“It’s also smaller and lighter than its predecessor,” says Dave Barnes, chief information officer, “works in color, is easier to use and has an expanded memory that will support some new, more customized services in the near future.” He adds that it’s a crit'ical part of a broader technology shift that is allowing UPS to dramatically reduce its fuel consumption while improving route planning, vehicle loading and package delivery. [See MHM
April 2005, “Package Flow Technology at UPS,” page 18.] The new computer--known as the fourth-generation Delivery Information Acquisition Device (DIAD IV) will be deployed rapidly now that it has undergone more than a year of extensive field testing. Co-developed with Symbol Technologies, UPS expects to deploy 32,000 in the United States and 8,000 internationally by the end of this year. The company plans to have more than 70,000 in use worldwide by the end of 2007.
