A Truly Olympian Operation

UPS Expects to Deliver 19 Million Items By End of Games

BEIJING.– As millions of fans cheer on Olympic athletes here, another kind of Olympics is taking place behind the scenes.

UPS, in its role as the official logistics and express delivery sponsor of the Beijing 2008 Olympics, has so far delivered 15 million items to support the Games and expects to deliver a total of more than 19 million by the closing ceremonies. This includes all of the Games-related equipment and support materials used at the competition venues, ranging from tennis balls and canoes to computers and scoreboards.

Operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, UPS is responsible for all express delivery and transportation services for accredited areas including the competition venues, the Olympic Green, the Athletes’ Village and the Press Village. The range of services covers the shipment of competition equipment as well as the movement of time-sensitive film footage and photographic materials. UPS also will be responsible for all reverse-logistics moves after the Games as well as logistics for the Paralympic Games.

UPS is serving the Games from an Olympic Logistics Center comprised of four warehouses spanning 2 million square feet of space. The Olympic Logistics Center is UPS’s largest single customer facility in Asia and delivered 10.6 million items before the Games even began.

Now at its peak of operation, UPS’s network relies on a staff of 2,000 and some 217 trucks and package vans. Among the largest items delivered so far: 254 canoes, kayaks and rowboats on behalf of 61 national Olympic committees. Among the smallest: commemorative pins and flash disks.

“UPS has been a committed and highly dedicated partner of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG) throughout the intense preparations for the Games,” said Yan Ligang, director of BOCOG’s Logistics Department. “Their expertise, professionalism and ability to handle complex logistical tasks were exemplified by their management of the colossal Olympic boat deliveries. This clearly demonstrated the strength of UPS’s global network and I am delighted to say that the boats arrived in prime condition for the athletes.”