UPS, AFL launch strategic alliance in India

Jeff Berman, Senior Editor -- Logistics Management, 11/30/2007

MUMBAI, India—UPS Jetair said yesterday it has formed a strategic alliance with AFL, a provider of air freight forwarding , air express, and third-party logistics (3PL) services, which, UPS said, will significantly expand accessibility to UPS services in India and provide export capabilities to AFL.

UPS said in a statement that this alliance will officially kick off on January 1, 2008 at which point all AFL WiZ Express Centres in India will promote UPS’s international express delivery service to India-based shippers.

UPS Spokesman Mark Dickens told Logistics Management that India is a “priority market” for the company. He said that the company’s efforts in India to this point have really been focused on the international express business. The domestic business, he said is relatively fragmented, and UPS wanted to focus its attention on what presented the most opportunity in the short term.

“We are going to be working on expanding our presence in India and saturating the market, and this [alliance] with AFL will allow us to do that,” said Dickens.

Between now and January, UPS is examining ways in which it can optimize AFL’s network thought the companies UPS Jet Air Express effort, which is an international express delivery service provider that connects India with the global marketplace, according to UPS.

UPS added that AFL will continue to function as a domestic service provider connecting businesses across India, and this strategic alliance will allow AFL to pick up international export shipments on behalf of UPS destined for the more than 200 countries and territories served by UPS. It added that UPS access points for customers with international express delivery requirements will increase to more than 200 locations in India.

Dickens said this strategic alliance is different from a typical joint venture in the sense that it is “harmonizing” the companies’ networks in India to make them more fluid and provide consistent service.

In terms of the competitive advantages this strategic alliances offers shippers, Dickens said a lot of it comes down to scope and scale that comes from two experience and well-recognized partners working together.