UPS enhances online shipping tools suite

UPS is enhancing its UPS OnLine Tools suite of shipping tools to help businesses seamlessly link their intranets and Internet Web sites with UPS, so that they can calculate shipping costs, select and compare shipping services and track packages from the point of order entry to delivery.

UPS Signature Tracking allows approved customers to track packages and receive proof of delivery. Customers will receive the digitized signature of the person who signed for the delivery, the full delivery address, C.O.D. amount collected (if applicable), and the reference number associated with the delivery.

The new UPS Shipping tool will allow approved customers who ship at least 50 packages a day to enable all their employees to create and print shipping labels from their desktops.

Customers can customize the interface and control which services and features are available to specific groups of employees. This tool also makes it possible for businesses to share information such as address books, shipment histories and tracking information across internal systems.

In addition to the two new tools, UPS is offering enhancements to help expand the reach of two existing tools: the rates & service selection tool will now provide customers with rates from 35 origin countries to every destination that UPS serves. The time-in-Transit tool will now offer enhanced shipping information on all available services between any two points within the United States.

In conjunction with these enhancements, UPS is also offering an XML version of all UPS OnLine Tools.