UPS adds air mode to U.S. inbound distribution service
UPS said Monday it is adding air capability to its “Trade Direct” distribution service to move goods into the United States.
The Atlanta-based transportation group has previously provided a Trade Direct Ocean product covering the ocean mode and a Trade Direct Cross Border service for shipments across the Mexico/U.S. and Canada/U.S. borders.
UPS said its Trade Direct services streamline the supply chain by making it easy to move goods directly from international factories through Customs to multiple U.S. locations, eliminating the need for warehouse stops at the border for repackaging.
Using the service, a shipper’s goods bound for the United States are individually packaged, labeled for U.S. delivery by UPS, 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 then is separated back into individual parcel or less-than-trailerload shipments, bypassing distribution center stops, and placed directly into the UPS system for final delivery.
UPS provides tracking and shipping notification. It invoices the shipper with a single shipping bill in U.S. dollars.
“UPS Trade Direct offers businesses a warehouse in motion — seamlessly handling shipments every step of the way from factory to consumers, whether retail outlets or homes,” said Kurt Kuehn, senior vice president of worldwide sales and marketing at UPS.