UPS helps small and medium-sized businesses close deals faster

UPS is emphasizing its integrated network, broad service portfolio and improving customer service capabilities as it competes with rival FedEx.

For example, UPS President of U.S. Sales Felicia Adkins said that UPS is investing in better visibility processes to achieve more consistent pickup times and using AI technology to provide quick responses to shippers. Chatbot. While the business may be small and expectations not huge, flexibility is also key.

UPS said in its annual financial report that although business-to-consumer business volume for small and medium-sized customers in the United States declined last year, it was not as significant as the decline in business volume for large customers. UPS attributes this in part to its growing Digital Access program, which connects UPS with e-commerce platforms to offer price discounts and other shipper services.

UPS Chief Commercial and Strategy Officer Matt Guffey said in March that UPS is also leveraging “Deal Manager” to complete shipping transactions with small and medium-sized enterprises faster, which UPS’s sales team can use. This tool provides real-time pricing guidance, which is especially useful for small customer wins. Deal Manager is currently used by 95% of transactions under $1 million.

UPS’s share of deliveries related to these shippers has increased as it advances its plans to focus on small and medium-sized businesses. In 2023, the small and medium-sized enterprise delivery business accounted for 28.6% of UPS’s U.S. deliveries, an increase of 60 basis points from the previous year. Felicia Adkins said UPS’s goal is to eventually increase that number to 40%.