UPS International Inc (UPS) would bring the same service standard to Taiwan’s rural areas as it expands its service coverage in the nation, a local executive said yesterday.
UPS said it would expand its same-day, next-flight-out services to smaller-sized businesses in Chiayi and Yunlin that rely on export markets, such as Europe and North America.
Parcel pickup times for same-day-deliveries have also been extended from noon to the afternoon, the company said.
Previously, UPS had relied on local vendors for door-to-door parcel pickups in rural regions, but the arrangement had many limitations depending on each partner’s capabilities, UPS International Inc’s Taiwan branch president Wayne Pi (畢中偉) told reporters.
To enable the service upgrade, UPS has forged more comprehensive ties with local vendors, Pi said.
Under the new arrangement, UPS would select one exclusive partner for each local market, who would be brought under the fold of the US-headquartered logistics giant.
“We would provide training as well as access to the company’s operating procedures and backend systems,” Pi said, adding that the selected partners’ delivery staff and vehicles would don UPS’ signature brown liveries.
However, in exchange for a guaranteed sales volume, the partner would work exclusively under the UPS flag and cannot take on new clients independently.
The new arrangement is designed to expand UPS’ presence in Taiwan without adding significant headcount, Pi said.
It has been implemented in 16 townships and 184 postal codes in Changhua, and would be extended to Chiayi and Yunlin before the end of this year, UPS said.
This would expand UPS’ service coverage in Taiwan by 72.9 percent and its fleet of delivery vehicles is to rise by 25 percent, Pi said.
He added that the new arrangement would benefit many of the nation’s small-scale specialty suppliers in rural areas which have been hampered by a lack of access to international delivery services.
These include makers of high-end cycling accessories and replica airsoft guns, whose products are shipped in small volumes across the globe, Pi said.
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