By Katie Davis U nited Parcel Service, Inc. the world's largest package delivery company and a provider of supply chainmanagement solutionswill start offeringSaturday delivery options to the largest U.S. metropolitan areas. The package delivery company expects to reach half of the U.S. population by the end of the year with the new schedule, said Myron Gray, president of U.S. operations. The service will give UPS six delivery, sort and pickup days for both business and residential customers and the “fastest and widest delivery service on Monday,” Gray added. The increase in users shopping online and wanting their purchases delivered has been a double edged sword for UPS and other delivery companies in this Industry. E-commerce has given new package volume and revenue to carriers, but unfortunately at much lower margins than business-to- business deliveries.
UPS CEO, David Abney said a "significant shift" to its lower-revenue offerings and ongoing investment in new technologies weighed on results, but U.S. domestic fourth-quarter revenue rose 6.3%, driven by e-commerce. Abney also said that, "The shift online is permanent," adding that the trend is accel- erating. Abney mentioned that UPS will also be investing aggres- sively in automation to drive improved performance. The company is currently testing residential delivery via drone and with continued positive results this could be a viable option for deliveries in the future helping to cut costs and increase service. These new services will contribute to UPS’s overall revenue which is expectations to grow between 4% and 6% over the next year.
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MARCH 2017 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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