Dive Brief:
- UPS is expanding its global express and freight networks with expanded time-definite delivery and the addition of thousands of new postal codes, according to a press release issued Monday.
- UPS Worldwide Express and Express Plus delivery services will add more than 3,200 new postal codes across 40 countries, five of which are new, and UPS' Worldwide Express Freight service is adding 8,000 postal codes in 11 countries, four of which are new.
- The new countries eligible for Express services are Algeria and Namibia, along with the island of Reunion(UPS Worldwide Express), and Nigeria and Qatar (UPS Worldwide Express Plus). The postal code expansion includes 14 European countries along with other markets in Asia, the Americas and the Indian Sub-continent, according to the release. The four new countries being added to UPS Worldwide Express Freight service are Nigeria, Oman, Russia and Slovenia, a UPS spokesperson told Supply Chain Dive via email.
Dive Insight:
"Increasing the speed to market for our customers in emerging economies, especially small businesses, means that they are better positioned to compete on equal footing with competitors anywhere in the world," Jean Francois Condamine, UPS president of growth and emerging markets, said in a statement.
In addition, for domestic shippers already relying on UPS' delivery network, the carrier's continued global expansion facilitates shippers' ability to access emerging markets as well, removing the need to contract with an additional third party in the destination country.
To that end, UPS has been bolstering its international service offerings over the past few years, acquiring Zone Solutions, a foreign trade zone (FTZ) solutions provider, in 2017 and converting four of its air-freight hubs in to FTZs to facilitate duty-free international shipments for shippers.
The carrier's customs brokerage arm currently has "more than 400 import and export clearance locations, and over 6 million customs entries filed each year," according to the release.
