UPS opens a transportation ‘e-toolbox’

ATLANTA (April 7) — Extending its aggressive deployment of innovative electronic commerce solutions, United Parcel Service announced plans for a suite of web-based distribution management tools for companies conducting business over the Internet.

UPS OnLine Tools, which the parcel-delivery company plans to introduce later this year, is a package of seven shipping and logistics applications which can link intranets and Internet web sites with UPS. It will allow a manufacturer’s customers, for example, to calculate their own shipping costs, select and compare shipping services, and track packages from the point of order entry to delivery.

The information managed by the tools supports everything in the fulfillment cycle at the front-end, UPS said, from just-in-time inventory to address validation to accounts receivable.

“Electronic commerce is empowering buyers like never before, said Dale Hayes, vice president of electronic commerce marketing for UPS, adding that giving businesses and consumers product and shipping information where, when, and how they need it, would “ultimately turn customer support and internal purchasing costs from dollars to dimes.”

Specifically, UPS OnLine Tools include:

> Enhanced Tracking: Enables shippers (and their customers) to track packages using their own internally generated reference number (e.g., a P.O. number). Embedding UPS enhanced tracking functionality into a Web site improves customer service and reduces costs by encouraging receivers to track their shipments online, rather than calling a phone center. Embedding Reference Number Tracking also encourages a web merchant’s customer to come back to its site to check order status, which provides opportunities for further sales and marketing.

> Published Rate & Service Selection: Enables a merchant’s customers to compare UPS published rates for different levels of UPS service and select the service that best meets their needs.

> Shipping & Handling: Enables merchants to customize their rate tables to include a handling charge, enabling the buyer to compare total shipping and handling charges for different UPS service levels.

> Address Validation: Catches discrepancies in city-state-ZIP code combinations and helps companies improve customer service and reduce costs by ensuring that shipping addresses are correct at the point of
order entry – before the order has left the shipping dock.

> Time-in-Transit: Provides the buyer with the time-in-transit in business days for UPS ground shipments between any two postal codes within the continental U.S. This information helps the buyer choose
the best UPS delivery option to meet their needs.

> Service Mapping: Generates a color-coded map displaying UPS ground transit time. Service Mapping is a valuable tool for just-in-time inventory planning.

> Electronic Manifesting: Enables customers who use a non-UPS OnLine compatible shipping system to upload shipment manifest information to the UPS mainframe, which is required for reference number package tracking. This enables UPS customers to designate their own tracking number, such as a purchase order or invoice number, to shipments.