Package delivery company UPS has rebranded Overnite Corp., which it acquired last year, as UPS Freight. Customers will begin seeing the new uniforms and newly branded trucks May 1.
The rebranding includes:
¡ñ a move to the UPS logo
¡ñ new colors ¨C a gray reminiscent of the Overnite gray combined with UPS¡¯s signature brown
¡ñ the launch in May of a new web site for shipping and tracking: http://www.upsfreight.com.
The facilities and fleet, which includes 22,000 trailers, will be rebranded to UPS Freight over the course of several years. UPS Freight will continue to operate independently of the UPS package delivery network.
The transition to UPS Freight has led to the deployment of new technology, most significantly the introduction of UPS¡¯s DIAD, the hand-held computer used by drivers that will improve tracking and customer responsiveness.
The rebranding of Overnite will serve as a visible demonstration of UPS¡¯s strategy to provide its customers with a full range of supply chain solutions. UPS acquired Overnite, a less-than-truckload (LTL) and truckload carrier, and its Motor Cargo subsidiary, a regional carrier that operates in the western U.S., in August 2005.
The transition to UPS Freight will include the completion of the restructuring of Overnite and Motor Cargo into a single integrated freight network. In the past year alone, transit times across 3,360 lanes nationwide have been improved. Over the next several months, Motor Cargo¡¯s operations in 10 western states will be fully integrated into the UPS Freight network, leading to a significant number of additional lane enhancements, improved service and enhanced geographic reach.
UPS conducted a successful sales pilot at the end of 2005 in which UPS¡¯s package delivery sales force sold ground freight services. The pilot demonstrated the synergy between Overnite and UPS customers and the opportunity to sell a combined solution of small package and ground freight services. UPS will have completed training for the rest of the small package sales force in time for the May 1 rebranding.
In addition to rebranding Overnite Transportation and Motor Cargo facilities and fleets, other highlights include:
¡ñ Tracking of freight shipments via www.upsfreight.com will be available in May and on www.ups.com this fall
¡ñ Rollout of the DIAD during 2006, which will greatly enhance shipment visibility
¡ñ Opening of a new hub in Newburgh, N.Y., improving transit time between the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions
¡ñ Renaming the product portfolio to consist of three main service categories:
UPS Freight LTL. In addition to the standard time-in-transit, customers who need faster transit times or day and time-definite commitments can choose additional options: guaranteed or urgent.
UPS Freight Truckload will offer Dedicated Capacity and Dedicated Fleet options.
Specialty Solutions is the unit that will continue to provide ancillary services such as Trade Show services, temperature-controlled freight movements and other freight management services.
