It’s about shaving costs and doing more with the same resources

Shipping technology has
become crucial to the
development of the UPS
brand and the success of its
customers, says UPS South
Africa’s managing director
Paul Horsfall.
“The aim is to help
businesses grow, manage costs
and improve customer service
throughout the supply chain
by integrating technology
with business processes to
demystify global trade and
optimise supply chains,”
he told FTW. “Operational
efficiency is the other critical
component and a business
requirement for a company
such as ours. It’s aimed at
shaving costs, increasing
global reach and doing more
with the same amount of
resources. This however
can only be done though
technology development that
enables us to better manage
the delivery of millions of
packages and shipments that
flow through hundreds of UPS
facilities every day.”
According to Horsfall,
the company is constantly
enhancing its systems and
processes.
“Currently we have
more than 4000 technology
employees and specialists
focusing on providing
solutions to address an everchanging
market need. Our
main frame capacity in terms
of instructions per second
stands at 51 898, with an
average of 26.2 million small
package tracking requests
alone every day.”
Horsfall says some of
UPS’s existing products offer
wireless technologies with
real-time updates, automated
shipping software and
virtual warehouse systems
that manage inventory and
purchasing.
“Our event management
software for example makes
provision for widespread
customer facilities with
decentralised workforces
to easily process and ship
packages with UPS from
their computers anywhere
in the world. We have
designed shipping software
for customers with highvolume
shipping needs which
streamlines the process. This
includes calculating shipping
costs, preparing electronic
customs forms, customising
shipping preferences, and
generating shipping labels
for both small packages
and freight in more than 20
different languages.”
He says it enables the
company and its customers to
track shipments online.
“Visibility solutions provide
powerful information on any
type of shipment – both small
package and freight which is
not dependent on the transport
mode used. It is about
technology that can provide
ready-to-use solutions that
help simplify not only shipping
affordability, but long-term
sustainability,” says Horsfall.