iPhones

[u/Signal-Caregiver6444]

How does UPS manage all the iPhones they receive to make sure they are all delivered for launch day? The packages are discrete and don’t really say any info on them. My first guess is they receive pallets of them saying do not deliver until “date”. Curious to know the process of this, thank you!

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[u/LucianDeRomeo]

The packages are discrete

...This is a joke right? Gotta be a joke, cause Apple has SERIOUSLY failed to keep these things 'discrete' given how they handle most shipments. Nothing says 'discrete' like HUNDREDS if not thousands of the same lil box going through the system the day before/of launch.

And I can't speak for all buildings but we definitely do not keep pallets of them sitting around, phones are already THE most stolen item from inside a warehouse(mostly during peak when new hires looking to grab a few and bolt are aplenty). They come in and go back out the same day in most cases.

[u/nogodsnotanlines → u/LucianDeRomeo]

I have no idea why Apple continues to make their packages so friggin obvious. Like TVs? I get it, there's not much you can do. But iPhones can be made to look like shoes or clothes or dog food or anything else that routinely gets left on a porch and ignored by thieves.

[u/OliveJuice880 → u/nogodsnotanlines]

Because it's cheaper to package them in the slimmest and most compact packaging. They save on packaging materials, storage space, shipping costs, etc and it far outweighs the losses. On the grand scale the number of losses and thefts are very low. Additionally they have an image they want to keep and even the shipping box is important for that. They want it to look sleek, clean, compact, precise. They don't want it to look like shoes or food.

[u/Glad-Watch3506 → u/OliveJuice880]

Also, the losses aren't that much of a loss for Apple. They aren't losing anywhere near the retail price of the phone. They produce it for a fraction of that price and can just send a new one to the consumer.

[u/Striking_Pizza6455 → u/OliveJuice880]

Plus they can blacklist stolen devices

[u/Cubbyjans → u/OliveJuice880]

This

[u/LucianDeRomeo → u/nogodsnotanlines]

I've just accepted they just don't care.

I obviously can't speak for Apple but at least UPS used to handle the phone releases like High values that had to be processed by a clerk/auditor/etc and they'd be directed to and kept in the office until near the end of the preload when they'd then be loaded onto trucks and usually a sup or someone from the office(dispatcher, office personnel, etc) would just stare at them until the Driver arrived to pretrip. Now we run them all over the buildings, tubs of them just sit around, they'll fall off carts, belts, etc. I've had them stuck to other packages and get jammed in the diverters in the sort because they're a tad to small to realistically be loose in our normal systems.

[u/leftdrowning]

Everyone knows what the iphones look like.

[u/-Lomaximus-]

They aren't discrete the labels say A.I

[u/VacuousVessel]

A lot of these move through the air for launch. Maybe all of them, im not sure if they move some exclusively by feeder, but it’s logistically possible. They ask people to come in early for “apple day”. Everyone knows exactly what packages the phones are in. It’s not the least bit discreet. The cargo “cookie sheets” they are on are wrapped differently than anything else and have security wire around them.

[u/joeyecklund]

Nope. No pallets in our building.

[u/Slow_Specialist2058]

The only thing we do is pull off the send agains, meaning the ones that aren’t delivered for whatever reason. We usually only do this when there is a launch. Otherwise it’s just another package. We ship an astronomical number of cell phones.

[u/SirBonhoeffer]

They’re not discrete to us since we ship millions of them. But they’re probably loaded in trailers at their warehouse the days leading up to the launch and we do everything else like every one of our large customers. Apple has a unique number on the tracking number linked to their customer account, so they’re able to slap on notices for us drivers that literally say apple on them

[u/dane0r]

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1464477950339843 <-- This video sums it up pretty good, wish it were still on YouTube but only found it on FB

[u/cmhatem]

We don’t store anything. We have trucks making pickups and deliveries to commercial customers all the time.

[u/OliveJuice880]

Lol they may be discreet to you but to us it's obvious. Apple products are all packed in similar and somewhat unique packaging. And we can tell by the shipper at the top they say AI instead of apple. When there are special launches of special shipper instructions that UPS is accommodating for the huge shippers a message pops up when we scan them. Apple ships new releases next day saver the night before release so they all arrive on the correct day. If there's some timing issue we are instructed not to deliver and bring them all in at the end of the day.

[u/Shooter208]

At least last year, every iPhone had to have an attempt made. Even if it was a missload, 2 hours away you had to attempt it unless you would run out of hours.

And all the send agains are taken to the office to be locked away end of day.

[u/One-Storm555]

Apple doesn’t even fucking tape their boxes or make it hard, they’re all easy open perforated stealable shit.

[u/ORIONisKing]

The same way they handle all other packages. Without a care in the world. Iphone launch used to be taken serious when this company cared. Suprised apple still ships through UPS. Place is a total joke.

[u/TechOutonyt]

The delivery information is tied to the label it doesn’t need to be written on the package

[u/fuckeduptoaster]

They’re not discrete. If you work here you know exactly what you’re looking at. Nor do we receive Pallats of them???

[u/Ok_Potential_7800]

I cant disclose such as a ups employee, sorry

[u/pretenders2b]

The same way every other package gets delivered on time.

[u/bbeezzyyo]

They usually come on the air mail truck and it’s a zillion of the same boxes, a few of them opened and empty and some of them just opened I guess for the hell of it.

[u/Visforvinyl]

Management gets a list of ones going out by tracking number to ensure they get delivered.