INTERACTIVE SESSION: TECHNOLOGY UPS COMPETES GLOBALLY WITH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY cally captures customers' signatures along with pickup and delivery information. Package tracking information is then transmitted to UPS's computer network for storage and processing. From there, the ited Parcel Service (UPS) started out in 1907 in closet-sized basement office. Jim Casey and Claude Ryan-two teenagers from Seattle with two bicycl and one phone-promised the "best service and lowest rates. UPS has used this formula successfully information can be accessed worldwide to provide for more than 100 years to become the world's largest ground and air package delivery company. It's a global enterprise with over 408,000 employees 96,000 vehicles, and the world's ninth largest airline. proof of delivery to customers or to respond to ustomer queries. It usually takes less than 60 seconds from the time a driver presses "complete on a DIAD for the new information to be available on Today, UPS delivers more than 15 million pack Through its automated package tracking system, UPS can monitor and even re-route packages throughout the delivery process. At various points along the route from sender to receiver, bar code devices scan shipping information on the package label and feed data about the progress of the package into the central computer. Customer servi representatives are able to check the status of any package from desktop computers linked to the central computers and respond immediatel inquiries from customers. UPS customers can also access this information from the company's Web site using their own computers or mobile phones. ages and documents each day in the United States and more than 200 other countries and territori The firm has been able to maintain leadership in small-package delivery services despite stiff competi tion from FedEx and Airborne Express by investing heavily in advanced information technology. UPS spends more than $1 billion each year to maintain a n level of customer service while keeping costs low and streamlining its overall operations. It all starts with the scannable bar-coded label attached to a package, which contains detailed infor- mation about the sender, the destination, and when the package should arrive. Customers can download and print their own labels using special software provided by UPS or by accessing the UPS Web si Before the package is even picked up, information Anyone with a package to ship can access the UPS Web site to check delivery routes, calculate shipping rates, determine time in transit, print labels, sched- from the "smart label is transmitted to one of UPS'sule a pickup, and track packages. The data collected computer centers in Mahwah, New Jersey, or Alpharetta, Georgia, and sent to the distribution at the UPS Web site are transmitted to the UPS cen- tral computer and then back to the customer after processing. UPS also provides tools that enable cus- tomers, such Cisco Systems, to embed UPS functions nter nearest its final destination. Dispatchers at this center download the label data and use special software to create the most efficient delivery route for each driver that considers traffic, weather conditions, and the location of each stop, UPS estimates its delivery trucks save 28 million miles and burn 3 million fewer gallons of fuel each year as a result of using this technology. To further increase cost savings and safety, drivers are trained to use 340 Methods" developed by industrial engineers to tech electronics, acrospace optimize the performance of every task from lifting and loading boxes to selecting a package from a shelf in the truck ch as tracking and cost calculations, into their own Web sites so that they can track shipments without visiting the UPS site In June 2009, UPS launched a new Web-based Post-Sales Order Management System (OMS) that manages global service orders and inventory for critical parts fulfillment. The system enables high- other companies anywhere in the world that ship critical parts to quickly assess their critical parts inventory, determine the most optimal routing strategy to meet customer needs, place and track parts from the warehouse to the end user An automated e-mail or fax feature keeps customers The first thing a UPS driver picks up each day is a handheld computer called a Delivery Informat Acquisition Device (DIAD), which can access one of the wireless networks cell phones rely on. As soon as the driver logs on, his or her day's route is down- informed of each shipping milestone and can provide notification of any changes to flight schedules for