do not forget that the company's brands and solutions include Stamps.com, Endicia, ShipStation, ShipWorks, ShippingEasy and MetaPack.
Let's see the impact of Thursday's revelations on online sellers using Stamps.com services, at least in the near future. We checked with Eric Nash, Senior Director of Online Marketing for Stamps.com:
Will Stamps.com and Endicia users still be able to use USPS? And for how long?
Eric Nash: "Nothing changes in Stamps.com services and features that we offer, including USPS services (the ads in the results call are not related to our PC Postage license, which continues unimpeded).
"Stamps.com customers will continue to receive all existing USPS fares (commercial base fares) for parcels and measured mail fare for first class letters."
Will they have to pay more to use Stamps.com and Endicia? (All or some sellers?)
Eric Nash"Most of our customers will pay nothing more. For a limited group of high volume customers with specialized negotiated rates with the USPS (known as the NSA), we will consider the possibility of implementing surcharges as needed, so as to be remunerated for the technology. and the services we provide.
Will they be offered services from other carriers, including FedEx and UPS?
Eric Nash: "In the future, we plan to add even more excellent services and carrier features in order to offer the best platform for mail and shipping for national and international shipping services. "
During Thursday night's teleconference, McBride provided a detailed overview of the marine transportation sector and an assessment of major carriers.
He discussed the challenges facing the US postal service, as well as Amazon's development in the shipping sector. "We will align ourselves with the carriers that we believe will be the winners in the shipping industry," he said.
Amazon is directly targeting the packaging sector, and its history of disrupting an industry is well established, said McBride. "Their threat should be taken very seriously by all players in the shipping industry. We define our business strategy assuming that Amazon will be a major global player in the transportation industry. "
McBride noted that Stamps.com would continue to use USPS, but that in many segments it would start importing more competitive products from other carriers, he said. "We are currently in discussions or already have partnerships with all the major incumbent private carriers and we are also in discussions with many new entrants in the US shipping industry."
You will find a complete transcript of the results call on SeekingAlpha.com.
Ina Steiner
Ina Steiner is co-founder and editor of EcommerceBytes. She has been reporting on e-commerce since 1999. She is a widely cited authority on sales in the market and is the author of "Turn eBay Data Ino Dollars" (McGraw-Hill, 2006). His blog was featured in the book "Blogging Heroes" (Wiley 2008). Follow her on Twitter at @ ecommercebytes and send new tips to [email protected].
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