The UPS is one of the most established package delivery and supply chain Management Company in America that started as a simple messenger service in 1907. Over time, the company has evolved to provide a series of services to different businesses and consumers. Apart from package delivery operation, its brand name is utilized to denote its numerous subsidiaries and divisions such as shipping centres, cargo airline, freight-based trucking operation, and retail-based packing. The primary business of the United Parcel Service is the timely delivery of documents and packages throughout the globe.
In the recent past, it has expounded its service portfolio to incorporate less truckload transportation in the US as well as supply chain services. Its operations are majorly based on International package, supply chain, and freight operation and the US domestic package operations (Ross, 2011). The US domestic package operations timely deliver package, documents, and letters all over America while the international package conducts delivery and shipment to more than 220 countries in the world. The supply chain and freight operations incorporate forwarding and contract logistics operations and other associated business units.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Q1
In addition to these services, the company also competes fairly with its competitors by fulfilling the commitments it has promised customers. By accomplishing their commitments, the UPS has won tremendous credibility with regard to the relationship of customers. The highest commitment of the company is evident in presenting services and products in the promotion. As a result of presenting accurate information, the company has been able to preserve and further increase its customer relationships. One of the aspects that have encouraged effective customer relation is the ability of the company to communicate clearly. This has permitted various clients to fully comprehend prices, responsibilities of designated parties and business terms used. Another significant reason that has enabled customers to be committed with the United Parcel Service is the use of applicable laws.
The company has worked hard to safeguard its customers’ confidential as well as private information. Additionally, the UPS has coupled its shipping and management of shipping requests with technology. Incorporating technology in UPS shipping service has improved information infrastructure and capabilities. To be precise, through these capabilities, the company was able to perform more than 212 tracking requests on peak days and further ran approximately 2.3 billion delivery route optimizations per year (Kohli, 2017). The combination of expertise, technology, and experience has been vital in creating efficiency and further providing unique values to UPS customers. The use of technology in management has enabled the UPS Company to reach individuals than before, produce a stockpile of information, and develop new capabilities and services as well as establishing numerous customer-focused solutions.
Q2
Marketing and sales sectors need a deeper understanding of customer needs and driven marketing strategies to establish great customer value. The UPS Company prefer to sell its service to relatively few large buyers rather than selling to large numbers of small buyers. This simply implies that losing a singular sale to a large business customer may lead to more than 100 million dollars loss in revenues. Therefore, poor performance as a partner in logistic can immensely cost the client 100 million dollars loss in revenue (Chesbrough, 2015). The purchasing decisions of UPS are much more dynamic because of its business customers. Likewise, it is not the only company that provides logistics services to customers. To achieve in the business-to-business markets, the company ought to do extra work rather than transferring products from one point to another for its customers.
The UPS Company is required to work with its business partners in order to be a strategic and problem-solving partner. Additionally, the UPS Company ought to develop a firm content marketing strategy that provides sufficient as well as correct information to the other business depending on where they are in the journey of the buyer. The UPS ought to establish awareness and educate other businesses on the value of their service at the top of the funnel. Social media and blog posts play a significant role in this advance.
In the middle of the funnel, marketing and sales focus on deeper knowledge and relationship building activities. Webinars assist other businesses to learn how UPS products and services give solution to their problem while making them more interested in UPS services. Finally, the bottom of the funnel marketing requirements assists other businesses to make decisions. The marketing content in this stage involves a demo, free trial or an assessment that aid other businesses to finalize their decision. The brand of UPS is also considered for business-to-business markets (B2B).
It is therefore important for B2B marketers to create UPS brand sensitization in their marketing efforts. The brand identity of UPS depends on clients treatment, quality work, reliability, and other factors other businesses value. To succeed in business, the UPS Company is required to develop a quality brand identity to make a good impression on other businesses. It is imperative for the UPS to put more money into its marketing programs to provide what the target audience need for rational decision making (Arham, 2014). This will assist them to easily identify the value of the service and product the business offer through testimonials, quality content and other practices that develop good credibility.
Q3
The UPS encounter reveals the dynamics of business-to-business transactions and the relationship that exists between final consumers purchasing. The UPS story is a perfect vehicle that can be used to explore the nature of business markets, the participants that buy, buying situation types, impacts on business buyers as well as the process of business buying. According to Kotler and Armstrong (2013), the business buys organizations’ behavior that purchase products and services that are utilized in the production of other goods and services that are either rented or sold to others. In this regard, the business buying process determines which type of goods and services the organization is required to buy and further find, analyze and select alternative brands and suppliers. Likewise, there are numerous differences between the business market and the consumer market. The market of the business is larger as compared to the markets of the consumer.
Apart from size, the business market mostly consists of less but a bigger number of buyers as compared to consumer markets (Kotler and Armstrong, 2013). Additionally, the demand for the business market is inelastic and partially affected by short term price changes but consumer demand fluctuates faster. In terms of the business buying process, Kotler and Armstrong's idea directly related to the UPS buying process. The buying process of UPS involves numerous decision makers as well as more professional purchasing effort. Besides, the decisions of business buyers are often dynamic and formal and the buyers and sellers always work on long-term relationships. The UPS also incorporate different types of buying situations as indicated by Kotler and Armstrong. One of the business buying situations is a straight re-buy where buyers reorder a product with minimal or no modifications. Another buying situation is modified re-buy. A modified re-buy is a situation where the buyer wants to enhance the specifications of the product, suppliers, prices or terms. The UPS Company also involve multiple participants as stated in chapter 6 of Kotler and Armstrong’s principle of marketing. The business buying process has individuals who play different roles in the purchase decision-making process. The users, influencers, buyers, gatekeepers and deciders are the people who participate in the purchase decision-making process.
References
Arham, M. (2014). Islamic perspectives on marketing. Journal of Islamic Marketing , 1 (2), 149-164.
Chesbrough, H. W. (2015). Bringing open innovation to services. MIT sloan management review , 52 (2), 85.
Kohli, R. (2017). Innovating to create IT-based new business opportunities at United Parcel service. MIS Quarterly Executive , 6 (4).
Kotler, P., & Armstrong, G. (2013). Principles of Marketing (16th Global Edition).
Ross, J. W. (2011). United Parcel Services: Delivering Packages and E-Commerce Solutions.
