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UPS can manage all aspects of a SEMA member’s global supply chain—from transportation to tracking to returns. |
“Logistics is the new competitive frontier for business, and this message is especially relevant for SEMA members,” noted Kristin DeBates, UPS marketing manager serving customers in the automotive industry. “These companies often have complex logistics networks that span the nation or even the globe. There’s a real advantage in working with one logistics partner who can ensure that your supply chain is smart, efficient and serves your customers in a powerful way.”
UPS can manage all aspects of a SEMA member’s global supply chain—from transportation to tracking to returns. This holistic view of the entire logistics model enables UPS to help SEMA members make their supply chains more efficient and implement technology that advances their business, ultimately resulting in time and cost savings. Consider the following:
- One Transportation Partner; Many Shipping Options. UPS can help companies streamline their shipping options to ensure the most effective and efficient transportation decisions. For instance, because UPS operates significant air and ocean freight services, it can create a customized hybrid shipping option for a single movement. This model involves using an ocean freight vessel to transport goods to a city that has a sophisticated port authority and an airport. There, products are transferred from vessel to aircraft to reach their final destinations. The combination of services provides faster transit times than an ocean service, but it also consumes substantially less fuel and costs less than a pure air service.
- Use Technology as an Advantage. SEMA members often ship high-value automotive parts and components, or even finished vehicles, across the globe. Powerful, free software, such as UPS WorldShip and QuantumView, enables SEMA members to prepare and track shipments with ease and keep customers informed with shipment status alerts. What’s more, solutions that simplify and accelerate customs clearance make it easier to do business around the globe.
- Refine the Returns Process. SEMA members know that the supply chain doesn’t end when a product reaches their customers. UPS can help businesses ensure their supply chains are efficient in both forward and reverse. For instance, companies can reduce touch points on returns by automatically routing products in need of repair to a service center and undamaged items directly back into inventory. Fewer touch points means faster transit times, fewer chances for errors and more rapid turnaround and credit processing.
“In addition to ensuring that transportation, tracking and returns synergize, there are so many other efficiencies that can make SEMA members more competitive in today’s global business environment,” DeBates added. “For instance, many people don’t know that UPS has more than 800 customs brokers who know how to move goods across borders quickly. And, we offer a paperless international shipping option that transforms lengthy customs documents into simple electronic data, eliminating the No. 1 reason why shipments are delayed at customs: incomplete forms.”
To learn more about the benefits of taking a holistic view of your logistics model and working with one, global partner, visit the UPS booth (#11937) at the 2010 SEMA Show in the North Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center. You can also join one of the UPS-sponsored seminars at the SEMA Show on Monday, November 1: "Growth Through Global Trade" (1:00 p.m.–2:00 p.m.) or "UPS Technology as a Competitive Advantage" (3:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.).
Contact Kristin DeBates for more information about how UPS can put logistics to work for your business.