InformationWeek

Dave Barnes, UPS

Dave Barnes' philosophy is to build technology from the start with the world in mind.

That's what UPS did with its paperless invoice system, which 18 months after its introduction is now accepted in 103 countries and used by 20,000 customers. The system reduces errors and customs delays and saves about 25 million pieces of paper by eliminating multiple copies of invoices and customs documents that otherwise travel with a package.

"You can't do that by building it for the U.S., then getting requirements for Canada and extending the U.S. one to Canada, then getting requirements for Germany," Barnes says. "You'd be here a long time. The environment we all compete in doesn't allow that." Creating requirements that meet global needs costs more up front and takes skill, "but the benefits are tremendous for a global company like UPS," Barnes says.

A more visible example is the handheld device that every UPS driver around the world carries. Called the Delivery Information Acquisition Device, it's customized for local languages, but the core technology is the same. Likewise with UPS's scanning systems; whether deployed in a sorting facility in Shanghai or Louisville, they're based on a common platform.

The biggest thing on UPS's global IT agenda is a 2 million-square-foot addition to Worldport, its automated package-sorting hub in Louisville, Ky. With the expansion slated to open in June, IT teams need to synchronize their work around construction, which means 13 straight weekends of software and system rollouts.

The project will result in a 50% increase in space, at a cost of about $1 billion. Launched in the thick of a recession that's hit shipping hard, it's a huge long-term bet, yet only the most visible one at UPS. Says Barnes, "We haven't used the downturn as an excuse to pull investments back on technology."