By Rip Watson, Senior Reporter
This story appears in the Nov. 7 print edition of Transport Topics. Click here to subscribe today.
UPS Freight last week unveiled new less-than-truckload pickup features for shippers and their customers that are meant to enhance service.
The program known as UPS Pickup Notifications includes telling customers when a pickup is scheduled, advising when a driver is en route and confirming when it actually is made.
“The pickup process is a key part of shipping LTL freight,” said Jack Holmes, president of UPS Freight. “Whether you are a shipper, receiver or third party, insight into the pickup process is powerful information that allows businesses to stay informed and run more efficiently.”
UPS Freight said in a statement that it’s the only major LTL carrier to offer the notification in order to upgrade the control and visibility of the freight for customers.
A company spokesman said notifications can be sent to as many as five distinct e-mail addresses as quickly as cellular capabilities allow.
“Where there is excellent cellular coverage, information will be available instantaneously,” spokesman Ira Rosenfeld told Transport Topics. “Where cellular coverage is not comprehensive, there may be a slight delay in the transmission of the data. However, once our network has the data, it will be transmitted instantaneously.”
There is no charge for the new pickup notification, which can be used for online pickups in the 48 mainland U.S. states wherever direct service is provided by UPS Freight.
Customers can schedule pickups now through the www.ups.com main website. The service also will be available in January through two other UPS websites, Worldship (www.ups.com/worldship) and MyLTL Freight, (http://ltl.upsfreight.com/forms/index.aspx).
“This capability is another example of how UPS Freight is continuously investing in industry-leading technology that allows our customers to manage their logistics more effectively,” UPS said..
In September, UPS introduced a time-definite delivery program that is intended to reduce missed package deliveries, which are costly for the company, frustrating for the customer and result in delays for shippers.
That package program, known as “My Choice” began on Oct. 3, offering a two-hour delivery window option.
The basic “My Choice” program is being offered at no charge. The two-hour delivery window option is available as part of a premium product that costs $40 a year.
Both programs offer notification in advance of delivery as well as the option to reroute a package to another address or to a UPS store. The rerouting option costs $5 a package.
UPS also said last week it is adding mobile package tracking capability in 35 countries overseas.
In a separate development at UPS Inc., a total of 1,200 machinists at the company’s airline will be returning to work. The recall of the workers was negotiated with the Teamsters union, which represents the workers and announced the recall on Sept. 26.
