Lasership is a parcel delivery company that operates primarily on the East Coast of the United States. The company focuses on last mile delivery services, meaning they specialize in getting packages from local distribution centers to customers’ doors. Lasership is often contracted by major retailers and e-commerce companies to handle residential deliveries in certain regions.
While Lasership has established itself as a significant player in the package delivery industry, it does not have any corporate relationship with UPS. Lasership is an independent company and competitor to UPS. However, there are some connections between the two companies in terms of the services they provide.
Overview of Lasership
Lasership was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Cheverly, MD. The company provides delivery services in the Mid-Atlantic, Northeast, and South East regions of the U.S. Lasership offers delivery to homes and businesses within 24-48 hours and same day delivery in certain metro areas.
Some key facts about Lasership:
- Privately-held company with over 25,000 employees
- Makes over 10 million residential deliveries per month
- Sortation centers located in MD, PA, VA, FL, NJ, NY
- Focused on e-commerce and retail deliveries
- Uses network of independent service providers for drivers
Lasership handles deliveries for major retailers like Walmart, Target, IKEA, Wayfair, PetSmart, and others. The company specializes in providing inexpensive residential delivery at high volumes for online orders placed with these merchants.
UPS Overview
UPS (United Parcel Service) was founded in 1907 and is headquartered in Atlanta, GA. The company is one of the largest package delivery providers worldwide. In addition to US domestic delivery, UPS ships to over 220 countries internationally.
Some key facts about UPS:
- Publicly traded company with over 500,000 employees
- Makes average of 21 million package deliveries per day
- Global integrated shipping, logistics, and supply chain services
- Offers ground, air, freight, and express package delivery
- Owns one of the largest airlines in the world
UPS handles shipping services for all types of customers ranging from small businesses to major enterprises. The company has built out a comprehensive, integrated worldwide network for pick-up, transport, sorting, and delivery of packages. UPS also offers additional services like freight forwarding, customs brokerage, order fulfillment, and more.
The Relationship Between Lasership and UPS
Lasership and UPS operate independently as competitors in the package delivery space. However, there are some connections between the two companies:
Overlapping Service Regions
Lasership and UPS both provide shipping services throughout the Eastern U.S. Their networks overlap across the Mid-Atlantic, Northeast, Southeast, and parts of the Midwest. Both companies handle significant parcel volumes in major metro areas like New York, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and Atlanta.
Contracted Delivery Services
UPS utilizes Lasership and other providers to handle last mile deliveries in certain areas and circumstances. UPS may contract with Lasership for cost savings, to meet delivery demands, or to provide same day/next day deliveries.
For example, during peak holiday seasons, UPS pays Lasership to make residential deliveries from UPS hubs to help manage higher order volumes. Lasership acts as an extra delivery arm for UPS in these situations.
Retail Customer Overlap
Major retailers like Amazon, Target, and Walmart use UPS for shipping nationwide from warehouses and distribution centers. However, once UPS packages reach local hubs near their final destination, retailers often contract Lasership to do last mile home delivery.
So a package going to a customer may start its journey with UPS but have Lasership handle the final phase of dropping it on the customer’s doorstep. This maximizes efficiency and minimizes costs for the retailers.
Independence of Operations
While UPS and Lasership have contractual partnerships in some cases, the two companies function independently in terms of their operations, drivers, networks, and management. Lasership has its own packages, trucks, and personnel separate from UPS.
Beyond temporary delivery contracts, Lasership and UPS do not coordinate long-term at a corporate level. Each has its own business objectives, service territories, and customer base. They both view each other as competitors even as they team up situationally.
Pros and Cons of Lasership Delivery
Lasership has received mixed reviews from consumers over the years regarding its service:
Pros of Lasership
- Low cost delivery option, savings passed to consumers
- Quick, same day or next day deliveries
- Good for high volume residential deliveries
- Flexible, able to adapt network to meet demands
Cons of Lasership
- Damaged, lost, or late packages
- Poor customer service when issues arise
- High turnover of drivers impacts consistency
- Lack of package tracking and updates
- Difficult claims and reimbursement process
Lasership competes primarily on being a low-cost provider. But reports of damaged goods, missed deliveries, and lack of accountability occur at higher rates than competitors. However, retailers continue using Lasership due to the cost savings and process efficiency they provide.
Is Lasership Taking Over for UPS?
Lasership is growing quickly and expanding its geographic scope while also handling increasing package volumes for major retailers traditionally served by UPS. But Lasership is not positioned to fully take over UPS’ role in the package delivery industry. A few reasons why:
- Global infrastructure: UPS has built expansive air, freight, and logistics networks globally over its 100+ year history. Lasership operates regionally within the U.S. only.
- Variety of services: Beyond residential delivery, UPS provides integrated supply chain solutions, freight shipping, customs brokerage, and more. Lasership does not currently have the capabilities to match this range of services.
- Customer relationships: UPS has long-term contracts and deep customer relationships with a diverse customer base. Lasership relies heavily on a few big retailers for the majority of revenue.
- Labor force: UPS employs one of the largest stables of drivers, delivery personnel, pilots, and logistics experts globally. Lasership’s labor force is much smaller in size and scope.
While Lasership is growing and taking some business from UPS, it is not positioned to fully displace UPS as a dominant force in e-commerce shipping and logistics. Lasership lacks the global footprint, customer portfolio, and capabilities outside of last mile residential delivery that UPS offers. The two companies will continue to both compete and contract with one another situationally depending on customer needs.
The Future of Lasership
Looking ahead, Lasership is likely to continue expanding its geographical presence, especially in major metro areas in the South and Midwest. The company will also aim to diversify its customer base so it is not over-reliant on a few large retailers.
However, as a private company Lasership lacks the resources and global experience that public shipping providers like UPS, FedEx and DHL possess. To evolve into a national and global shipping provider, Lasership would need to significantly invest in transportation networks, facilities, technology and labor.
More realistically, Lasership will continue growing its last mile delivery services in select regions while partnering with larger providers for long haul transport. This will allow Lasership to leverage its strengths in fast, high volume residential delivery.
Differentiation from UPS and positioning as the low-cost leader in last mile delivery will be key to Lasership’s future success. The company will need to maintain these advantages while improving customer service and satisfaction to address past pain points.
Overall, Lasership fills an important niche in the e-commerce delivery ecosystem. Its relationship with UPS will continue to be a mixture of competition and contracted partnership depending on the shipping needs of online retailers. Lasership provides value to its retail partners but still has room for improvement when it comes to consumer experiences. The company faces growth constraints compared to global carriers but has carved out a viable regional transportation model focused on residential customers’ doors.
