UPS implements software network to speed package flow

UPS implements software network to speed package flow    United Parcel Service, the Atlanta-based integrated giant, said Tuesday it has developed a suite of technologies, including software, hardware and process changes, to improve customer service and internal efficiency.
   Full deployment of the new network in the United States will be completed by 2005, UPS said in a statement.
   The foundation for the new system is a “smart label” affixed to packages moving through the UPS network. Information from the label is transmitted to UPS before the package is even picked up by a driver.
   The software allows address information on a package to be pre-processed and corrected, if necessary, before the physical arrival of the package at a UPS sorting center.
   Customers will also be able to request a change in the destination of a package while it is in transit.
   UPS employees loading trucks today must learn hundreds of addresses or ZIP codes for each delivery area. When the new network is implemented, each package will arrive with specific instructions on where it should be placed inside a delivery vehicle.
   “That enables a driver to view all packages in order of delivery, reducing the time to select packages and the miles required to complete deliveries,” UPS said.
   Initial deployment of the network suggests that UPS can reduce the mileage clocked by its delivery trucks by more than 100 million miles a year, saving 14 million gallons of fuel.