UPS launches combined delivery and pick-up service

MISSISSAUGA: UPS recently launched its UPS Returns Exchange, a combined delivery and pick-up service that the company says gives businesses more control over their reverse logistics for high-priority products.

The service is suited to shippers in the high-tech, healthcare and retail industries, UPS said. UPS Returns Exchange is designed to make replacing high value products such as electronics more efficient while enhancing the post-sales experience for end customers. It’s available immediately to customers in Canada using Express services and will be extended to other eligible services in 2012.

With the new service, a UPS driver delivers a replacement item while simultaneously retrieving the item marked for return. The driver helps the customer pack the return item in the box used for the replacement, then it’s shipped back to the original company. UPS tracking tools link the replacement and return shipments, providing end-to-end visibility of the transaction and customers receive a pre-alert the day before delivery.

UPS said the service also reduces CO2 emissions and optimizes inventory management through improved visibility of the return and repair process. For example, shippers who send empty boxes to customers and then dispatch UPS a second time to retrieve an item no longer have to take that first step, eliminating one delivery. Also, waste is reduced by reusing the replacement item’s packaging for the return shipment.