UPS Trade Direct aims for `Warehouse in Motion’

UPS has announced significant improvements to its UPS Trade Direct(SM) service, a product that combines cross-border movement of freight and packages to eliminate the need for warehousing.

The improvements allow customers to use a common computer application to prepare and process freight and package shipments of all types. They also allow freight movements, including Less-Than-Truckload (LTL), to be tracked online at UPS.com just like small packages.

The enhancements not only make it easier for customers to check the status of their goods in transit but also reduce the amount of time necessary to prepare shipment labeling and vital customs documentation, says the company.

The improvements were unveiled at the annual UPS Technology Summit held this year in Hong Kong, come just as retailers begin their peak season stocking for the holiday shopping season.

“Trade Direct speeds transit times for our customers even as supply chains get longer and more complex and cuts the expense of warehousing,” said Kurt Kuehn, UPS’s senior vice president of worldwide sales and marketing. “With these latest enhancements, we’re simplifying the information management challenges that can arise with increased global trade.”

UPS Trade Direct aims to streamline the supply chain by making it easy to move goods directly from international factories through customs to multiple locations in the United States or Europe, eliminating the need for warehouse stops.

In the most common application, individually packaged goods are labeled for their U.S. or European delivery and then consolidated into one freight shipment. After moving via airplane, ship or truck, the goods clear U.S. Customs as a consolidated unit. That unit is then unloaded and the individual packages or pallets are routed directly for final delivery, speeding goods to market.

UPS offers three modes of Trade Direct services – Ocean, Air, and for trucking between Mexico, Canada and the U.S., Trade Direct Cross Border. Trade Direct provides customers with a single point of contact, one shipping invoice and unmatched shipment visibility.