UPS began onboarding customers for its new UPS My Choice for business service in the US. According to UPS, this is the first visibility and tracking solution in the US designed for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Key features include an Internet-based tracking dashboard; advance delivery notifications, including day-before and day-of delivery notifications; and estimated time of delivery within two-hour windows for the majority of US postal codes.
The mobile-friendly solution addresses significant pain points for SMBs. Self-registration enables shippers and receivers to more easily monitor, plan, react to and control their incoming deliveries and outgoing shipments. Users can share access with additional members of their organisations, giving them the same visibility and control over deliveries. Additional features to be rolled out later this year include delivery change options for increased delivery flexibility and a new delivery alert which lets receivers know when the driver is nearby or within a very short time window of delivery from 1 hour to just 15 minutes away.
Today’s launch extends the reach of the UPS My Choice platform to commercial customers – and builds on the success of UPS My Choice for home, which was introduced in the US in 2011 and now has more than 60 million members globally. UPS My Choice for business will enable a consistent customer experience for both business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) companies.
“We’re excited to offer a full suite of UPS My Choice capabilities to our SMB customers so they have more visibility and control than ever before,” said Kevin Warren, chief marketing officer at UPS. “Customers now can easily sign up for this free inbound and outbound visibility solution that enables them to track and manage their shipments and provide their own customers with a better experience.”
Currently UPS My Choice for business is available in the US. Limited international expansion is planned for early 2020.
Benefits include:
- Time savings from expanded visibility by multiple users in a single organisation
- Improved customer service through proactive monitoring of shipments with notifications and a convenient, mobile-responsive dashboard
- Reduced labor costs through better inbound staffing based on inbound shipping forecasts
- Reduced inventory carrying costs through an improved inbound forecast, enabling companies to keep less inventory on hand
According to UPS, e-commerce continues to increase consumer expectations around order-to-delivery speed. Streamlining and optimising the customer experience is key to helping SMBs build a reputable brand and earn repeat business. UPS My Choice for business helps SMBs meet those expectations through access to important visibility information and preference-driven alerts – improving their inbound receiving, outbound shipping, and customer service.
“Small-business owners face many challenges related to growth,” Warren added. “The UPS My Choice for business platform is the latest example of how UPS is providing industry-leading solutions that help SMB customers overcome those challenges. By making inbound and outbound monitoring of shipments as simple as possible, entrepreneurs can focus on growing their businesses.”