FOLLOW UP UPS Global Environment

UPS 1

United Parcel Service (UPS), Inc. is a package delivery organization that provides logistics, transportation, and financial services in the U.S as well as in other countries. Being in the Air Delivery & Freight Services industry, the company is a player in three segments, i.e. Supply Chain & Freight, U.S. Domestic Package, and International Package. Comparatively, the company’s Domestic Package segment provides time-definite delivery services for documents, letters, palletized freight, and small packages through ground and air routes in the U.S. The International segment offers package delivery services to about 220 nations and regions, including freights going outside the U.S. and those coming in the U.S from other countries and territories (Russell & Cohn, 2012).

The environment in which UPS operates domestically and globally is very competitive. In the home environment, UPS competes majorly with USPS and FedEx, and to some extent, regional carriers like Lone Star Overnight, OnTrac, and Eastern Connection. Internationally, UPS competes with various operators, such as DHL Express, India Post, Canada Post, Japan Post, Deutsche Post, Canada Post, national postal service organizations, etc. (Deresky, 2006). Some of the characteristics enhancing UPS’s success include the sustained growth of on-line shopping in addition to the increasing appreciation of the role of transportation and package delivery. This factor for success is also a recipe for competition, which is among the barriers in the new global environment.

Inflexible and unfriendly country regulations are other key barriers to global success and expansion (Russell & Cohn, 2012). In other words, some countries demand a lot in terms of taxes, censorship, and licensing. Other barriers to global expansion for the company include intellectual property (IP) protection issues and security and product quality concerns. In dealing with country regulations, UPS would need to negotiate taxes, license fees, and censorship with respective countries or join international business advocacy groups to demand friendly business environments. To ship copyrightable products, UPS would need to ask for a copyright license or proof from the sender.

References

Deresky, H. (2006). International Management: Managing Across Borders and Cultures (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Russell, J., & Cohn, R. (2012). United Parcel Service. S.I.: Book on Demand Ltd.