UPS Strengthens Network Capabilities and Employee Experience Through Automation

Company continues to lead logistics industry with innovations that drive network efficiency and create an enhanced and safer work environment

UPS has a long history of driving innovations that propel its business and bring industry-leading solutions to logistics. Today the company announced ways it is strengthening its network capabilities and enhancing employee experience through automation. UPS is leveraging technology to help reduce repetitive tasks and physical stress while promoting safety for the company’s employees. The technologies will also improve package flow and overall efficiency of the UPS network.

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“In providing industry-leading livelihoods for our people, we are now also using technology, innovation and automation to provide for their well-being. UPSers will always be our differentiator even as we optimize our network through technology.”

“UPS has been a technology company since its founding. Innovation is in our DNA,” said Carol Tomé, chief executive officer at UPS. “We continuously look for ways to leverage technology to improve our employee experience and increase efficiency. This is how we build a better and bolder UPS that will continue to be customer-first, people-led and innovation-driven for years to come.”

The company’s innovation strategy has long included the use of both digital and automation technologies and this has accelerated with advancements in AI.

Recently, UPS made several improvements in its operations targeting specific processes that can be repetitive and physically demanding such as pick-and-place, loading and unloading, and moving irregular-sized shipments.

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• UPS is using pick-and-place technologies powered by Dexterity, Fortna and Plus One Robotics to help employees sort small packages – a role that requires repetitive tasks and can be inconsistent as it flexes with customer demands. Once implemented, the technology will make these jobs easier, safer and offer a better overall experience for UPS employees.
• UPS is using Pickle Robot’s unloading technologies to ease the challenging job of unloading trailers, making the role less physically demanding for employees and delivering better package care and reliability for UPS customers.
• UPS is using autonomous guided vehicles (AGV) powered by Dane, Geek+, Locus Robotics, Crown and Toyota-Raymond to simplify demanding jobs. Many of these AGV technologies more safely and easily move small packages and irregular-sized shipments through UPS facilities. Irregular shipments don’t fit on conveyor belts and often can be heavy and difficult to move. These vehicles exponentially streamline these movements and promote safety.
• UPS is also leveraging digital technologies to ensure the safety of every delivery around the world by using Delivery Photo and Delivery Defense to decrease fraud for customers.

The innovations announced today are being used in select UPS facilities across the U.S. as the company continues to execute its strategic plan and provide industry-leading service to its customers with one of the most efficient, globally-integrated networks in the industry.

Bala Subramanian, executive vice president and chief digital and technology officer at UPS added, “In providing industry-leading livelihoods for our people, we are now also using technology, innovation and automation to provide for their well-being. UPSers will always be our differentiator even as we optimize our network through technology.”

Innovation has been a cornerstone of UPS’s business strategy since its founding in 1907. This year, 57 percent of the packages processed through the UPS network went through automated facilities that are powered by the latest sorting, processing and data capture technologies. The company’s major air facilities are highly automated with package flow technology, and the company continues to embrace cutting-edge and transformative technologies that advance its business and the logistics industry at-large.

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