UPS has announced a series of improvements to its ground network on October 11, resulting in expanded export opportunities for customers in Austria. With UPS standard shipping these companies can ship parcels to about 60 percent of the population in Switzerland by up to 48 hours faster now.
“Although our fastest service options will remain UPS Express Plus, UPS Express, UPS Express Saver and UPS Express Freight, we have cut the regular delivery time for our best cross-border service by up to two days,” said Nando Cesarone, President UPS Europe. UPS decided to invest a total of USD 2 billion in its European network and its infrastructure by 2019. The improved connection was part of the program, which offers European customers fast and efficient connections to new markets.
Faster delivery times enable companies in Austria to sell their products across borders. According to a UPS study on export behavior of European SMEs in 2015 (European SME Exporting Insights), polling more than 10,000 owners of small and medium enterprises, export companies have a significant advantage over those that focus exclusively on their domestic country.
Ecommerce Europe estimates that the Internet economy will grow by 2.2 per cent of the European gross domestic product in 2014, to 6.6 percent until 2020. The rise of e-commerce gives customers a stronger position than ever before, when making replenishment or service purchases in traditional areas such as industrial manufacturing or the automotive industry.
According to a consumer research of UPS, 58 percent of online consumers cancel the purchase process if they think the delivery time is too long. Moreover, 43 percent of online shoppers said that late delivery times reduce the likelihood to buy again from the same dealer. With the faster UPS Standard Service Austrian companies can send their products fast and at reasonable prices to their customers.