UPS Introduces New Way to Manage Urgent Shipments

UPS (NYSE:UPS) today announced the launch of UPS Express Criticalsm, a service that meshes all of UPS’s same-day and urgent capabilities into a single suite, allowing customers to more effectively manage package and heavy freight shipments together.

For the first time in the industry, customers have a single point of contact regardless of whether they’re shipping a small package or a 1,000 pound machine part - air or ground, domestic or international. Customers now have a single call center, one bill and one Website to manifest and track their truly urgent shipments.

“A single integrated operation for all urgent transportation needs is a differentiator for UPS,” said Dan Brutto, UPS president of global freight forwarding. “Traditionally in our industry, you called different places to move something big versus something small. We think our approach is really going to help our customers because when every second counts, they’ll be calling the same person no matter what they’re shipping.”

A single “touch point” for all urgent shipping is a convenience UPS has worked to provide by meshing the capabilities of UPS SonicAir, the UPS Airlines and UPS Freight. UPS has access to virtually any type of aircraft or vehicle around the world - both those in its own fleets and those of vendors - meaning customers have a variety of time options, specialized equipment, communication systems, advanced tracking and worldwide reach to meet their needs.

UPS Express Critical likewise makes billing simple, allowing package shippers to bill their freight shipments on their package account and vice versa.

“This is a same-day critical service that works for any size or weight shipment while bringing tracking and billing together on a single platform,” Brutto said.

In the not-too-distant past, added Brutto, the need for same day or urgent shipping was driven by crisis situations such as a critical part breaking at an assembly plant. Today, such services often become a normal response to the pace of business.

For example, one leading 24/7 import and domestic auto parts wholesale distributor in Ohio recently wanted to expand in key markets by providing a longer time window for customers to call in dealer orders. Within hours of their call to UPS, UPS Express Critical was able to offer a transportation combination involving planes and trucks that allowed the customer to accept orders late into the evening and still speed the parts to dealers before normal business hours the next morning.

“The producers of goods used to dictate demand based on how fast things could be pushed through the production and distribution process,” Brutto concluded. “Now the pace of business is dictated by the customer’s customer at the other end of the supply chain. This trend will continue and UPS now is positioned to set the standard for convenience in the urgent shipping category.”

UPS, which celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2007, is the world’s largest package delivery company and a global leader in supply chain services, offering an extensive range of options for synchronizing the movement of goods, information and funds. Headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., UPS serves more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. UPS’s stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange (UPS) and the company can be found on the Web at UPS.com. To get UPS news direct, visit pressroom.ups.com/RSS.