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Deal
7 Personnel structure
7.1 Chief executives
7.2 System design
8 Fees for Canadians
9 Fuel economy
10 Environmental record
11 UPS Facts & Statistics
12 See also
13 References
14 Further reading
15 External links
Company structure
UPS's primary business is the time-definite delivery of packages and documents worldwide. In recent years, UPS
has extended their service portfolio to include less than truckload transportation (primarily in the U.S.) and
supply chain services. UPS reports their operations in three segments: U.S. Domestic Package operations,
International Package operations, and Supply Chain & Freight operations.
U.S. Domestic Package operations include the time-definite delivery of letters, documents, and packages
throughout the United States.
International Package
International Package operations include delivery to more than 200 countries and territories worldwide,
including shipments wholly outside the United States, as well as shipments with either origin or distribution
outside the United States.
Supply Chain & Freight includes UPS's forwarding and contract logistics operations, UPS Freight, and other
related business units. UPS's forwarding and logistics business provides services in more than 175 countries and
territories worldwide, and includes worldwide supply chain design, execution and management, freight
forwarding and distribution, customs brokerage, mail and consulting services. UPS Freight offers a variety of
less than truckload (“LTL”) and truckload (“TL”) services to customers in North America. Other business units
within this segment include Mail Boxes Etc. (the franchisor of Mail Boxes Etc. and The UPS Store) and UPS
Capital.
History
August 28, 1907: 19-year-old Jim Casey and 18-year-old Claude Ryan founded the American Messenger
Company in Seattle, Washington, capitalized with $100 in debt.
1913: The first delivery car appeared, a Model T Ford. They merged with a competitor, Evert McCabe,
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and formed Merchants Parcel Delivery. Consolidated delivery was also introduced, combining packages
addressed to a certain neighborhood onto one delivery vehicle.
1918: A new member was recruited, Charles W. Soderstrom, who helped manage their ever-growing
fleet of delivery vehicles.
1919: Service began in Oakland, California. The name United Parcel Service was adopted. The first
official logo was released.
1930: A consolidated service began in New York, and soon after began operations in other major cities in
the east and midwest. First mechanical system for package sorting. Accountant George D. Smith joined
the company. The name United Parcel Service was adopted all over the country. All UPS vehicles were
then painted the familiar Pullman brown, chosen because it was considered neat, dignified, and
professional. Headquarters moved to New York City.
1937: the UPS logo was revised for the first time. In the logo, it wrote "The Delivery System for Stores of
Quality".
1940–1959: Services were expanded by acquiring "common carrier" rights to deliver packages between
all addresses, any customer, private and commercial.
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Competitors
Major domestic (United States) competitors include United States Postal Service (USPS), and FedEx. In addition
to these domestic carriers, UPS competes with a variety of international operators, including Canada Post, TNT
N.V., Deutsche Post (owner of DHL), Royal Mail, Japan Post, India Post and many other regional carriers,
national postal services and air cargo handlers (see Package delivery and Mail pages). However, their earliest
competitor was the Distributional Overnight Western National Service (DOWNS), a service with roots in the
pony express that has since disappeared.
Historically, the bulk of UPS' competition came from inexpensive ground-based delivery services, such as Parcel
Post (USPS). But in 1998 FedEx expanded into the ground parcel delivery market by acquiring RPS (originally
Roadway Package System) and rebranding it as FedEx Ground in 2000. In 2003 DHL expanded its US
operations by acquiring Airborne Express, significantly increasing its presence in the United States, and adding
more competition in the ground delivery market. In response to this, UPS partnered with the US Postal Service
to offer UPS Mail Innovations (http://www.upsmailinnovations.com/) , a program that allows UPS to pick up
mail and transfer it to a USPS center, or destination delivery unit (DDU) (http://pe.usps.gov/Archive
/HTML/DMMArchive1209/E250.htm) , for final distribution. This process is also known as zone skipping
(http://multichannelmerchant.com/opsandfulfillment/advisor/zone_skipping/) , long used by Parcel
Consolidators (http://www.usps.com/shipping/consolidators.htm) .
More recently, the continued growth of online shopping, combined with increasing awareness of the role
transportation (including package delivery) has on the environment, has contributed to the rise of emerging
competition from niche carriers or rebranded incumbents. For instance, the US Postal Service claims "greener
delivery" of parcels on the assumption that USPS letter carriers deliver to each US address, six days a week
anyway, and therefore offer the industry's lowest fuel consumption per delivery. Other carriers, like
ParcelPool.com (http://www.parcelpool.com/) , which specializes in residential package delivery to APO-FPO
addresses, Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico and other US Territories, arose in response to increased demand from
catalog retailers and online e-tailers for low-cost residential delivery services closely matching service standards
normally associated with more expensive expedited parcel delivery.
Characteristic features
Brand mark
United Parcel Service United Parcel Service United Parcel Service United Parcel Service
logo (1919-1937) logo (1937-1961) logo (1961–2003) logo (2003-present)
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In April 2003, UPS unveiled a new logo, the fourth the company has used, replacing the iconic package and
shield originally designed in 1961 by Paul Rand. The original logo first saw use in 1916 when the company was
American Messenger Company. In 1935, the logo was redesigned to reflect the company's new name United
Parcel Service.[6] All four designs for the logo shared the shield theme, and UPS employees often refer to the
brand mark as "the shield."
Brown
The brown color that UPS uses on its vehicles and uniforms is called Pullman Brown. The color is also
mentioned in their advertising slogan: "What can Brown do for you?"[7] Originally founder James E. Casey
wanted the trucks to be yellow, but one of his partners, Charlie Soderstrom stated they would be impossible to
keep clean, and that Pullman railroad cars were that color for just that reason.[8]
Font
UPS commissioned brand consultancy FutureBrand to develop their own font, UPS Sans, for use in marketing
and communication material. UPS Sans was created by slightly altering certain parts of FSI FontShop
International’s font FF Dax without permission. This has resulted in an agreement between FSI FontShop
International and FutureBrand to avoid litigation. [9]
Uniforms
The UPS delivery driver uniform consists of a brown short-sleeve or long-sleeve button-up shirt or blouse with a
pointed collar, front left pocket, and the company logo above the pocket. The shirt is worn with a pair of brown
pants or shorts. When pants are worn, the shirttail is tucked in. All buttons, with the exception of the one on the
collar, are fastened. Both shirts can be worn with either the shorts or the pants. UPS socks must be worn when
shorts are worn. Drivers for UPS Express Critical are not required to wear any uniforms and can deliver in their
own clothes.
Winter attire consists of a heavy brown jacket with the UPS logo on the left breast, the trademark brown pants,
and either a UPS baseball cap or a simple brown stocking cap. UPS drivers must have a tucked-in brown or
white undershirt underneath the jacket.
A UPS driver must be clean-shaven and cannot have the bottom of their mustache below the corner of their lip.
Sideburns may not extend past the ear. Hair may not extend below the top of the collar for males.
During the initial expansion into what was then West Germany the Brown UPS Uniform was replaced with a
Green Uniform due to sensitivity over the "Brown Shirts" worn by the Nazi SA during Hitler's rise to power.
Vehicles
Package cars
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The UPS package car (or van) is a major symbol of the U.S. business world,
with its iconic status referenced in an early-2000s ad campaign following UPS'
sponsorship of Dale Jarrett in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: the ads were
about how the company would prefer to race the truck over a stock car despite
the futility of doing so, as "people love the truck".
The classic UPS package car is built on a General Motors or Ford chassis, has a
UPS package car from rear
manual transmission, manual steering, and no radio or air conditioning. The quarter. US variant, Corpus
older ones are easily recognizable due to their round headlights and turn signals Christi, Texas
set onto a sculpted fiberglass hood. These are either Grumman Olson P-600 or
P-800 step vans (a recent redesign changed the look, replacing the round turn
signals with ovoid LED ones).
Newer package cars in North America have either a Freightliner Trucks or Navistar International chassis;
automatic transmissions and power steering are slowly appearing in package cars. UPS also operates Dodge
Sprinter box vans in rural areas as well as Dodge Grand Caravan minivans. UPS has package cars that operate
on Propane in Canada. The only issue with that is that when temperatures are below feezing 32F/0C they don't
work well. The gas won't atomize. Consequently UPS Canada has had a shortage of fleet vehicles. In 2008 and
2009, UPS Canada has been using rental vans or box trucks to help ease the vehicle shortage.
UPS has ordered Modec electric vans for its UK and German fleets. Energy costs play a huge part in the
potential profitability of package delivery companies like UPS, DHL and FedEx [10].
When package cars reach the end of their useful service life (typically 20–25 years or more), they are almost
always dismantled for spare parts; the only exception being when they are repainted white for internal use.
When using non-proprietary trucks, such as Ford Econoline vans, Dodge Caravans, or Dodge Sprinters, UPS will
often remove the vehicle badging as to not provide free advertising to the manufacturer.
Other trucks
UPS Airlines
From the launch of UPS Airlines in 1988 to today, UPS has had two color schemes for its aircraft fleet.
The first was introduced in 1988 and is still seen on some of their aircraft today as the new design is phased in. It
consisted of a mostly white fuselage. A brown stripe was located on the window line (or where it would have
been on its Boeing 757 and 767 freighters). The words United Parcel Service were located above the stripe on
the front half of the fuselage. On the 747 aircraft, the United Parcel Service letters were much larger and were
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located further back. A brown vertical stabilizer featured the then-current UPS shield.
Today's color scheme was introduced alongside the new brandmark design in 2003. The brown stripe was
phased out to be replaced by an arching design over the wing coming to a point on the top of the fuselage. This
brown segment was trimmed by a gold outline; this is the same color gold as on the new shield. Replacing the
company name on the fuselage is, in black: "Worldwide Services", with the words "synchronizing the world of
commerce" underneath. The redesigned logo is featured on a brown vertical stabilizer.
Bicycles
In 2008, UPS started hiring bike delivery people in Vancouver, Washington; Portland, Salem, Corvallis, Eugene,
and Medford, Oregon.[11]
Trains
UPS contracts with several railroad companies in the United States to provide intermodal transport for their
cargo.
Other codes
Trailer /Railroad reporting marks: UPGX, UPGZ, UPOZ, UPSZ, UPWZ, UPSC [12]
NMFTA SCAC Code: UPSS, UPSN, UPSC
All Nippon Airways, a Star Alliance member, and UPS have formed a cargo alliance and code-share to transport
member cargo, similarly to an airline alliance.[13][14]
Personnel structure
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UPS employs approximately 425,300 staff, with 358,400 in the U.S. and 67,300
internationally. Approximately 240,000 UPS drivers, package handlers and
clerks are represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. The
company has had only one nationwide strike in its history, which occurred in
1997, lasting 16 days.[15]
UPS' Parcel Network is based on a hub and spoke model. UPS operates centers
that feed parcels to hubs where parcels are sorted and forwarded to their
destinations. Centers typically are the point of entry for parcels and send the
parcels to one or more hubs. A hub is a location where many centers send
packages to be sorted and sent back out to other centers or hubs. For example,
a parcel being shipped from Wilmington, North Carolina to San Francisco,
California is picked up by a driver and taken to the 23rd Street center in
Wilmington, where it is loaded on a trailer and driven to Raleigh, North A UPS MD-11F aircraft
(N276UP) taxies at Honolulu
Carolina. At Raleigh, the package would join packages from all over North International Airport in Hawaii
Carolina and be forwarded to the Chicago Area Consolidated Hub in Hodgkins,
Illinois. After arriving there, it would be loaded onto a trailer and sent by rail
(trailer on flat car in most cases) to the North Bay, California hub in San Pablo, California, where it would then
be forwarded to the delivery center, loaded onto the delivery vehicle, and transported to its final destination.
UPS' air network runs similarly to the ground network through a hub-and-spoke system, though air hubs are
typically located at airports so packages and planes can quickly be unloaded, sorted, and loaded again. Centers
feed packages to facilities at airports (called gateways), which in turn send them to an air hub to be sorted and
put on another plane to a final destination gateway, and then from there to a center. For instance, a package
traveling from Seattle, Washington to Atlanta, Georgia, would be loaded onto an air container at Boeing Field
just south of Seattle and flown to the UPS Air Hub at Chicago Rockford International Airport in Rockford,
Illinois. From there it would be sorted to a container heading to Atlanta to Hartsfield-Jackson International
Airport, and taken by truck from the airport to the delivery center.
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and gifts less than $60 CAN in value[17]. However, this does not apply to items shipped by couriers such as
UPS.
When delivering packages in Canada, UPS brokers or clears the item through the CBSA and transfers a cost to
the buyer.[18] These fees are not disclosed at the time of purchase by the seller as many sellers from the U.S. are
themselves unaware of this.[19][20][21][22][23][24][25]
As a result, there have been two class-action lawsuits filed against UPS by Canadians. The first one filed in
October, 2006 by Robert Macfarlane, a resident of British Columbia[26] alleges that the UPS brokerage is "so
harsh and adverse as to constitute an unconscionable practice."[27]
The second filed by Ryan Wright and Julia Zislin in Ontario claims "that UPS failed to obtain consumers’
consent to act as a customs broker; to disclose the existence and/or amount of the brokerage fee; and to provide
consumers with the opportunity or disclose to them how to arrange for customs clearance by themselves."[28]
It is possible for the recipient to avoid these brokerage fees if the parcel is being shipped by a UPS "express"
(premium) service[18], that is, another service other than UPS Standard (Ground). Fees may also be avoided if
the recipient clears the parcel themselves at a CBSA office.[29]
This distinction is not limited to Canada, or to UPS. As a rule, "mail" import procedures in all countries apply
only to items imported by mail, i.e., originated by the exporter's local postal authority (for Canadians,
commonly USPS) for delivery by the importer's local postal authority (Canada Post); they do not apply to
shipments made by courier services such as UPS, FedEx, or DHL. For example, this distinction is specifically
noted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in its website's page on Internet purchases imported into
the United States; it also warns that imports by courier may come with "higher than...expected" brokerage fees
that "sometimes exceed the cost of (the) purchase", and that prepaid shipping charges on imports by courier
normally do not include duties or brokerage fees.[30] (The distinction may be sharper in the U.S. because CBP
normally waives duties on mail imports of up to US$200 per day, but not on courier imports of any amount. Use
tax, the U.S. equivalent of GST, is collected only by the states, not by CBP or shippers.) What makes this case
unique is that UPS charges a substantial brokerage fee on ground shipments to Canada, when other Canadian
small-package services apparently charge nothing (UPS "express" services) or a minimal fee (Canada Post).
Fuel economy
In 2004 UPS announced that they would save fuel by minimizing left turns.
Because drivers are idle at intersections while waiting to make left turns, UPS
developed software that routes the day's packages with preference to right
turns. Since UPS operates a fleet of over 88,000 ground vehicles, the fuel
savings are considerable. In 2005, UPS eliminated 464,000 miles (747,000 km)
from its travel and saved 51,000 US gallons (190,000 l) of fuel within
Washington D.C. alone.[31]
UPS Package Car.
See also: Travelling salesman problem
UPS is also utilizing hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) for local deliveries only. As of May 22, 2007 the company
has 50 deployed in Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, and Phoenix. The 50 HEVs are expected to cut fuel consumption
by 44,000 US gallons (170,000 l) per year.[32]
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Environmental record
UPS has 94,500 vehicles in operation.[33] In May 2008 UPS placed an order for 200 hybrid electric vehicles
(adding to the 50 it has currently) and 300 compressed natural gas (which are 20% more fuel efficient, and add
to the 800 it already has) vehicles with from Daimler Trucks North America.[34][35][36]
UPS received a "starting" rating of 39 points out of 100 totals on the environmental scorecard by the Climate
Counts Group for their efforts to lessen the company's impact on the environment. [37] UPS has also been
awarded the Clean Air Excellence Award by the United States Environmental Protection Agency because of the
alternative fuel program they have developed. [38]
In October, 2009, UPS became the first small package carrier to offer customers the chance to buy carbon
offsets to neutralize the greenhouse gas emissions generated by the transport of their packages. Although
initially only available on UPS.com and to high-volume shippers, UPS hopes to roll out UPS carbon neutral to
more customer groups in 2010.[39]
See also
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Big Brown - 2008 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner; named after the company
Freight company
Freight payment service
List of United Parcel Service hubs
MaxiCode — A UPS developed and utilized square barcode-like symbol that appears on their package
label
References
1. ^ "Company Profile for United Parcel Service Inc (UPS) (http://zenobank.com/index.php?symbol=UPS&
page=quotesearch) ". http://zenobank.com/index.php?symbol=UPS&page=quotesearch. Retrieved 2008-10-06.
2. ^ "Contact UPS: United States (http://www.ups.com/content/us/en/contact/index.html?WT.svl=Footer) ." United
Parcel Service. Retrieved on May 19, 2009.
3. ^ "City Council Districts (http://files.sandysprings-ga.org/maps/SandySprings_CouncilDistricts.pdf) ." City of
Sandy Springs. Retrieved on July 4, 2009.
4. ^ "UPS Fact Sheet (http://www.pressroom.ups.com/mediakits/factsheet/0,2305,866,00.html) ".
http://www.pressroom.ups.com/mediakits/factsheet/0,2305,866,00.html. Retrieved 2007-08-19.
5. ^ "UPS Completes Acquisition of Overnite (http://pressroom.ups.com/pressreleases/archives/archive
/0,1363,4589,00.html) ". UPS Press Release. http://pressroom.ups.com/pressreleases/archives/archive
/0,1363,4589,00.html. Retrieved 2007-08-17.
6. ^ "UPS Logo - UPS Logo History at Logo Blog (http://www.logoblog.org/ups-logo.php) ". Logo Blog.
http://www.logoblog.org/ups-logo.php. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
7. ^ http://www.pressroom.ups.com/pressreleases/archives/archive/0,1363,3917,00.html
8. ^ http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fsb/fsb_archive/2003/04/01/341024/index.htm
9. ^ "FontShop and Unnamed Firm Reach Agreement (http://typophile.com/node/17362) ". FSI Press Release.
http://typophile.com/node/17362. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
10. ^ http://www.4evriders.org/2008/11/europe-ups-orders-modec-electric-vans-for-uk-and-german-fleets/
11. ^ http://bikeportland.org/2008/11/14/ups-gears-up-for-holidays-with-bike-delivery/
12. ^ Roberts, Earl W; Stremes, David P (2009). Canadian Trackside Guide. Ottawa, Ontario: Bytown Railway
Society. pp. Chapter 18 Page 27.
13. ^ http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/All-Nippon-Airways-UPS-work/story.aspx?guid={C217C64D-
897F-421D-B04D-093357133808}
14. ^ http://www.japancorp.net/Article.Asp?Art_ID=20602
15. ^ "It's official: Teamsters end UPS strike (http://www.cnn.com/US/9708/20/ups.update.early/) ". CNN.
http://www.cnn.com/US/9708/20/ups.update.early/. Retrieved 2007-08-19.
16. ^ "UPS Chairman & CEO Mike Eskew to Retire; Scott Davis Named as Successor (http://investor.shareholder.com
/ups/news/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=269116) ". http://investor.shareholder.com/ups/news
/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=269116.
17. ^ "Importing Non-Commercial Goods by Mail (http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/E/pub/cp/rc4051/rc4051-e.html) ".
CBSA. http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/E/pub/cp/rc4051/rc4051-e.html. Retrieved 2007-08-19.
18. ^ a b "UPS Rates for Customs Clearance into Canada (http://www.ups.com/content/ca/en/shipping/cost/zones
/customs_clearance.html) ". UPS. http://www.ups.com/content/ca/en/shipping/cost/zones/customs_clearance.html.
Retrieved 2007-08-19.
19. ^ CBC Marketplace article (http://www.cbc.ca/consumers/market/files/home/courierfees/index.html)
20. ^ UPS “Brokerage fee” class-action (http://www.thegatesofdawn.ca/wordpress/posts/2006/12/10/ups-brokerage-
fee-class-action/)
21. ^ UPS Brokerage Fee (http://www.epinions.com/content_20759744132/show_~allcom)
22. ^ Canadian Customs: What's The Deal. (http://forums.ebay.ca/thread.jspa?threadID=300003225)
23. ^ Why we hate UPS (http://www.mitsunation.net/showthread.php?t=5567)
24. ^ UPS brokerage fees shock horror! (http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=26424)
25. ^ UPS Problems -- WARNING (http://www.ehmac.ca/everything-else-eh/19292-ups-problems-warning-rant.html)
26. ^ "UPS British Columbia Class Action Lawsuit (http://www.poynerbaxter.com/UPS.htm) ".
http://www.poynerbaxter.com/UPS.htm. Retrieved 2007-08-19.
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Further reading
"Insourcing," Thomas L. Friedman, The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century, New
York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, updated and expanded, 2006, pp. 167–176.
"Big Brown: The Untold Story of UPS" Niemann, Greg (http://www.gregniemann.com/) . John Wiley &
Sons, 2007.
"Driving Change: The UPS Approach to Business" Brewster, Mike and Frederick Dalzell
(http://www.amazon.com/Driving-Change-UPS-Approach-Business/dp/1401302882) . New York:
Hyperion, 2007.
External links
Canadian Business Journal - (November 2008) UPS Profile [1] (http://www.canadianbusinessjournal.ca)
UPS corporate website, shipping, tracking, service information (http://www.ups.com/)
Portal del Transporte de la Sección Sindical de UGT en Seur GeoPost + UPS transportes
(http://www.ugtsiut.org)
Yahoo! — United Parcel Service, Inc. Company Profile (http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/40/40483.html)
Ask Yahoo!: Who manufactures the brown UPS trucks? (http://ask.yahoo.com/20050913.html)
U.S. Mail holidays - UPS holidays - FedEx holidays - Internet Accuracy Project
(http://www.accuracyproject.org/shippingholidays.html)
UPS’s New Hydraulic Hybrid Available For Test Ride In NYC (http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/06
12 of 13 12/15/2009 12:14 PM
United Parcel Service - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Parcel_Service
/ups_hydraulic.php)
SmartMoney Magazine (Nov 11, 2003), 10 Things Your Delivery Service Won't Tell You
(http://www.smartmoney.com/10things/index.cfm?story=20031111) . Retrieved May 24, 2006.
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