Ups Supply Chain Solutions

By Author: Sherry Roberts
Total Articles: 99
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Introduction
UPS supply chain solutions, Inc is an IT firm that offer transportation and freight, contact logistics and distribution, customs brokerage, and consulting services globally. UPS solutions also offer air, ocean, rail, and transportation and freight services and other specialized services such as network management and supplier management services. Additionally, UPS provides specialty services such as service parts logistics, technical repair and configuration, multi-modal transportation management. Currently, UPS is one of the largest logistics providers globally that relies on the extensive UPS's transportation network to meets the needs of its customers. UPS has evolved into a market-driven firm with an emphasis on customer satisfaction. Its commanding position is as a result of its vast transportation infrastructure and the promise of guaranteed delivery, supported by advanced technology that helps maintain efficiency and keep prices competitive. UPS’s corporate culture of customer satisfaction drives the company’s success. It offers the customers the most comprehensive range of services from logistics ...
... to trade finance. The idea of the company is to succeed by offering customers a competitive edge that it does capture the transaction services that relate to the physical movement of good. UPS has succeeded in making tremendous strides due to its open and consensus-based firm culture. UPS remains 99% employee-owned thus giving employing a sense of ownership. The executive leadership is willing to listen to ideas from employees. There are numerous informal and formal strategies to bring ideas forward, and the management encourages employees to contribute their ideas.
Customers leverage its broad array of logistics capabilities, global presence in North America, Asia, Europe and Latin America, reliability, industry-leading technologies and solution for competitive advantage. UPS invests in creating user-friendly shipping, logistics management, e-commerce and visibility tools to customers. The company’s transformative agenda is guided by deploying technology-enabled solutions and offering unique and industry-specific customer solutions. UPS also seeks to continue expanding its global network and serving the needs of a global consumer.
UPS main businesses include the U.S Domestic Package reporting segment. The segment of a wide range of U.S domestic guaranteed and air package transportation. The second segment is the International Package reporting segment that deals with the delivery of small package operations in various global destinations. The third segment is the supply chain and freight reporting segment. The high supply chain complexity creates demand for a global service offering that incorporates transportation, and international trade. The fourth freight forwarding is the leading U.S. domestic air freight carriers. The fifth sector is the customs brokerage sector. UPS is one of the leading customs brokers by numbers of shipment processed annually. The sixth sector is the distribution service. UPS provides a comprehensive distribution service through a global network.

Business strategy

UPS is the most admired mail, package and freight delivery firm for over 15 times in the past. UPS remain prominent in its market by focusing on three key areas of need. UPS operates as United States domestic package service, an international package delivering service and a supply chain and freight service. The company has dedicated its decision-making process and strategy to low cost and quality via efficiency and reliability of service (Garvin & Levesque, 2006). It achieves the strategy by concentrating on the importance of pricing options, identifying the market demand, differentiation, and competitive market structure.
In the current competitive environment, UPS’s strategy is to sustain its core business and prepare for the future by leveraging technology. The key strategies for its success include global distribution and logistics, combining e-commerce and logistics, customer relationship and services, technology, culture and adequate capital. UPS has shown significant growth in supply chain management by using technology to sustain rapid growth in offering quality services and entering new markets such as Europe and Asia. Technology at UPS spans ranges from handled devices to specially designed delivery vehicles to global communication systems. Since its inception, UPS has invested heavily in a strategic shift to an IT-dependent company.
UPS strategy to grow globally relies on access, integration, and globalization by being a business partners to companies and helping make their customers more successful through global commerce. The company strives to be within reach of all customers by all means. Its global acquisition and activities aim to make customers access services with ease. It uses different channels and services, including wireless and the Internet. The idea is to offer easy access to whatever devices a customer uses so as to seamlessly connect the physical and virtual world.
UPS has a strong global supply chain and its strong global position as a strategic position. As started earlier, UPS spans over 200 countries and have more than 1.8 million customers. The company delivers more than 15 million parcels daily on average to both local and global networks. UPS has over 140,000 local and domestic access points. The company also has a fleet of over 100,000 trucks that spans from custom-built delivery trucks to large trailers. The company’s air fleet consist more than 500 airplanes. The large fleet of transportation infrastructure enables the company to handle the supply chain of a large number of small and medium-sized enterprises. The strong market position enables the company to serve a broad customer base globally. Robust infrastructure supports the strong market position.
The massive IT infrastructures are fed by data from enormous daily contacts with consumers and businesses globally. The information infrastructure allows UPS to fulfill its strategy of being as prevalent and user-friendly in the virtual and physical world. The company has forged strategic alliances with e-commerce firms such IBM and AT&T to ensure that its shipping services are effective. UPS’s international growth assumes threefold including funding start-ups, buying companies and forming strategic alliances. For example, the company bought sixteen companies in its Europe expansion. In Asia, UPS has formed strategic alliances with convenience stores.

UPS management views its customer relationship and service key business factors as seen in its mission statement “Best Service, Lower Rates.” Most firms substitute technology for people as they automate and lose the personal touch with customers. However, UPS has managed to use technology to enhance customer services. UPS believes that people are the most important assets. According to UPS manager, without the human touch, technologies cannot deliver quality customer relationships. As such, UPS seeks to promote employees commitment. The dedication of UPS people is achieved through two key long-standing policies. These strategies include training and ownership. Employees and managers own a large proportion of the company’s stock. The ownership promotes excellent services as every manager and employee stakeholder work to improve the company. Additionally, the company retains a flexible structure that allows employees to work as a team. UPS also seeks credible improvement ideas from customers and other partners. Its strategy involves listening to ideas regardless of the source of the idea and giving a commitment to the best ideas.
IT has been one of the strongest UPS’s strategies. Technology has bolstered UPS from a mere transportation company to an IT-driven firm. Between 1991 and 2001, UPS invested a huge amount of its revenue on IT infrastructures and highest non-building capital expense. UPS saves thousands of dollars in customer support by providing the ability to track packages on its tracking requests through the internet. It costs the company $ 0.1 to offer customer services via the Internet compared to $ 2 to offer customer support over the phone. UPS vision of the future extends beyond package delivery. UPS added value through supply chain management by creating a new business known as UPS logistics two decades ago. UPS’s value-based logistics uses three success strategies that include globalism, connectivity, and service.
Conclusion
UPS supply chain solutions have dramatically transformed from a transportation firm only to a leading information technology firm. The company focuses on customer satisfaction and superior customer services to drive its growth. UPS continues to identify new ways to provide customer services by leveraging technology and superior infrastructures. It highest priority for the future is to continue investing in technology to allow its provide quality services.

References

ABNEY, D. (2013). THE UPS JOURNEY: LESSONS FROM 300 MILLION GREEN MILES. Vital Speeches Of The Day, 79(9), 275-277.

Delivering a 21st Century Economy: More Trade, Less Debt, New Jobs. (2012). Vital Speeches of the Day, 78(11), 367-370

Hughes, M. (2014). The supply chain Santas. Industrial Engineer: IE, 46(12), 6.

The logistics of education. (2014). Industrial Engineer: IE, 46(1), 59
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