FDX/DHL boat race

[EuroWheenie]

Loved the bit about hiring consultants. Was in corporate HQ in Bonn last week, surrounded by oxygen thieving consultants.

Was sent on a "Finance for Decision Makers" course, run by a Dutchman who took no prisoners. My oh my, what nuggets he distributed!

Anyway, on the subject of consultants, guess how much DPWN spent in 2006. 10 million? 100 million? 1 Billion? Nope, 2.450 Billion Euro's! That's fcuking mad!

Not surprisingly, the shareholders went bananas over this, so DPWN promised to reduce the amount spent. Did they succeed? Did they fcuk! In 2007 they managed to spend almost 2.6 Bn! The excuse was that DPWN was having a bit of a spending spree in 2007, buying almost 500 (five hundred) companies around the world. Still, that is a ridiculous amount of money to spend on McKrapsky and Accidentura.

 

[hvydriver]

Loved the bit about hiring consultants. Was in corporate HQ in Bonn last week, surrounded by oxygen thieving consultants.

Was sent on a "Finance for Decision Makers" course, run by a Dutchman who took no prisoners. My oh my, what nuggets he distributed!

Anyway, on the subject of consultants, guess how much DPWN spent in 2006. 10 million? 100 million? 1 Billion? Nope, 2.450 Billion Euro's! That's fcuking mad!

Not surprisingly, the shareholders went bananas over this, so DPWN promised to reduce the amount spent. Did they succeed? Did they fcuk! In 2007 they managed to spend almost 2.6 Bn! The excuse was that DPWN was having a bit of a spending spree in 2007, buying almost 500 (five hundred) companies around the world. Still, that is a ridiculous amount of money to spend on McKrapsky and Accidentura.

I'd expect nothing less from the Postmen. They could have revamped virtually the entire US operation for that kind of money. They deserve all the pain that is coming.

 

[AV8OR]

Loved the bit about hiring consultants. Was in corporate HQ in Bonn last week, surrounded by oxygen thieving consultants.

Was sent on a "Finance for Decision Makers" course, run by a Dutchman who took no prisoners. My oh my, what nuggets he distributed!

Anyway, on the subject of consultants, guess how much DPWN spent in 2006. 10 million? 100 million? 1 Billion? Nope, 2.450 Billion Euro's! That's fcuking mad!

Not surprisingly, the shareholders went bananas over this, so DPWN promised to reduce the amount spent. Did they succeed? Did they fcuk! In 2007 they managed to spend almost 2.6 Bn! The excuse was that DPWN was having a bit of a spending spree in 2007, buying almost 500 (five hundred) companies around the world. Still, that is a ridiculous amount of money to spend on McKrapsky and Accidentura.

That's what happens when you've got a theif and a chemist running a multi-Billion dollar company.

 

[hvydriver]

That's what happens when you've got a theif and a chemist running a multi-Billion dollar company.

Exactly my man. All they did was purchase ABF, then sit back. No integration of sorts, upgrading of anyone's fleet, no investment of any kind at all. Just paying for 2 sort operations for 5 years. (In a way 3, if you count the note they're still carrying on CVG.)There was a carousel of new CEO's almost annually though. And then their excuse for failure in the US is everything that they should have dealt with after the integration. But not to fear, it's not their fault. It's those ratty contract airlines they used. Pathetic. DHL is now the laughing stock of the industry, thanks to DPWN. Am I bitter? No, just disgusted.

 

[EuroWheenie]

Exactly my man. All they did was purchase ABF, then sit back.

That's not exacly right, and you know it. Even if it was, you're looking at the US express market only, which represents less than 10% of DPWN turn-over. As such, the board could be quite right in only allocating 10% of its time and resources to that market.

Far from sitting on their backends, DPWN actually bought 500 companies in 2006/7, and so far this year has bought a further 50-60ish. I know you're hurting guys, and trust me us DHL guys on the far side of the pond don't exactly feel happy that UPS will be doing the flying for us.

But please don't suffer from any grand illusions about the importance of the US Express market from a DPWN point of view.

 

[shooter]

That's not exacly right, and you know it. Even if it was, you're looking at the US express market only, which represents less than 10% of DPWN turn-over. As such, the board could be quite right in only allocating 10% of its time and resources to that market.

Far from sitting on their backends, DPWN actually bought 500 companies in 2006/7, and so far this year has bought a further 50-60ish. I know you're hurting guys, and trust me us DHL guys on the far side of the pond don't exactly feel happy that UPS will be doing the flying for us.

But please don't suffer from any grand illusions about the importance of the US Express market from a DPWN point of view.

WOW, 500 companies in that time frame is absolutely amazing! Too bad within those hundreds of companies they could not find one, just one guy or gal that knew what the F$%& they were doing and not lose the 18% market share Airborne had prior to them getting their grubby little hands on it.

 

[hvydriver]

That's not exacly right, and you know it. Even if it was, you're looking at the US express market only, which represents less than 10% of DPWN turn-over. As such, the board could be quite right in only allocating 10% of its time and resources to that market.

Far from sitting on their backends, DPWN actually bought 500 companies in 2006/7, and so far this year has bought a further 50-60ish. I know you're hurting guys, and trust me us DHL guys on the far side of the pond don't exactly feel happy that UPS will be doing the flying for us.

But please don't suffer from any grand illusions about the importance of the US Express market from a DPWN point of view.

Actually when you are objective about it Euro, that is exactly what they did. No attempt at integration at all. Just let 2 airlines and 2 sorts run day in day out for 5 years. Then act surprised when it costs hundreds of millions to do that. Then blame everyone else for their lack of action, and give the product to their prime competitor. As to DHL not being happy about UPS doing the flying, well no surprise there. UPS is already poaching customers left and right from DHL. It's just beginning. Further, all you have to do is look at DPWN's stock performance to know the shareholders don't approve. Buying companies without doing DD is not "doing something". It's being a fool.

 

[AV8OR]

Actually when you are objective about it Euro, that is exactly what they did. No attempt at integration at all. Just let 2 airlines and 2 sorts run day in day out for 5 years. Then act surprised when it costs hundreds of millions to do that. Then blame everyone else for their lack of action, and give the product to their prime competitor. As to DHL not being happy about UPS doing the flying, well no surprise there. UPS is already poaching customers left and right from DHL. It's just beginning. Further, all you have to do is look at DPWN's stock performance to know the shareholders don't approve. Buying companies without doing DD is not "doing something". It's being a fool.

Exactly heavy. Here's a just a few things DPWN/DHL management has never understood conceptually....

1. Timing - Might want to build a $200 Mill hub during not after the biggest boom economy in the last 50 years.....or...not.

2. Loyalty - Customer, partner, employee..... whatever. Just loyalty to someone other than the highbrow martini crowd of Bonn. DHL/DPWN seems to not have ANY regard whatsoever conceptually of actually honoring anything they say in contracts or otherwise. Too name just a few folks they've backed out on: 3000 loyal DHL drivers, The State of Kentucky, The State of Ohio, The pilots of AStar, the Owners of AStar, Walmart......etc

3. Humility - DHL apparently thought they could buy ABX, (an inferioir product by their own admission than FedUPS) paint it yellow, do NOTHING different and then compete head to head with FedUPS. It was like they thought they could arrive on US soil with flashy adds giving the finger to the competition, paint everything yellow, and the US consumer would simply say, "Thank God you showed up!"

4. Responsibility - Since day one here, I have never, ever, heard anyone at either DHL OR DPWN EVER take responsibility for why they couldn't make a profit in the US. Not once did they EVER talk about why they couldn't SELL THEIR PRODUCT! They only spoke of how non-profitable we were due to expenses. Always. They have invested in modernizing nearly every major DHL fleet in the rest of the 1st world....but never in the US. They didn't want CATII at AStar and then b1tch cause we can't get in. They want fuel savings but then won't pay to refleet. Want to be in a position of having multiple airlines whipsawing each other, but then b1tch about the cost of not consolidating the US airline ops. IT"S NEVER their fault.....always ours.

5. Negotiations - DHL/DPWN never asks politely, ever! They never negotiate a compromise...ever! They simply decide what they want and steamroll anyone who get's in their way. (See 3.) Arrogance in thinking they shouldn't have too....they're DPWN/DHL

6. Money - DPWN thinks that if you throw enough money at something long enough, even if you don't change ANYTHING materially that affects operations positively, it will eventually just organically go "poof", all better! THEN, when it doesn't they just act like it's not their responsibility to manage, teach, innovate, or grow the operations. They remind me of a barrel racing instructor my daughter once had who, didn't know jack about barrel racing, but needed to act like she did because otherwise nobody would use here. Her method of "instructing" her students during a barrel racing lesson was to simply yell, "Go faster!!" without ever telling em how. That's DPWN for ya. Don't ever really change or manage things, shovel the money towards the gaint sucking sound, and then complain that you're losing money and it's their fault.

I could probably go on.....but to sum it up....

DPWN arrogance + incompetence = Colossal Failure

Now go look in the mirror you SOBs!!

 

[penguin22]

2. Loyalty ....(to) the Owners of AStar....etc

Actually Daz already got his big payoff when DHL purchased 49% of his company. The game's over for him, he already won, and he's just waiting to be told to turn off the lights.

 

[AV8OR]

Actually Daz already got his big payoff when DHL purchased 49% of his company. The game's over for him, he already won, and he's just waiting to be told to turn off the lights.

I think you may be 100% correct on that Peng. That's why, when Daz refuses to pay us WHEN he shuts off the lights, and claims DHL hasn't paid him so he can't pay us, there'll be some dandy lawsuits flying demonstrating he's been MORE than compensated to pay for our severance.