Global Business

In 1907, two teenage boys started with a $100 loan in a Seattle basement and opened the American Messenger Company. Little did Claude Ryan and Jim Casey know that they were creating what would later become the world's largest package delivery service, the United Parcel Service (UPS). Since the West was still largely underdeveloped in the early 20th century Seattle, Washington offered a lot of opportunity for a service-based business like theirs, specializing in message and parcel delivery. But they also faced a lot of competition from multiple other firms specializing in the same services. Though, the company prospered operating under the principle of providing the best services at the lowest rates. And the same values that Casey remained unwaveringly committed to then: reliability, courtesy, neatness, and high ethical standards still continue to keep UPS on the right path today.

A merger in 1913 with a competing package delivery business, along with enhancements to telephones reducing dependency on messenger companies, helped redefine the company's focus to delivering packages from grocery and drug stores to customers' homes. And the company changed its name to Merchants Parcel Delivery. With the merger came a fleet of motorcycles and a Ford Model T. And in 1916 Charlie Soderstrom, an expert in automobiles, was brought on to manage the quickly expanding fleet of delivery vehicles. More and more drug and grocery stores started turning to Merchants Parcel Delivery for their local delivery needs.

In 1919 the company expanded to Oakland, California and changed its name to United Parcel Service, and Soderstrom was credited with the idea of painting all of the delivery cars a stately brown. In 1922 "wholesale delivery" services started being offered after a Los Angeles acquisition. This portion of the company shipped products from the manufacturer to the distributor. The company also started offering its product transportation services to the public, otherwise known as common carrier services, the same as the U.S. Postal Service. The acquisition of common carrier rights enabled the company to deliver packages to private and commercial customer addresses. The rest, as they say, is history. But it seems prudent to mention a few more important dates and events.

A major innovation, the conveyor belt system, was introduced to in 1924 which helped make package handling easier and more efficient. UPS expanded to all major cities up and down the Pacific coast in the late 1920s, and in 1930 expanded eastward, opening operations and moving its headquarters to New York City. This all happened during a major economic downturn for the U.S., including the stock market crash of 1929. Through the 1930s and 1940s UPS continued to grow, but with more Americans buying cars and shopping at suburban malls they realized delivery services for department stores was becoming more limited and began pursuing growth and expansion of common carrier services. In 1953 they began offering two-day delivery to major East and West coast cities through air services utilizing commercial airlines. Unfortunately strict state and federal regulations limited access and entry to major markets, and proper certification to operate over areas wide enough to satisfy growing public demand for its unique services was challenging to say the least. Through its unprecedented legal battles over the course of 30 years UPS pursued over 100 applications for additional operating services. "By winning these challenges, UPS effectively laid the groundwork for other delivery companies to compete in the marketplace. In 1975, UPS became the first package delivery company to serve every address in the 48 continental United States." (About UPS: Company History)

In 1975 UPS moved its corporate headquarters to Greenwich, Connecticut. It also went abroad for the first time that year by offering services in Toronto, Canada. The following year it started operations in Germany, and over the next decade it expanded services through the Americas and Europe. UPS won approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to operate its own aircraft in 1988, then in slightly more than one year with all the needed technology and support systems, UPS Airlines was up and running, marking the fastest airline start-up in FAA history. In 1989 UPS purchased IML, a British shipping company, and extended services to Africa, the Middle East, and the Pacific Rim.

"Currently, UPS runs an international package and document network in more than 200 countries and territories. With its worldwide services, UPS moves nearly 15 million packages through its network each business day." (About UPS: Company History)

The 1990s is when UPS started focusing on improving cost efficiencies. They moved corporate headquarters yet again, to Atlanta, Georgia this time. The new headquarters was not only aesthetically pleasing but also energy-efficient and environmentally friendly. As E-commerce changed the way companies and customers did business and technology linked buyers and sellers thus propelling globalization, UPS naturally grew with massive volume. This required new and more efficient technologies from UPS. With billions of dollars invested, UPS now has operational technology ranging from small handheld devices, to specially designed package delivery vehicles, to global computer and communications systems.