Value Chain
Inbound Logistics: UPS starts with the packages. There’s a need for packages to be delivered.
It all begins with the orders and packages that are in need to be delivered. The packages has to either be dropped off at a UPS Customer Center or the customer has to get a smartcode from the UPS website and print out the label, attach to the package, and schedule a pickup time.
- Small: Envelopes and small packages that are put into baskets.
- Irregular: Above weight limit packages. Hazardous materials.
- Regular: Regular six-sided box package
Operation: Those packages go through a process that it follows to land to the desired customer/address. The package then gets picked up if it has a schedule pickup time from the UPS delivery truck. The delivery truck also picks up packages from the UPS Customer Center. These trucks then drive to the Hub. The truck then pulls up into a truck spot that follows by an employee emptying out the trucks. The UPS employee empties the truck and sorts the packages.After the packages leave the truck, and get into the hub; the package gets sorted from that point. There are top sorters on the top main conveyer belt, that directs what way the package will be going to the facility. That’s all determine by what state, then it goes to a specific part of the hub (different colored zone)
Outbound Logistics: The loader then loads the package into a truck that is going into the particular state. This goes into the hub of that state and the process begins again. Except from being placed into another truck, the package would then be placed in a brown truck and directly delivered to the customer.
Sales and Marketing: Sales are enhanced by the good service that UPS provides. The reliability of the speed time of delivery is marketed.
Customer Service: There are other aspects to the business, like customer service, error prevention, and the separation of the date of arrival. When it comes to error prevention, there are times when loaders have human errors and scan the wrong package going to the wrong location. There’s a package monitor in that is notified when the package has been scanned into the wrong going truck. He then goes to that specific truck and gets the package out. Making an error like that would delay the arrival date of the package. Which then leads to poor customer service. Packages are also separated into what the planned arrival date is. If it's next day air, then the package has to go to the zone where it concentrates on next day air, 2 day delivery, etc.
Business Process
Appath: a
UPS Ready certified provider with a cloud solution for multichannel e-commerce
businesses of all sizes to entirely manage inventory, orders fulfillment,
shipping labels and processes, as well as customer service management.
Delivery Information Acquisition
Devise (DIAD): a
rugged, brown handheld computer retrieves package information and stores
signatures so the end customer can claim the package.
WorldShip: a set of transportation application
programming interface allow businesses to integrate tracking, rating, address
validation, and a number of other valuable functions into their Web site.
BPR Assessment: The
first step to refining your supply chain is to understand where improvements
can make a significant difference in performance. We'll run a business process
reengineering (BPR) assessment to map the current and desired future state of
your supply chain, evaluate current roles and responsibilities, review data to
prioritize your path forward, and identify areas for improved performance.
Social Media
UPS sponsors multiple social media providers such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. Through these varies social media productsthere able to attract and target demographic groups. With each person posting pictures or twittingtheir experience with the wonderful customer service that UPS provides, this allows othercustomers to want to use UPS over other competition.
Social Capital = Number of Relationships is 2,291,640(1,658,598 FB followers+35,300Instagram followers+172,000 Twitter followers+425,742 followers) * Relationship Strength is2,093,947 (1,711,847 FB Likes+357,000 Instagram Likes+25,100 Twitter Likes) * Entity Resources $7.40 (2016 Fourth Quarter Earnings per follower) = 35,509,438,002,792
Order Fulfillment Process
UPS benefits from having a very comprehensive order fulfillment process. More importantly it's technological advances allow it to optimize every aspect of the services they provide. For instance, the order fulfillment process is complex and streamlined at the same time. While the customer is provided with a relatively easy user interface that allows for simple shipping and receiving packages, operations is using complex systems to complete orders. Technologies such as Intermodal Shifting, Package Flow Technologies and ORION, allow UPS to offer unmatched package delivery but more importantly has become the ‘go to’ package to delivery service for a broad spectrum of companies. It is important to highlight here that the “users” of UPS are often companies not individuals. For that reason UPS developed the “UPS ready program” which allows it to widely expand its e-commerce through business to business integration using software technologies
Navigation
“By the end of 2015, ORION had been implemented into 70% of U.S. routes identified as part of the initial deployment with full employment expected by the end of 2016. When fully deployed to all U.S. routes, we expect to reduce the distance driven by our drivers by 100 million miles annually and achieve a 100,000 metric ton reduction in CO2 emissions. That is equivalent to taking 21,000 passenger cars off the road for a year, according to the EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator.” (UPS.com/committedtomore)
Intermodal shifting is another crucial aspect of UPS technology that gives it an edge over competition. It simply automatically selects the best mode of transportation for packages be it rail, ground or air in order to optimize costs and meet delivery times.
Along with ‘greener’ warehouse facilities that seek to employ solar panel technologies and reduce energy consumption, or its DIAD hand-held device hardware system, all the aforementioned technologies enable UPS to offer its software system to companies as their one-stop order fulfillment service. In other words what UPS seeks to do for companies is optimize and or manage their supply chain system. It's almost like outsourcing the whole order fulfillment process to the company that does it best, for UPS that's called the “UPS Ready Program”.
Hardware
•First
Disruptive Force: Internet of Things
- Devices from the UPS Hubs and Centers are getting connected to customers devices where customers no longer have to manually check the website to receive updates on packages but instead receive notices from the app.
•Second
Disruptive Force: Self-Driving Cars
- UPS has now applied new trucks and methods like not turning left to save diesel expenses and reduced idling by 50 gallons per driver.
•Third
Disruptive Force: 3D Printing
–UPS has
launched on-demand 3D services in the summer of 2016.
Data Centers
UPS has two main data center in the United States which are the Ramapo Ridge Data Center in Mahwah, NJ and Windward Data Center in Atlanta, GA. Both data centers are of great value estimating in $190 million for Ramapo Ridge and $55 million for the Windward Data Center. Like other data centers, there are also advantages that these facilities hold like the Windward Data Center having the ability to self-generate power and have dual paths for electric and chilled water. When it comes to the system these data center has, the Ramapo Ridge Data Center has a system of 700/850/1900/2100 MHz optical DAS network with mix of direct feed and off-air repeaters. A great detail to add-on with these data centers is that UPS also offers servers during times when all of the serves aren’t being used.
UPS Cloud
UPS’s cloud platform is located inside and is called Order Water. This cloud not only applies to only UPS and their many facilities and warehouses but also outside vendors that have partnered with UPS so they cloud all have access. This is a move UPS has been moving towards that instead of having only data pertain to it, it chooses to help align itself with their partners so UPS can more efficiently collaborate with international suppliers and better manage their inbound supply chains. The question of silos might come about since I mentioned that UPS is moving towards a direction of sharing not only with the different departments of their organization but also with outside companies that they partner with. I believe this is answered by the move that UPS is already making to avoid the danger of having data isolated.
