InformationWeek: The Business Value of Technology

nited Parcel Service Inc. subsidiary UPS e-Logistics is offering two new modules for its hosted logistics service that will let businesses manage customers' orders over the Internet and give clients a reliable date for when their shipments will be delivered. It's also introducing a set of services that lets businesses outsource their inbound and outbound transportation operations and customer call centers.

The vendor already offers hosted services that let businesses monitor order fulfillment through the supply chain. Now the Available To Promise module links the Order Management System to a user's existing inventory software, comparing in-stock items against orders to determine a delivery date. Both modules support XML and electronic data interchange connectivity. Under a new rapid-deployment model, customers can get any of UPS's hosted applications integrated with their enterprise resource planning software in eight weeks if those systems are ready to link to the Internet.

UPS is hoping that the sour economy may give a boost to its offerings. In rough economic times, companies may not be willing to invest the time, capital, or resources required to integrate an order-management system with a call center or to develop their own transportation network. "Because we've done this for a while and have built the IT infrastructure, we have the scale to drive costs down," says Tim Zach, marketing director for UPS e-Logistics.

There are huge efficiencies to be gained by outsourcing logistics and fulfillment to a third party, because new models such as just-in-time inventory and vendor-managed inventory require suppliers and buyers to deal with a lot of information beyond their own data, says Joshua Greenbaum, an analyst at Enterprise Applications Consulting. "Today, if you don't know where a package is, you have done nothing to improve the situation."

The services are available now, targeted at industries with complex shipping needs, such as high-tech vendors and industrial-products manufacturers. Fees vary according to the services and modules required.