Considering the size of UPS’ operations, it is critical for the company to keep the information regarding its deliveries as accurate as possible. The input of a tracking number into the system comes in the form of a bar code attached by the network to each delivery. After the initial entry, the system processes this number to determine the accessibility of the information for its sender and the status of the item. Moreover, customers often want to track their packages as well, which makes the system necessarily available to the public through the UPS website. Therefore, when scanned, this sign provides both clients and UPS employees with critical information regarding the package. The output of each code includes data regarding its destination, origin, and delivery time, which are shown through a special application or web page (Laudon & Laudon, 2020). This system plays a vital role in UPS’s daily operations.
The Delivery Information Acquisition Device (DIAD) and the database it is connected to play a vital role in UPS digital framework. It allows logistics workers to contact the company network and immediately receive and submit all the necessary information regarding their current tasks (Laudon & Laudon, 2020). Through this information management tool that is accessible to UPS employees, people can check and validate orders with ease. Such technology allows UPS to save money on data sorting, input, and distribution, decreasing the prices of its services.
However, the framework can not be complete without an in-depth analysis of human input. The Web-based Post Sales Order Management System (OMS) is also used by the company to optimize its operations by ensuring that vital packages are handled with the highest possible efficiency (Laudon & Laudon, 2020). This technology directly connects the mission of UPS with its services. The system automatically creates the fastest possible route while allowing customers and employees to track and redirect each item if necessary. As logistics is one of the two main components of UPS’s business strategy, OMS is a critical part of the firm’s processes.
The company has numerous competitors that provide similar services, such as FedEx, demanding it to stand out through the excellence of service. UPS prides itself on its low prices and delivery times, which require its processes to be optimal at all times to fulfill such a goal (Laudon & Laudon, 2020). By using the latest management information systems, UPS ensures that its clients are presented with the best possible route created by automated logistics algorithms. The lack of manual labor for package sorting and order placement allows the firm to lower its prices as much as possible, further contributing to its standard of quality versus service costs.
If the digital systems used by UPS become unavailable, the entirety of the firm’s operations will halt altogether. Online tracking and order placement would be impossible, which would lead to a major exodus of customers to FedEx and similar companies. Each barcode would become useless, and the data regarding each package that is placed on it must be processed manually. Logistics would be nearly impossible to optimize without digital assistance, making delivery times skyrocket. It would also become impossible to validate orders that are almost completed, even if UPS employees were standing next to customers’ doors, as they must contact DIAD to communicate their location and package status. The company would lose millions of dollars per day if its systems remained unavailable.
Reference
Laudon, K. C., & Laudon, J. P. (2020). Management information systems: Managing the digital firm (16th ed.). Pearson.