Starting with the new year, UPS Freight will back its on-time performance reliability with the same type of service guarantee that long has been enjoyed by UPS’s small package customers.
“We have so much confidence that our enhancements and investments have transformed the customer experience that we will guarantee our on-time delivery performance at no additional cost,” said Jack Holmes, president, UPS Freight. “It’s the next logical step in making UPS Freight the best in the business.”
The on-time service promise will be available Jan. 2 to less-than-truckload (LTL) customers who ship using the current UPS Freight 560 tariff in the continental United States. This new guarantee promises that customers can request a waiver of their freight charges if their shipment doesn’t arrive on time.
Since acquiring the former Overnite Transportation Co. in 2005, UPS has enhanced UPS Freight’s service portfolio and reliability, optimized its delivery network and invested significantly in assets, people and technology. As a result, the LTL and truckload carrier (TL) is aligned with the global operations and performance standards of UPS’s small package and supply chain services.
Beyond achieving new levels of performance, UPS Freight has been aggressive in adapting technology to simplify the needs of LTL users. For example, UPS:
* Equipped freight drivers with real-time visibility enabling technology so customers can follow their shipments from origin to destination
* Implemented a Dispatch Reservation System that improves service center visibility of orders and drivers, ensuring improved on-time pickups and deliveries
* Invested in new trailers equipped with extensive decking systems and load bars to minimize the risk of damage
* Applied its Web-based tracking and proactive notification technology, Quantum View, to freight shipping so customers can more accurately plan for inbound and outbound shipments
* Extended its billing data and analysis tools, called UPS Billing Solutions, to freight customers so they have the full picture of their transportation spending with just a few clicks of a mouse
New in 2008 will be enhancements to UPS WorldShip and UPS Internet Freight Shipping that address the specific needs of freight shippers. UPS WorldShip is a software suite that integrates customers’ existing databases, eliminating the time-consuming task of re-entering names and addresses, while providing access to all the functions of UPS.com including delivery verification and tracking.
In 2008, in addition to being able to create a Bill of Lading (BOL) for LTL shipments, UPS WorldShip users will be able to send e-mail notifications, save BOLs for later completion, import commodities and view their negotiated rates. UPS also will make it easier for non-technical staff to integrate their business systems with WorldShip through a new ‘wizard’ feature that guides customers through the integration process using step-by-step instructions.
UPS Internet Freight Shipping, meantime, is designed for use by large numbers of distributed users and includes the most popular features of shipping software including storage of an address book, tracking directly from shipping history, professional label printing and customization of shipping preferences.
“Our customers are thrilled to tap into Web-based visibility, processing and billing technologies that historically just weren’t available for shipping freight. Now, with the addition of a new guarantee on our standard LTL service, we’re bringing the powerful combination of reliability, technology and convenience to the freight shipper,” added John Fain, UPS Freight senior vice president of worldwide sales and marketing.
According to the American Trucking Associations, UPS Freight now is the nation’s fourth-largest LTL carrier. UPS Freight offers a full range of regional, interregional and long-haul LTL and TL capabilities in all 50 states, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Guam along with comprehensive cross-border service in Canada and Mexico.
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