United Parcel Service

15 Pages 3686 Words

History

UPS began in 1907 when 19 year-old, James E. Casey, borrowed $100 from a friend in which he used to establish the American Messenger company in Seattle, Washington. Shortly thereafter it began to deliver small packages for local department stores and in 1913 changed its name to Merchants Parcel Delivery. UPS then pioneered the idea of consolidated delivery in which they would combine packages onto one truck addressed to a certain neighborhood. In 1929, it opened United Air Express, which offered package delivery to all major West Coast cities and became the first air delivery service. By the 1930’s it has consolidated efforts in New York City and innovated the first mechanical system for package sorting. In early 1950’s, UPS managers began to search for new endeavors since it was clear that their contract service with retail stores was limited. UPS decided to compete with the US postal service in that it would acquire, “common carrier rights to deliver packages between all customers, both private and commercial” (ups.com). Before the 1950’s, federal regulations prohibited UPS from transferring packages between state borders without authorization. Therefore many parts of the country were restricted from UPS services. “Over three decades, UPS systematically fought to obtain authorization to ship freely in all 48 contiguous states” (ups.com). Finally in 1975, the Interstate Commerce Commission granted UPS the authority to extend services throughout every state, and UPS became the first delivery company to serve every United States address. Once conquering full domestic service rights, UPS began to expand internationally. “UPS first went international in 1975 when it offered services within Toronto”. By the 1985 UPS had established air service between the United States and six European countries. Also by the1980’s, the demand for air delivery and faster service had dramatically increased. In order to adjust,...