Careers at UPS

Mission

UPS is a package delivery and logistics services provider. It offers a range of services to consumers, commercial entities, and public bodies, with a view to streamlining their shipment processing systems and developing efficient supply chain processes.

Business segments

UPS organises its operations into three separate business segments:

  • US Domestic Package, comprising the Company’s domestic small package delivery services, including guaranteed ground and air package transportation services;
  • International Package, comprising the Company’s small package delivery services across Europe, Asia Pacific, Canada and Latin America, the Indian sub-continent, and the Middle East and Africa, including various guaranteed day and time-definite international shipping solutions; and
  • Supply Chain and Freight, comprising the Company’s forwarding and logistics services, truckload freight brokerage, and UPS Freight solutions, as well as financial offerings via UPS Capital, to customers across 195 countries and territories worldwide.

History

UPS traces its history back to the establishment of the American Messenger Company in 1907, by then teenage entrepreneurs Claude Ryan and Jim Casey. The American Messenger Company initially operated out of a Seattle basement, providing a range of services ranging from running errands and carrying notes on foot or on bicycle, to making home deliveries for drugstore customers. The Company grew its workforce by employing other teens, and committed to providing a high quality service at low rates.

The American Messenger Company expanded its operations into California in 1919, where the Company debuted the United Parcel Service brand name. The Company implemented several significant developments during the 1920s. In 1922, the Company acquired a wholesale delivery service, and began providing product transportation and delivery services to the general public. It introduced an innovative conveyor belt package handling system in 1924, and in 1929 began offering air delivery services through private airlines.

UPS has since expanded further, both domestically and internationally, and in the 1980s launched its own freight airline. UPS is now the world’s largest package delivery company. It currently serves customers across 220 countries, with domestic delivery services now available in 54 countries. UPS is ranked 48th in the Fortune 500 list and is placed 146th in the Forbes Global 2000 list.

UPS was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1999, raising a reported $5.47 billion in its initial public offering. The Company continues to trade publicly and has a market capitalisation of $95.31 billion.

Business model of UPS

Customer Segments

UPS delivers packages to and on behalf of an international customer base, serving 1.6 million shipping customers every business day. The Company provides services to general consumers, both in the US and abroad. It also serves commercial and institutional customers across the following sectors:

  • Aerospace and Defence, to which it provides supply chain optimization and growth support services;
  • Healthcare, to which its provides time and temperature sensitive delivery solutions;
  • Automotive, to which it provides end-to-end automotive logistics solutions;
  • Technology, to which it provides flexible, ultra-fast supply chain solutions;
  • Consumer Services, to which it provides transportation services and logistics tools;
  • Government Agencies, to which it provides shipping and supply chain services;
  • Industrial, Manufacturing, and Distribution, to which it provides logistics solutions;
  • Professional Services, to which it provides business process solutions; and
  • Retail, to which it provides supply chain solutions from source to shelf.

UPS serves a global customer base, providing international delivery services across more than 220 countries and territories worldwide, and as well as domestic delivery within 54 countries. The Company’s largest market, however, is its native US, which accounts for the majority of the Company’s revenue.

Value Propositions

UPS provides value to its customers in the following ways:

  • Its reputation and industry standing, with the Company an established name within the logistics and distribution industry, with a track record of providing reliable and efficient services;
  • Its broad portfolio of services, with the Company providing a variety of delivery, logistics, and supply chain services to a varied customer base that includes general consumers, commercial entities, and government bodies;
  • Its global network and international presence, with the Company serving customers across 220 countries, as well as providing domestic delivery services in more than 50 countries; and
  • Its market leading technology, with the Company involved in the development of technologies that help the Company to accurately and efficiently fulfil the needs of its customers.

Channels

UPS operates a website at www.ups.com, through which it provides information on its services, rates, and locations. UPS has fully operational online sales channel at www.theupsstore.com, through which customers can pay for in-store services and schedule appointments. It also operates an online channel named My UPS, which allows customers to access certain services, track deliveries, and manage account details from their desktop. The Company also offers a mobile app which supports much of the same functionality.

The majority of UPS sales and services are provided directly by its in-house sales, support and distribution personnel. The Company operates a wholly-owned and partnered global network of more than 150,000 physical outlets, through which customers can tender packages. This includes the Company’s team of drivers who are authorised to accept packages provided to them, as well as a network of UPS drop boxes, UPS Access Point locations, The UPS Store locations, authorised shipping outlets and commercial counters, alliance locations, and customer centres attached to UPS facilities.

Customer Relationships

UPS provides a large portion of its services to customers on a self-service basis. The Company’s online store and package tracking service allows customers to purchase services, schedule appointments, manage transaction histories, track deliveries, and manage account details without interacting with members of the UPS team.

Alternatively, customers can deal directly with UPS personnel through its numerous physical outlets, discussing requirements and options with members of staff as part of a personalised service. Some larger commercial or institutional clients also have dedicated account and relationship management teams, to ensure that the need of customers are met. The Company seeks to establish long-term relationships through its personal care.

In addition, UPS makes a range of support services available to its customers, providing online resources, such as FAQs and guides, as well as offering personalised assistance from support staff, who can be contacted by phone, by email or by post. The Company also operates Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Pinterest accounts, through which it can interact directly with customers.

Key Activities

UPS operates as a package delivery company, providing global supply chain management and logistics solutions to consumers, businesses, and public bodies.

The Company operates in three business segments: US Domestic Package, which covers the Company’s domestic guaranteed ground and air package transportation services; International Package, which covers the Company’s ground and air package delivery services across 220 countries worldwide and Supply Chain & Freight, which covers the Company’s commercial forwarding and logistics services, and truckload freight brokerage, as well as related financial offerings.

Key Partners

UPS participates in a range of partnerships that help to supplement, support and extend the Company’s own service offerings. These partnerships include:

  • Service and Supplier Partners, comprising various vendors and suppliers of services, tools, and technology that support and supplement UPS’s delivery of its core logistics and supply chain services;
  • Delivery and Distribution Partners, comprising a range of affiliate partners, authorised shipping partners, and delivery alliance partners that extend UPS’s own delivery capabilities; and
  • Strategic and Alliance Partners, comprising a range of companies with which the Company shares tools and resources and collaborates on joint projects.

UPS has recently extended a recycling partnership with Nespresso to cover 48 states across the US. It has also expanded its partnerships with Staples, to make it easier for customers to arrange UPS deliveries from Staples outlets.

Key Resources

UPS’s key resources are its IT and communications infrastructure, its technologies, its fleet of ground and air vehicles, its physical network of sales and support outlets, its partnerships – in particular its distribution partners, and its personnel.

Searches of records published by the US Patent and Trademark Office identified a number of patent applications filed in the name of UPS or its companies, including applications entitled ‘Systems and methods for evaluating environmental aspects of shipping systems’, ‘Systems and methods for managing fault codes’ and ‘Systems and methods for managing fault codes’.

Cost Structure

UPS incurs costs in relation to the maintenance of its communications and It infrastructure, the operation of its air and ground logistics and transportation fleets – including the purchase of fuel, the purchase of third-party transportation services, the operation of its physical sales and support infrastructure, the management of its partnerships, and the retention of its personnel.

In 2015 UPS’s largest expense related to the payment of salaries and benefits to its workforce of more than 440,000 employees, which totalled $31.03 billion. The Company also accrued purchased transportation costs in the amount of $8.04 billion, fuel costs in the amount of $2.48 billion, repairs and maintenance expenses totalling $1.40 billion, and other occupancy costs of $1.02 billion.

Revenue Streams

UPS generates revenue through the provision of various supply chain, logistics, and delivery and distribution services for consumers, government institutions, and businesses across multiple sectors.

In 2015 UPS generated annual revenue of $58.36 billion, up marginally on the $58.23 billion recorded by the Company in 2014. The majority of the Company’s revenue was derived from the operations of its US Domestic Package segment, which accounted for $36.75 billion, or around 63%, of the Company’s total revenue for the year. The International Package segment generated $12.15 billion and the Supply Chain and Freight segment generated $9.47 billion.

Our team

David Abney,
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

info: David (“Abney”) has served as Chief Executive Officer of UPS since 2014, and has been the Company’s Chairman since 2016. Abney has been employed by UPS since 1974, when he joined the Company as a part-time package loader in a small facility in Greenwood, Mississippi, while still a student at Delta State University. He has held a number of senior leaderships roles at the Company, including spells as Chief Operating Officer and as President of UPS International. Earlier in his career, he served as President of SonicAir, a same-day delivery service that preceded UPS's move into the service parts logistics sector.

Alan Gershenhorn,
Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer

info: Alan (“Gershenhorn”) has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer at UPS since 2014. Gershenhorn is a long-serving UPS employee, having fist joined the Company in 1979 as a part-time package handler in Houston, Texas. He has since held a range of US and international positions of increasing responsibility in the Company’s operations, engineering, freight forwarding, logistics, customs brokerage, marketing, strategy, and retail services teams. This includes spells as Chief Sales, Marketing, and Strategy Officer, President of UPS International, President of UPS Canada, and President of UPS Supply Chain Solutions, Global Transportation and Shared Services.

Richard Peretz,
Chief Financial Officer

info: Richard (“Peretz”) has served as Chief Financial Officer of UPS since 2015. He additionally serves as the Company’s senior liaison to the investor, finance and analyst community. Peretz joined UPS in 1981, serving as a member of the Company’s UPS Customer Service team while attending the University of Texas at San Antonio. He has risen through the Company’s ranks, serving in positions related to financial operating assignments and corporate functional roles in finance, accounting and business development. He has held numerous senior leaderships positions, including terms as Corporate Controller and Treasurer, District Controller in the Americas Region, and International Chief Financial Officer.