TSP’s Story Demonstrates DPS Distribution Challenges

There has been considerable discussion  about the causes of peak season problems this summer, and most agree that there are many factors that have come into play to cause these issues. One factor that has been mentioned is the DPS distribution model, and a recent phone call we received from a TSP offered an excellent example of how the DPS distribution model can contribute to the peak season problems.

This small TSP had gone all year without a single DPS shipment. This was not much of a surprise to them, as they had not been expecting to get many DPS shipments. Recently this changed in a hurry, probably due to the large number of TSPs that have used the blackout function in DPS to remove themselves from eligibility. This TSP was suddenly overwhelmed with DPS shipment offers. Before they could use the blackout capability to stop the flow of shipments, they had received 300 DPS shipments, all of which would need to be serviced within roughly the same time frame. Basically, they went from 0 to 300 before they could slam on the brakes.

It is clear that this TSP is going to do everything they can to get these shipments picked up on time, and serviced to the best of their ability. However, there is no doubt that this will be a substantial challenge, given the TSP’s size and DPS experience. There is a good chance that some of those 300 service members will not be getting that TSP’s best quality service, in part because the TSP was overloaded by the DPS distribution model. If those 300 moves had been distributed more evenly, or if the TSP had some visibility or expectation that they were coming, the TSP could have handled them much more easily and effectively for the service member.

There has been a lot of talk about making necessary changes to prevent a repeat of this year’s peak season problem next summer. Based on this TSP’s story, a change to the DPS distribution model should be one of the changes that needs to be strongly considered.

Related Posts

1. Info-Gram #11: Shipment Planning, Management, and Distribution - January 26th, 2007
2. New TSPs Join DPS Invoice Testing - September 16th, 2008
3. DPS Preparation for TSPs - January 25th, 2007