United Parcel Service UPS Strategic Alignment Model Research Paper

United Parcel Service (UPS) Strategic Alignment Model

Business Strategy

United Parcel Service (UPS) is one of the leading shipment and logistic company admired for its cargo and package delivery services around the globe. The company has remained as one of the top-package delivery service providers because of the diversity of its services to the public. The company has enjoyed high profits because of the good brand image that it has attained in its market. The good brand name has also enabled the company to maintain a high level of stability in its revenue and profit growth. This has been a remarkable achievement considering that the parcel and cargo industry are one of the most competitive industries in the United States.

The company's headquarters is in Atlanta (Sandy Springs) Georgia, but it has spread its routes to different parts of the world. The diversity of the routes that the UPS Company uses have been beneficial in attracting many potential customers seeking to use its services. In addition, it has allowed the company to attract both individual and corporate customers into its business. This has been an advantage to the business: it has allowed the company to have a business through the different seasons leading to stability in raising its revenues.

UPS was founded in Seattle in August of 1907 as 'American Messenger Company'. Two teenagers, Claude Ryan and Jim Casey, who aspired for more established the small messenger company. In addition, it is categorized as the largest private user on earth of cellular technology with driver's handheld computers that make wireless calls amounting to a million each day. This has been a great advantage in the 21st century, when such services have experienced a high demand from the people. The high consumer confidence and popularity of this service has created a competitive edge with its competitors.

In terms of the nation's daily gross domestic product, UPS handles about six percent. It has been rated as a $33.5 billion company with four hundred thousand employees and a delivery rate of over fourteen million daily packages to over seven million customers. This signifies its growth and market influence across its market making it a leading company locally. The company enjoys economies of scale because of its large presence and size in the market, leading to the high profit margins that the company raises annually. In addition, the ability of the company to manage the large pool of employee force has enabled it to have smooth work processes resulting in high quality service delivery.

All this success has been possible as indicated by their slogan, "What can Brown do for you," which has given the corporation the ability to provide services to almost anyone, at any address in the globe. The company has done a great job in expanding into other parts of the world and allowing it to serve people regardless of their location. Annually, UPS transports more than three billion documents and parcels from one destination into the other across the nations. The presence of many packing centers and aircrafts have supported the company in reaching out into different destinations where documents are needed.

UPS serves more than two hundred territories and countries using their five hundred aircraft, two thousand five hundred package-sorting centers, and over one hundred and fifty vehicles in providing their services. The company has gone global taking great challenges in running its operations across different countries. UPS has been committed to extending its operations across the different destinations, allowing the company to be the best cargo and parcel carrier. This has also made an increased number of potential customers to have a high preference for its services. The diversity of its routes and packing centers has also allowed the company to attract many customers outside Europe and the United States. This shows UPS commitment is in serving the wider needs of the global marketplace (Boulton, 1999).

UPS business faces stiff competition from other large, medium, and small companies in the industry providing cargo transport. The high level of competition experienced by UPS has made it adopt some strategies aimed at sustaining its relevance in the market. The global parcel and cargo transport industry is among the top competitive industries globally. In fact, UPS has had to take on key moves to attract and keep the millions of customers who use its service to transport their documents and cargo from one destination to the other.

The corporation's top competitors include United States Postal Service, RPS (Roadway Package System), FedEx (Federal Express), and DHL International.These are major players in the industry that the UPS shares its market. Other competitors of UPS include regional U.S. carriers like Lone Star Overnight, OnTrac, and Eastern Connection. In addition, other international operators competing with UPS include Purolator, Deutshe Post, India post, Canada Post, Royal Mail, and Japan Post among other regional carriers, air cargo handlers, and national postal services. These companies evidence the high level of competition that UPS experiences in its markets, and the need for UPS to take on strategic moves to maintain its leading position in the market (Selig, 2008).

The target of UPS is the global market of consumers and producers and at the same time makes a move to become the supply chain integrator of e-commerce choice. The products and services of UPS in logistics are state of the art and include using RFID and bar codes, consulting services, and high-speed package routing systems. Indeed, from the understanding that the target of UPS is the global market of consumers and producers: the company has invested in the state of the art logistics services. As technology keeps improving, UPS has not been left behind, but instead it has invested in new services like bar codes and high-speed package routing systems. This has made the company remain a company of choice in its market, for many customers have shown a preference for its services (Foss, Minbaeva, Reinholt, & Pedersen, 2009).

The commitment of UPS to become a leading global player in electronic commerce, logistics support, and package and information distribution is evident through their activities. Their broad range of package delivery options guarantees customers date and time-of-day delivery, detailed status tracking, and customs brokerage information for all packages delivered in a day (Seybold, 1999). United Parcel Service (UPS) is an example of a 3+ strategy. As a pioneer in providing high quality services to customers and its business, the company has managed to use the latest IT technology.

Its ability to leverage the latest IT technology has made the company improve its quality of service delivery in the areas of electronic commerce, logistics support, and package and information distribution. In addition, it has made the company remain relevant in its dominant markets like the United States where the technologically perceptive consumers seek services meeting their needs. Many customers seeking the company's services to transport their documents and cargo desire to follow up with the movements of their items until they are delivered at their desired destination. This has been a success because of the company's success in offering detailed status tracking, and customs brokerage information (Rapp, (N.d.).

The investment of UPS in IT and its development is of core competency since they are the main driving force because of its reliability and up-to-the-minute information. Reliability and up-to-the-minute information have been one of the critical needs of customers of UPS. Leaders at UPS have embraced the use of IT in conducting their operations. This has advanced the competitiveness of UPS in relation to their package delivery service, which is of a relatively higher quality as compared to other competitors. This benefits the competitive edge that UPS has worked hard to create from its competitors, resulting in the high market influence.

As a result, this has enabled UPS to venture in new businesses like e-Commerce, supply chain management, and logistical services. From the above analysis, UPS has a relentless focus on its customers, strategic use of IT, and top-notch quality of their products and services. The development the company's IT systems into core competency levels and leverage are considered when venturing into new business avenues. Its success in building the e-Commerce, supply chain management, and logistical services have increased volumes of customers and markets that the company serves (Weill & Ross, 2013).

I.2 Distinctive Competencies

The slogan of the corporation has gone beyond a distinctive competency. Many people associate the company with its "Brown Trucks: and brown packages delivered by employees." This has given the company a unique identity among other carriers in the market. In addition, the UPS deliveries are on time, making many people enjoy the time convenience, for many of the items have deadlines to arrive to their destination. The high level of accuracy applied by the employees during the delivery of the products and services are evidence of a competitive advantage that the company enjoys over its competitors.

The success of the company in relation to on time delivery is because of the availability of vehicles and airplanes….....