“Flexibility is key for small businesses in Europe and they need to make sure that their customers get their orders when they need them,” said Lou Rivieccio, president, UPS Europe. “Extending our pick-up times by up to eight hours not only gives small businesses more production and order fulfillment time, but also allows them to focus on their passion and grow their business.”
Delivery times are essential for online commerce. According to the 2017 UPS Europe Pulse of the Online Shopper™ study, 52 per cent of online shoppers in Europe will abandon their cart if they feel the delivery time is too lengthy. With later cut-off times and faster shipping using UPS’s economical ground-based UPS Standard service, businesses in Europe can continue to increase customer satisfaction by getting products to their customers quickly and affordably.
In addition to extending pick up times, UPS has also improved UPS Standard service in London and areas of southeast England, reducing shipping times to one day with UPS’s most economical ground-based service to and from Belgium and the south of the Netherlands. In-country transit times have also been reduced in nearly 8,000 postal codes across Europe, making shipments faster for all UPS products.
The recent enhancements to UPS’s service are part of the company’s USD 2 billion investment in its European network and infrastructure through 2019. As a result of these and other investments, customers can now reach more than 80 per cent of Europe’s population within two business days using UPS Standard, UPS’s most economical ground-based service.
UPS is in the midst of its most comprehensive transformation in decades, prioritizing resources and directing investment for the greatest strategic benefit and long-term shareholder return. Early in 2017, the company announced plans for extensive upgrades to its smart global logistics network, enhancing capacity and efficiency through the use of state-of-the-art processes, information technology and automation.