A Morning Run and a Field of Heroes.

On my run this morning, I passed our local Rotary Flags for Heroes field where overnight winds had knocked 10–12 U.S. flags to the ground. 

Many of us were taught that if the flag touches the ground, it must be destroyed. But the U.S. Flag Code actually says otherwise: if the flag is still in good condition, the right response isn’t to burn it - it’s to raise it back up, clean it if needed, and continue displaying it with dignity. 

 A Dollar General ~200 yards away had a bright yellow hammer, and in less than 10 minutes rebar was secured and the flags were standing tall again. In a field dedicated to heroes, it felt meaningful.. In short the field’s message fulfilled its mission and came through for me — a quiet and simple reminder to pause and reflect. 

 A great way to start a great day.

Am I Crazy for Personally Doing This 10,000 Times? 🤔

This week, we’ll hit 10,000 essential process runs at Shiplab. That means that over the last few years, someone on our team or I have manually kicked off these critical operations 10,000 times.

Our customers operate in a world where timing, accuracy, and reliability aren’t just expected—they’re absolutely essential. Their data isn’t just information—it’s promises, commitments, and the backbone of their operations. They count on us to be precise, dependable, and ahead of potential issues.

These processes don’t depend on me. We have fail-safes, redundancy, and automation where it matters. But I choose to run these manually every morning because I want to stay deeply connected to the problems we solve.

Over-automation can create blind spots, and I never want to lose sight of the details that make the difference.

Being hands-on with these daily functions gives me real-time, firsthand insight—not just through a dashboard but by recognizing patterns before they become problems, detecting friction before it slows us down, and understanding the daily “weather” of the complex ecosystem we operate in.

Unnecessary? Maybe. But for me, it’s a habit that keeps us fully connected from the top down. 

10k reps in. Because the details matter.

#Logistics #SupplyChainManagement #OperationsManagement   #ParcelDataParty

Why am I running in the rain? 🤔🌧️🏃‍♂️

At the beginning of the year, I started running each morning after taking my youngest kids to school. 

For years, I always walked decent distances in the mornings, using the time to process things, organize my day, and just be outside. Then one day, I started running—true Gump style—and it kind of stuck. 

I'm not a runner by nature, nor do I intend to become one. But I understand its benefits, and I also know that one day, I might not be able to run. So, I do. 

 This morning, I ran in the pouring rain, soaked to the bone. I wondered why I was even out there. In my miles of sloshing, I realized two things: 

 1. No one else was on the trail. It was 100% mine. I always pass people regularly, often the same faces each day. Not today.  It was raining but my path was clear.

 2. If I'm not willing to do something when conditions aren't optimal, how can I expect to be good at that something when they are? 

There are no perfect conditions for anything, really. Sometimes, "bad" conditions present the best opportunities for action. 

 What are you putting off because of the weather?

40-ish dad on Generation AI

I've gotten more than a few questions about AI this year, and not to minimize its risks (which are substantial), I'll shift for a sec and focus on its pervasive impact - from a 40 something year old dad that's dealt with data and tech for a couple decades.  

If you're my age, think back to high school when the internet was just chatter. You knew of it, maybe used it, but not everyone had it. Those AOL/Netzero discs and dial-up screeches come to mind, right? It was around - but not a constant in daily life.

Over the years, you began to rely on the internet more and more. Then, suddenly, one day it was in your pocket.

Think about how your life completely shifted as this happened – your efficiency, interactions, influence, exposure to new things, ability to get to your Aunt Rosy's house from any location on the globe – virtually everything changed, for better or worse.

The key takeaway is having lived through a time without widespread internet, you can remember just how drastically things changed over a relatively short period of time.

Now a lot of us in our forties have kids who are reaching the age we were in high school. Our kids just can't understand a life without the internet; they've always had it.

These same kids are in a similar situation now with AI. They get its importance, but it's as new to them as the internet was to you in high school. It's just starting to weave its way into their routines - mainly for research papers, right? 😉.  

Those AI generated papers are the screeching modem sounds they'll remember.

Our kids (and us) will increasingly interact with different forms of AI, day by day, month by month. It will become a daily occurrence and, eventually, minute-to-minute in ways we can and can't predict now. 

Dependance may be a better word. Just like the internet did to our generation.  

For better or worse in our kids adult lives, most interactions, decisions, and content consumption will be influenced by, or generated by AI. 

Technologies like this only mature every couple decades, and they shape the next 50-100 just like the internet did for us.  

When my kids are my age they'll probably post something similar. Maybe they'll have something generate it, I don't know. But It's pretty certain to me they'll remember a time without AI. I trust they will.  

We did a good job remembering life without the internet, right?

Inc500 - Check!

When we started eAudit in 2013 we had many goals for the company. Create a great team, create a great product, create incredible value for our customers, scale quickly - to name a few.

When I exited the company earlier this year I was confident we had accomplished all of these.  The technologies we created in our 800sq ft Greenville NC office saved our customers immense time and money.  There were countless challenges solved, countless late nights, countless sacrifices.

Today because of the hard work over those years by our team, eAudit has been designated in the Inc500 as one of the fastest growing companies in the country, a personal goal of mine from the onset.  It wasn't easy but we did it.  You did it.  We did what we said we were going to do, and I'll never forget it - thank you all.  I wish the company further success as it continues to grow. #onward

Thank you Majid

Today I got an unexpected visit from an incredible human (his humility will force him to hate this post).

About 5 years back, with my family's support, I took one of most "all things considered" risks of my life - an opportunity to toss stability aside and make something great. We interviewed droves of candidates to build the impossible. Hard to imagine but turns out there just wasn't a lot of people that passed that "sniff" test. That understood, possessed the ability, or for that matter willing to take that risk. This guy is different on all counts.

 With support from partners that also believed, we setup shop in a 12x12 storage room - the first official "office".  Equipped with a "well seasoned" conference table, 2 or 3 computers and as many monitors as we could get surplus from ECU for $20 a pop. In that room we debated, designed, hustled, and built the core of eAudit.

Since then there were also countless unfiltered cultural debates, insights, lessons, life experiences, exposure - all shared from what the world probably considers otherwise opposite lives. Priceless in every sense.

Fast forward and we've processed packages to well over 1 in 3 addresses in the US. Hundreds of millions of packages, billions of charges; meaning you (or your neighbors) have already been touched in an off sense way by our software if you've received a package on your doorstep since 2014 or so.

We joke all the time we've spent more time in the same room over the years than we have with our wives, and it's actually probably true. In these years this man also turned down countless enormous offers. I mean LIFE changing offers - from every software name that each of you use every day.

He's always stuck with me for a quarter the pay and five times the work.

I have no answer for it but I do know this; I've been blessed to no description for the people that have been willing to take risks on me in my life. Myself now pushin' 40, I've also been around long enough know who these people are - and that these people are few and far between.

To a great engineer, a great person, and a valued friend - we, my family, I thank you Majid Darabi Go make GREAT things in Silicon Valley - we all wish you the best in this next chapter. SHOW 'EM HOW IT'S DONE!!!!!! 🦄🦄🦄🦄 #GOBIGORGOHOME #ONWARD!!

Holidays 2017: Will My “Ship” Get There On Time?

Peak shipping season is in full swing and 2017 is shaping up to be an interesting year.  Our team has been busy forecasting/monitoring parcel traffic volume and the question on everyone’s mind is:  Will my “ship” get there on time?

If you’re still planning on shipping this holiday season, here’s what you need to know.  If you just want to see if your package is likely to arrive on time skip to the infographic below.  [skip]

Online sales is growing at estimated 18% as opposed to a relatively static retail growth of about 4%, fueling major package volume increases for USPS, UPS and FedEx and others.  There are several uniques about the 2017 peak landscape and most interestingly, outside of the general volume increase, is the fact that Christmas day falls on a Monday this year.  This further compounds staffing complexity for the carriers with two major delivery days falling on a weekend – traditionally limited service days (Sat 12/23 and Sun 12/24).

The good news so far (at least at the time of this writing) is that weather has for the most part been on the side of the carriers nationwide.

Here is a breakout of the package volume the carriers expect to push through their networks Nov 27 through Dec 24:

• FedEx 400M Packages (~ +10% YoY)
• UPS 750M Packages (~ +7% YoY)
• USPS 850M Packages (~ +10% YoY)

Consider those numbers for a second before you bash the carriers.  2 billion. That’s a lot of boxes.  These guys/gals are working hard.

At eAudit we’ve monitored the ramp up over the last few weeks and forecasted 68% overall package volume increase over a typical month (a 9% increase over December 2016) for our customers,  confirming the carriers expectations and further expansion of online transactions.

This isn’t totally unexpected however, if you track back to summer 2017 you’ll observe a significant uptick (5-7% YoY) in shipping containers destined for the U.S.  In other words merchants have been stocking inventory at record pace therefore making bets on this season for many months.

Although the anticipated volume is less than a surprise,  we’ve observed the carrier networks are still showing signs of major congestion.  Despite bringing on 95K additional temporary hires, UPS has already implemented a 70 hour work week for many employees and has already admitted volume is exceeding their expectation.  FedEx brought 50K additional people to handle the load and are also working extended hours.  Even with the added resources UPS and FedEx are still struggling to clear existing volume from record setting $6.5+ billion in Cyber Monday sales this year.  This backup is also evident in the significant week over week upticks we’re observing in our customers deliveries past their commit times (arriving late).

So,  will your “ship” arrive on time?  Our basic recommendation is to finish up as much online shopping by Friday 12/15 to avoid unnecessary risk or expense this year.  The closer the holiday becomes we also recommend considering “ship to store” options if available.  Delivering hundreds of packages to a store is far more efficient for the carriers than your doorstep which could increase the odds of an on time delivery in your favor.

Friday 12/15 is the last day general ground shipments have a reasonable expectation to arrive by Dec 23, with UPS having a slight advantage this year with it’s newly expanded Saturday Delivery for Ground service.  Starting Monday,  the options start to dwindle with only premium options being available.

We’re watching Dec 22 closely as it’s the last day most premium services should deliver that are not upgraded to Saturday delivery(additional cost).  Saturday Delivery option is key here,  remember to select it and pay the piper if you need to!

As always the most up to date delivery estimates are going to be from the carriers themselves,  here are links to each of their online delivery date estimation tools:

• UPS Time in Transit 
• FedEx Transit Times
• USPS Calculator

Another important consideration for parcel shipping this year are changes to the carriers money back guarantee.  FedEx has kept step with it’s 2016 announcements while UPS has made a significant change to Ground service guarantees, waiving refunds for the entire season as opposed to partially last year.  UPS’s guarantee is still slightly stronger however,  by still time guaranteeing Next Day Air Early and WW Express to within 90 minutes,  as opposed to all FedEx air services by end of day.

2017 UPS Holiday Money Back Guarantee  (link)

UPS Air and International Scheduled Dec 18-23:
Next Day Air Early and World Wide Express Plus: +90 Mins to delivery time
All other Air by End of Day

UPS Ground and Standard Picked up Nov 27-Dec 24:
No Money Back Guarantee if Late
(2016 no guarantee dates: 11/27- 12/3 and 12/18-12/24)

2017 FedEx Holiday Money Back Guarantee  (link)

FedEx Air and International Scheduled Dec 18-23:
All By End of Day

FedEx Ground and Home Delivery Picked up Nov 27-Dec 24
No Money Back Guarantee if Late