Page 54 -

Chapter 1 Information Systems in Global Business Today 53

INTERACTIVE SESSION: TECHNOLOGY

UPS COMPETES GLOBALLY WITH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

United Parcel Service (UPS) started out in 1907 in a customers’ signatures along with pickup and delivery
closet-sized basement office. Jim Casey and Claude information. Package tracking information is then
Ryan—two teenagers from Seattle with two bicycles transmitted to UPS’s computer network for storage
and one phone—promised the “best service and and processing. From there, the information can
lowest rates.” UPS has used this formula success- be accessed worldwide to provide proof of delivery
fully for more than a century to become the world’s to customers or to respond to customer queries. It
largest ground and air package-delivery company. usually takes less than 60 seconds from the time a
It’s a global enterprise with over 400,000 employees, driver presses “complete” on the DIAD for the new
93,000 vehicles, and the world’s ninth largest airline. information to be available on the Web.
UPS delivers 15.6 million packages and documents Through its automated package tracking system,
each day in the United States and more than 220 UPS can monitor and even re-route packages
other countries and territories. The firm has been throughout the delivery process. At various points
able to maintain leadership in small-package delivery along the route from sender to receiver, bar
services despite stiff competition from FedEx and code devices scan shipping information on the
Airborne Express by investing heavily in advanced package label and feed data about the progress of
information technology. UPS spends more than $1 the package into the central computer. Customer
billion each year to maintain a high level of customer service representatives are able to check the status
service while keeping costs low and streamlining its of any package from desktop computers linked to
overall operations. the central computers and respond immediately to
It all starts with the scannable bar-coded label inquiries from customers. UPS customers can also
attached to a package, which contains detailed access this information from the company’s Web
information about the sender, the destination, and site using their own computers or mobile phones.
when the package should arrive. Customers can UPS now has mobile apps and a mobile Web site for
download and print their own labels using special iPhone, BlackBerry, and Android smartphone users.
software provided by UPS or by accessing the UPS Anyone with a package to ship can access the UPS
Web site. Before the package is even picked up, infor- Web site to track packages, check delivery routes,
mation from the “smart” label is transmitted to one calculate shipping rates, determine time in transit,
of UPS’s computer centers in Mahwah, New Jersey, print labels, and schedule a pickup. The data col-
or Alpharetta, Georgia, and sent to the distribution lected at the UPS Web site are transmitted to the UPS
center nearest its final destination. central computer and then back to the customer
Dispatchers at this center download the label data after processing. UPS also provides tools that enable
and use special software to create the most efficient customers, such Cisco Systems, to embed UPS func-
delivery route for each driver that considers traffic, tions, such as tracking and cost calculations, into
weather conditions, and the location of each stop. their own Web sites so that they can track shipments
UPS estimates its delivery trucks save 28 million without visiting the UPS site.
miles and burn 3 million fewer gallons of fuel each A Web-based Post Sales Order Management System
year as a result of using this technology. To further (OMS) manages global service orders and inventory
increase cost savings and safety, drivers are trained for critical parts fulfillment. The system enables high-
to use “340 Methods” developed by industrial engi- tech electronics, aerospace, medical equipment, and
neers to optimize the performance of every task from other companies anywhere in the world that ship crit-
lifting and loading boxes to selecting a package from ical parts to quickly assess their critical parts inven-
a shelf in the truck. tory, determine the most optimal routing strategy to
The first thing a UPS driver picks up each day is meet customer needs, place orders online, and track
a handheld computer called a Delivery Information parts from the warehouse to the end user. An auto-
Acquisition Device (DIAD), which can access a wire- mated e-mail or fax feature keeps customers informed
less cell phone network. As soon as the driver logs of each shipping milestone and can provide notifica-
on, his or her day’s route is downloaded onto the tion of any changes to flight schedules for commercial
handheld. The DIAD also automatically captures airlines carrying their parts.

MIS_13_Ch_01_Global.indd 53 1/17/2013 2:24:25 PM