Air shipping: UPS introduces a simplified global air shipping portfolio

Jeff Berman, Senior Editor -- Logistics Management, 1/7/2008

ATLANTA—UPS said today it is rolling out a simplified air freight shipping portfolio, which includes an expanded express freight option with guaranteed door-to-door service. The company said this endeavor is part of an effort to integrate its freight services and provide shippers with a complete range of domestic and international package and freight shipping options—in conjunction with supply chain and logistics services.

 
The centerpiece of the new offering is UPS Express Freight, its expanded international express service, which UPS said will more than triple the number of express lanes presently served. The lanes include service to multiple points from 47 origin and 50 destination countries, according to a UPS spokesperson. UPS Express Freight will also be comprised of guaranteed time-definite, overnight-to-three- day door-to-delivery, which includes routine customs clearance to 52 major global metropolitan regions, representing 61 percent of the world’s airfreight trade, said the spokesperson.

Along with UPS Express Freight, the other components of the new air shipping portfolio are: UPS Air Freight Direct, a one-to-three day airport-to-airport service; and UPS Air Freight Consolidated, a three-to-five day airport-to-airport service. UPS said that these offerings are geared for less time-sensitive global movements.

The reinvention of our UPS’ air freight portfolio was to accomplish three goals, the spokesperson told Logistics Management. One goal, she said was to better align its asset and non asset-based networks to meet shippers needs for expedient deliveries, as well balance speed with price.

“For a long time, we have been providing freight forwarding and express freight services,” said the spokesperson. “But aside from expanding express freight services, what our customers were demanding was an easy way to navigate our portfolio to determine what their best options were.”

The previous portfolio, noted the spokeswoman, was essentially a conglomerate of previous acquisitions, such as UPS’ 2004 acquisition of Menlo Forwarding and its 2001 acquisition of Fritz Companies, a provider of freight forwarding, customs brokerage and, logistics services.   

Today’s news enables UPS to provide shippers with a more robust service offering, driven by improved and better-defined time and transit improvements, said the spokeswoman. She added that it provides more value-added and customs-clearance options built into each of its new offerings.

“We have essentially been operating [air shipping] networks that were somewhat separate from one another and what we did was combine an express freight and a freight forwarding option,” said the spokeswoman.

And the ability to balance speed with price through this new portfolio is expected to help shippers that are in a “reactive” mode trying move freight throughout the world unexpectedly, said the spokesperson, or if a shipper is trying to create a modal strategy, where there is more pressure to justify the reason they are using air freight, which is more costly than trucking or rail.

“For the truly urgent moves, we can now give [shippers] the option to guarantee their freight and move it as quickly as possible within one-to-three days or they can consolidate it—which is a significant financial savings—and still get it there faster than any other mode option,” she said.

UPS added in a statement that its UPS's North American air freight portfolio has been expanded to include UPS 3 Day Freight, which is a guaranteed service providing 3-to-4-day delivery to the 48 contiguous states and Canada, and non-guaranteed alternatives for all domestic air freight services.

The wheels had been turning for this transformation for several years, the spokeswoman said. In 2007, a UPS product team took a long look at its global asset-based and non asset-based airlines and freight forwarding networks, and the team examined ways in which it could not only merge the portfolio but merge the processes used to operate both of them, said the spokeswoman.

The first thing it did was look at gateway pairs—from origin to destination—where it could re-route shipments to maintain consistent volume levels, as well as enhance planning for pickup and network seating on the express network side, she said.

"The reinvention of our global air freight portfolio positions us well in the marketplace," said Alan Gershenhorn, UPS senior vice president for worldwide sales and marketing, in a statement. "We can provide the global reach, flexible scheduling and competitive pricing that businesses need and expect from us. Our customers gain more flexibility and control over their freight shipments without sacrificing single-source accountability."