You are the shipping clerk of a small firm that prints, binds, and ships popular books for a midlevel publisher. Your production facilities are located in Albany, New York (ZIP code 12250). Your customers’ warehouses are located in Rye, New York (10580); Irving, Texas (75015); Charlotte, North Carolina (28201); Sioux Falls, South Dakota (57117); and Tustin, California (92680). The production facility operates 250 days per year. Your books are usually shipped in one of two sized packages:

(A) Height: 9 inches, Length: 13 inches, Width: 17 inches, Weight: 45 lbs.

(B) Height:10 inches, Length: 6 inches, Width: 12 inches, Weight: 16 lbs.

           The company ships about four of the A boxes to each of the warehouses on an average day and about eight B boxes daily.

           Your task is to select the best shipper for your company. Compare three shippers, such as FedEx (www.fedex.com), UPS (www.ups.com), and the U.S. Postal Service (www.usps.gov). Consider not only costs but also such issues as delivery speed, pickup schedules, drop-off locations, tracking ability, and ease of use of the Web site. Which service did you select? Explain why.