UPS success story

How it all began In the year of 1907, the US had a serious demand for private courier and delivery services. Only very few households had a telephone, so that messages had to be delivered by hand. The US Postal Service wasn't established until six years later and started delivering packages. A 19-year old with enterprising spirit, James "Jim" E. Casey, saw this need, borrowed $100 from a friend and founded the "American Messenger Company in Seattle, Washington. Together with some other young men, among them his brother George, Jim Casey ran his business from a modest office in a basement. Despite the fierce competition, business went well, not least of all because Jim Casey had established strict principles, and he insisted upon friendliness toward the customers, 24h service, and low prices. These principles are expressed in Casey's philosophy of "best service at lowest prices."

Era of retail The young entrepreneur soon started to focus on delivering packages to retailers. In 1913 he merged his company with that of a competitor, Evert "Mac" McCabe, and founded the company "Merchants Parcel Delivery." In 1918 already three of the biggest retail stores in Seattle were among his customers. Furthermore, this was the time that Charles (Charlie) W. Soderstrom joined the company. He was mainly responsible for the continuously growing vehicle fleet of the company. During this time the company invented the concept of collecting all packages going to the same area and loading them onto one truck to deliver them there. That way, trucks and workers could be used much more efficiently.

Era of growth The twenties and thirties were marked by change, growth and resourcefulness. The company set up bases in Oakland, California and later in Los Angeles, the city that was the fastest growing in America in those decades. In 1929 the company set up the "United Air Express" to deliver packages by air to the big cities on the West Coast and inland - down to El Paso in Texas. (Due to the stock market crash in 1929 and the bad economic situation, the air delivery service was shut down again after eight months.) In the thirties, however, the company kept growing rapidly. Back then UPS' service covered all bigger cities on the US West Coast. And the company was setting up another base on the other end of the continent as well, in New York City. Back then the first electronic package sorting machine was set up. At that time, George D. Smith joined the company and as head of accounting took care that cost control was the cornerstone of all planning. Back then, also the company name was created, "United Parcel Service." "United" because it was consolidated delivery, and "Service" because, according to Charles Soderstrom, "service is all we have to offer." All UPS trucks were painted in the dark brown shade we know so well today. Soderstrom chose this color because he found it to be neat, dignified and professional.

Commercial freight services The developments of the 40s and 50s forced UPS as a company to find a new focus. Due to a shortage of fuel and rubber during the Second World War, the retailers asked their customers to carry their packages home themselves instead of having them delivered. This trend remained after the war, because the population started moving to the suburbs where new huge shopping malls with huge parking lots were being built, so that the customers could quite comfortable do their shopping by car. In the early 50s there was no doubt that retailers would only have a limited demand for freight services. That's why the UPS management decided to start looking for new business areas and decided to obtain a license as a commercial freight service to send packages everywhere and to be able to serve all private and commercial customers. With this decision, the private carrier company UPS became a direct competitor of the US Postal Service.

The Golden Link UPS didn't only expand its services, but also conquered new areas of business. Today, UPS customers may send their packages from coast to coast of the US and all around the world. However, in the fifties, there were still a number of limitations. For example, sometimes a package had to go through the hands of several carrier services before reaching its destination. For transporting packages across state borders, the carriers needed federal authorization. Furthermore, they also needed authorization for transporting packages within the borders of one state. Over the next three decades UPS tirelessly fought for authorization to transport packages in all 48 contiguous states of the US. In 1975 UPS created the "Golden Link," making it possible to transport packages across borders inside the US. In order to maintain the company's goal of "best service at lowest prices" even with the rapid growth of the company, UPS more and more focused on one concept - managers and technicians of UPS kept developing methods and procedures to deliver packages as quickly, reliably and efficiently as possible. At the same time, a service covering such a large area also required radical changes in logistical planning and technical equipment. This, of course, included transporting packages by air.

Still growing? In 1953, UPS again started delivering packages by air with its two-day delivery service in the big cities on the East and West Coast. The packages were loaded onto planes of those airlines that offered regular scheduled flights into these cities. This service was called "UPS Blue Label Air" and by 1978 it covered all of the US. In the 80s, the demand for air delivery increased again while at the same time the federal government deregulated inland air traffic. However, the deregulation also had some rather unwanted side effects, since the established airlines reduced the number of flights and even canceled some connections altogether. In order to be more independent, UPS started acquiring its own fleet of jets for their freight service. Furthermore, the demand for faster delivery made UPS offer a service for next-day delivery, and by 1985, customers could use UPS Next Day ® Air Service in all 48 contiguous states and Puerto Rico. That same year the company also started delivering packages and documents by air to countries outside the US. Now, the US and six European nations were connected.

UPS flights become official In 1988 the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) authorized UPS to use their own planes, making UPS an official airline. Today, UPS Airline is one of the ten biggest airlines in the US.

Limitless expansion In the 80s UPS expanded to the international carrier market and set up branches in North, South and Central America, Eastern and Western Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Today, UPS has an international network of transporting and delivering packages and documents in over 200 countries and sales territories from the Atlantic to the Pacific.