UPS doubles SMEs and e-commerce | PYMNTS.com

Driven by sustained positive winds in e-commerce, global logistics giant UPS is focused on expanding its volume of e-commerce packages for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in response to the changing marketplace. consumer demand and business realities, CEO Carol Tomé said on Tuesday, October 26.

Noting a 2.7% drop in its last-mile UPS SurePost business in the quarter, CFO Brian Newman said that “the average daily volume of higher performing SMBs, including platforms, has grew 10.9% and third-quarter SMEs accounted for 27.4% of US national volume compared to 23.6% last year.

The focus on expanding services for SMEs, which was announced in 2019 and really took off in Q4 2020, is paying off. Tomé told analysts that “SMEs appreciate the new capabilities we offer” with average daily volume of international SMEs increasing almost 4% as well.

Despite the well-known supply chain challenges, the world’s largest parcel delivery company is having a solid year thanks to consumers’ constant desire to see goods arrive at their doors.

PYMNTS found in The Bring-It-To-Me Economy, a Carat collaboration from Fiserv, that the ubiquity of online ordering and home delivery experiences has more than raised the bar for ease and convenience. It fundamentally changed the mindset of consumers about what shopping really is, often removing the physical store from the equation.

See also: The economics of bring it to me

Close the last mile

The pursuit of higher parcel volumes for SMBs generated by e-commerce platform sales in the United States and internationally was a primary theme of the third quarter recap of UPS and related activities during the quarter.

In October, UPS completed the acquisition of the local technology platform for same-day delivery Roadie. In a statement, UPS said, “Roadie’s advanced technology, combined with UPS’s portfolio, will open the door to new growth opportunities. Roadie’s technology platform will also provide opportunities to enhance existing UPS capacities and potentially add small packages.

Tomé added, “We see many opportunities to increase our international volume of SMEs as we continue to improve our digital experiences. And deploy DAP, our digital access program to customers outside of the United States. The DAP gives small shippers access to discounts and more.

On the healthcare logistics front, Tomé said, “When the COVID-19 vaccines were rolled out late last year, the world turned to UPS and we were ready with capabilities, connected technology and expertise. The relevance of our brand here is attracting new SME customers in the healthcare sector, ”she said, adding that“ we are on track to deliver more than a billion doses of vaccine by the end of the year. end of this year with 99.9% on-time delivery ”.

Read: UPS switches to same-day concert delivery with the acquisition of Roadie

High season 2021 and price increase

With the holiday shopping and shipping season starting early this year due to supply chain disruption issues, Tomé said: weekend delivery, sorting bandwidth added.

“We started working with our larger customers several months ago and will stay in close contact with them during the holiday shipping season,” she said. “Our technology allows us to match daily capacity to customer demand and, where we need it, we will once again control the volume entering our network. She said, “We are laser focused on the peak.”

For the record, UPS said revenue rose 9.2 percent to $ 23.2 billion. Consolidated operating profit rose 23.4% to $ 3 billion, with Tomé noting that “in the first nine months of 2021, UPS generated more operating profit than any full year of our history “.

She added that this week, UPS will announce a general rate increase in the United States for 2022 of 5.9% “reflecting the value of the services we provide and inflationary cost pressures.”

Read also: UPS dives into same-day delivery