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.