United Parcel Service announced improvements yesterday to its UPS Trade Direct service, which combines cross-border movement of freight and packages to eliminate the need for warehousing.
In Trade Direct's most common application, individually packaged goods are labeled for their U.S. or European delivery and then consolidated into one freight shipment. After moving via airplane, ship or truck, the goods clear U.S. Customs as a consolidated unit. That unit is then unloaded and the individual packages or pallets are routed directly for final delivery, speeding goods to market.
The improvements let customers use a common computer application to prepare and process freight and package shipments of all types. They also allow freight movements, including less than truckload, to be tracked at UPS.com just like small packages.
The enhancements help customers check the status of their goods in transit and also reduce the amount of time to prepare shipment labeling and vital customs documentation, UPS said.
