Customer Reviews

Big Brown: The Untold Story of UPS

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Author Greg Niemann worked for UPS for thirty-five years progressing from loader to management ranks. In Big Brown, he takes us through a brief but not very critical history of this giant of the delivery business.

The book is an interesting, light read but if not an official history of UPS, it is not far off it. The problem with (semi-) official histories is that they tend to be hagiographic and fail to give a genuine insight into the corporation. Compare this book to that written on FedEx by Roger Frock (Changing How the World does Business: FedEx's Incredible Journey to Success) which is much more compelling because of its warts and all detail.

Chapter one leads with "UPS drivers are strong. They're dependable. They're polite. They're determined."!! This tends to be the type of writing throughout the book.
The author attempts to give some detail on UPS founder Jim Casey who started the company in a Seattle basement in 1907. Casey though was a pretty reclusive figure who never sought the limelight. Indeed author Niemann references Casey as the "greatest American capitalist you have never heard of." Some of Casey's management principles were ahead of their time including the proposition - revolutionary at the time - that employees should "achieve a good measure of personal satisfaction and ... aid in the advancement of the interests of all the rest of us."

The famous UPS brown color was chosen because the original management believed that Seattle department stores would be reluctant to relinquish their deliveries to a company with high profile, conspicuous vans.

UPS differs from FedEx and other major carriers in that it is unionized, Although the Teamsters Union forced a general strike in 1997 costing the company $750 million and unknown loss of good will, relations in general have been good. Work conditions are excellent with drivers earning up to $70,000 per annum and six to nine weeks paid leave per year. (Can this be right?) Interestingly, UPS members are vital to the survival of the Teamsters Union as they count for one-fifth of the union's 1.4 million members!!

UPS is a highly structured company governed by the UPS Policy Book which suggests a very conservative company. Family members are not employed under any circumstances (until the original member leaves or retires.) In a rather peculiar turn of phrase, Niemann writes "UPS mandates informality in several ways"!

Although not dealt with in any great depth, UPS was slow to deal with the launch of FedEx (then Federated Express). Indeed, it took eight years for UPS to set up its own air service to combat the FedEx operation. Today UPS is the world's ninth largest airline.

The latter parts of the book are particularly interesting as we see the global growth of UPS both as a carrier and a supply chain expert.

Overall, if you want a general overview of this company, this book fits the bill, but the lack of detail and the generally sycophantic style to the commentary does take away from the overall value of the book.

This just released title is an unofficial commemoration for the first hundred years of service for UPS, which was founded on August 28th 1907. The book is fast-paced, engaging and easy to read. The book lives up to its title, as it is not a corporate puff piece written for the centennial. Although the general overall success of the company is the main theme, mistakes and warts are exposed as well. UPSers will be familiar with story itself, although the book offers a deeper insight into areas few will probably be aware of. The biographical sketch of Jim Casey for example, makes this book worth the price of admission. One can see what drove this man forward to achieve extremely high levels of success. Jim Casey deserves to share the stage with other more well known service entrepreneurial giants, such as Ray Kroc of McDonald's fame. There are also interesting stories, for those who are familiar with the general history and culture of the company, about the other founders, who are often overlooked because of Jim Casey's larger than life legacy.

Overall, this book offers a realistic historical and cultural perspective for the past 100 years of service and every UPSer who decides to read this book should find a professional genealogical connection to the text. In fact, the book should serve as a trip down memory lane and the reader may even find oneself debating some of the issues the book tackles. The author outlines the current public vs. private company debate many UPSers are having amongst themselves, as an example. The timing of the release of the book makes sense, as one should obtain a greater appreciation of how the company got where it is today and it is a compelling story worth knowing to UPSers, customers and shareowners.

"Big Brown" is an excellent example of a corporate biography--which means I learned a lot. I'm familiar with all of the author's previous books: "Baja Legends", "Baja Fever" and "Palm Springs Legends", and I always enjoy his conversational style--it's like someone telling you a series of interconnected colorful stories. This book surprised me with its focus and drive--mirroring the personality of UPS founder Jim Casey, who I enjoyed "getting to know" though Niemann's compelling portrait. Read it and find out how much you don't know about a company you encounter every working day.

The subtitle, "the untold story," is intriguing. Does it disclose some previously unknown facet of the company? Or does the book fail to tell the whole story? Take your pick.

The book combines aspects of an anecdotal biography with aspects of a promotional corporate history. It begins with a biographical sketch of James Emmett Casey, who founded United Parcel Service as a teenager, delivering packages on a bicycle. It is a real-life Horatio Alger story. About halfway through, the book switches to a summary description of the present-day UPS. Throughout the book, Jim Casey is used to personify the company and to serve as the glue that holds the story together. The narrative moves with an uneven, sometimes fitful pace, often revisiting time periods that were covered earlier. The story is told in a conversational style, often switching to the first person when the author includes his personal observations.

Originally, UPS was a package delivery company for department stores. Over its first 50 years, it's operations spread from Seattle to the major cities on the west coast and the northeast U.S. During the next 30 or more years, UPS changed its business from department store deliveries to an all-points service for any shipper at any location. The present-day UPS operates on a global scale, using the very latest digital technology. Throughout its 100-year life, UPS has maintained a hard-working, semi-military culture and has to a great extent achieved employee-ownership. It is an interesting and informative story. However, it does have its faults.

In its effort to make Jim Casey the personification of the company, the book gives short-shrift to the second generation of managers, particularly the ones who guided UPS out of the department store business and into the common carrier world. Further, the book understates the importance of that shift; it is presented as merely following a lucrative opportunity. The fact is that the department store delivery business was dying. Had UPS not changed its operations, it is likely that it too would have gone out of business. The book also understates the obstacles to that change. Public service regulation existed, in part, to enforce government-established monopolies - and that enforcement included prohibiting companies like UPS from competing against the previously authorized carriers. The primary opposition to UPS' change of business was not the Post Office, it was the existing authorized carriers: Railway Express, the bus companies and the film carriers. Getting approval for nationwide rights in that era was viewed as impossible but the book does not even mention Preston W. Davis, the architect of UPS operating rights miracle.

Similarly, the book fails to mention two antitrust suits that could easily have nipped UPS' new business in the bud. UPS won one of them and settled the other.

With its faults, this is still a worthwhile read.

My dad worked for UPS his whole life and loved the company. When he passed away I bought several copies for loved ones with a nice inscription written inside. UPS is a great family company. My family has wonderful memories of dad's time there and this book acts as a nice reminder. Plus it's a good read!

This book provides a very close and insightful look at the development and current operations of UPS. The author is intimately acquainted with the company and uses that knowledge to give one of the best overviews of the company to date. From the early days with founder Jim Casey to the expansion of the air service all the way to current models. I was a little disappointed to not see more related to the advent of UPS stores but otherwise there is little I could imagine not covered here. One of the problems with the book is that the author gets caught up in the details and the chapters do not flow well together. It is hard to sometimes keep track of the topics since the author jumps around while not remaining chronological. Despite these organization issues this is still an invaluable book to understanding how UPS developed and a general look at some of the issues facing supply chain managers today. Very interesting read!

UPS began in 1907 in Seattle as a messenger service, and quickly evolved to focus on delivering packages for local department stores - allowing consolidation. Today's urban drivers make about 200 stops/day (free aerobics program, and 1/3 more than at FedEx) with packages weighing up to 150 lbs.

Waiting time for new hires can reach 4-5 years before attaining regular driver status. Those that do average $70,000/year, receive 6-9 weeks vacation each year, and 100% paid medical insurance. The company practices promotion from within as much as possible, and its executives answer their own phones and have no private secretaries.

UPS, however, did not happen overnight. About 65 years were required to cover the nation - the process involved innumerable confrontations with the ICC and state commerce commissions, as well as arranging customers and setting up routes. The really bad news, however, is that it was caught napping by FedEx's foray into overnight delivery and took several years to effectively respond. (UPS had experimented with airplane delivery before, but had not succeeded.)

Today's challenges have expanded from competition to also include becoming more green (reduced mileage via use of computerized routing systems, experimentation with hydrogen fuel cells), increased service around the world, supply-chain management (eg. providing assembly of some customer products, servicing broken computers, direct delivery of Internet orders, etc.).

I worked as a driver and clerk for UPS for 30 years and this book showed me the rich history of this company. They work their employeees very hard but they give you a fair paycheck each week, with great benefits. It was nice to read about UPS.

The package delivery business is a huge industry that hinges on personnel and logistics, as author Greg Niemann explains in this informative, entertaining biography of the United Parcel Service. Niemann, a UPS career insider, explains how the company became a global leader. He gives credit to the values of its founder, Jim Casey, a hard worker from a humble background. Casey believed in strict routine, safety, precision, shared responsibility and fairness; he pioneered programs to distribute the company's wealth to his employees, while holding them to strict procedures. This absorbing corporate bio is more objective than you might expect, though clearly Niemann is a fan of Casey and UPS. We find that his focus on Casey's entrepreneurship offers a fine example for anyone who is trying to make a company prosper.

Being a member of the working class, corporate public relations efforts don't appeal to me; but I'll give this book a couple stars for the revealing moments it contains. Niemann writes of the effort UPS makes to control the thinking of its employees, and says there is "a kind of boot camp, indoctrinating employees with UPS's unique corporate culture and expectations." It reminded me of the many such indoctrination efforts contained in Speechless: The Erosion of Free Expression in the American Workplace (BK Currents), which takes a critical look at totalitarian tendencies in the corporate culture.

"Big Brown" also contains an interesting story about how workers in West Germany were less receptive when UPS introduced its work-like-a-slave attitude. Niemann writes that Germany's "labor climate was institutionalized by German laws that called for extended vacations, much time off, liberal unlimited sick day policies, short work hours and weeks, and other inflexibilities. The hourly employees listened to the stress and pressure to get the job done as if it were Greek."
Sadly, with the expansion of neoliberal policies that limit benefits and increase working hours, the unethical work ethic of places like UPS has been globalized. Overworked American: The Unexpected Decline of Leisure

While UPS corporate PR can provide some interesting insights, there needs to be a book written on UPS from the point of labor. Giving labor's perspective is considered politically incorrect these days, but it's needed now as much as it ever was.
State of the Unions: How Labor Can Strengthen the Middle Class, Improve Our Economy, and Regain Political Influence