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1. Introduction This assignment will look as how managing information systems help United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) and its competitors. It will examine what kind of Information Technology (IT) systems are used by their competitors, which are not used by UPS. It will make recommendations for which IT systems which could be beneficial to UPS to improve their services and to make the business processes more efficient and give UPS the competitive advantage. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Supply Chain Management (SCM) are becoming key parts of business models and will be discussed further within UPS. 1.2 Managing Information System in UPS In terms of taking electronic signatures of the customers by using a handheld device, UPS, started in 1991, is the first package delivery company in the world. The name of the device is Delivery Information Acquisition Device ( DIAD). This device is used for keeping the information of deliveries. DIAD is a portative device and can easily be carried by the drivers everywhere. With this handheld computers all the information can be recorded and transmitted to the UPS network system. In this way flow of information for each delivery package is derived smoothly and timely in the organisation. Drivers are connected to the UPS network system with DIAD and it updates drivers about delivery picking schedules and the best delivery routes in the traffic. In the delivery process, drivers need to scan the barcode of package and take digital signature of the customer and note the receiver last name. And then all this information is sent to UPS network system (Laudon, 2001). This is because; all this information is also needed for tracking system. DIAD device is being upgraded continually by the UPS in terms of changing the size, increasing the number of functions and adding new features to the device. The company has recently started to use the next generation of DIAD which is called DIAD V. UPS inc. has other types of systems apart from DIAD. For instance the automated package tracking system enables to monitor deliveries during the process. By scanning the barcode on the package label, this system provides location of the items along the route between sender and receiver. In this way customer services can follow the deliveries and they can respond directly to the inquiries from customers. Simultaneously, customers are able to track their deliveries on the internet or using special tracking softwares provided by UPS. Moreover, UPS inc. is using an advanced information system for their airline service which is called Computerised Operations Monitoring, Planning and Scheduling System. The COMPASS gives information about flight planning, scheduling and load handling.

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UPS inc. also has an International Shipments Processing System (ISPS). This system provides information about incoming shipments of customs in the U.S. and gives them opportunity to clear Customs before arriving the country.

2. Literature Review 2.1 Customer Relationship Management in UPS Customer relationship management (CRM) comprises plenty of activities in the organisation aimed at ensuring the profitability of the customer. For instance, United Parcel Service (UPS), one of the logistics service providers, is rapidly increasing its competitive advantage in its service by using customer relationship management strategies (Smith et al.,2005). This system makes UPS superior at package delivery market against its competitors.

Figure 2.1.1 The customer service cycle of UPS (Source: The Journal of Applied 2008 Volume 24, Number 2) Business Research Second Quarter

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It can be illustrated from figure 2.1.1 that the UPS needs to come up with appropriate solutions in order to cover requirements of all customers in business to consumer (B2C) and business to business (B2B) processes. Therefore in UPS inc. the CRM is helping to measure customer satisfaction by providing decision makers and by giving information about progress in the processes to the clients. Ultimately, this system creates success by building up big amount of trust on customers and employees in the organisation and also builds integrity in the business transactions. (Smith, 2002). The use of technology opens additional communication channels between customers and companies. E-mail, corporate websites and the technology of mobile communication are the most effective ones especially for logistics services providers. On the other hand, since customers are able to access to information, they face a long list of communication options. The list includes: voice mail, fax-back, kiosk, chat rooms and wireless devices etc. Electronic aspects are added to CRM systems by the management of customer relationship via these channels and also communication options of organisation. Similarly this is called electronic-enhanced CRM (e-CRM). For instance UPS inc. has recently developed its online services to improve its business in terms of having good customer relations by increasing the functionality of website and the spend time of customers on website. Ultimately, this system has reduced the cost and it has given customers peace of mind and empowered them. While UPS inc. is progressing in CRM technology, they have intensively improved their customer information services by using TotalTrack and MaxiShip. TotalTrack is built on a cellular mobile data system and gives tracking information to customers for their parcels. Alternatively the MaxiShip system is to let customers know about managing the whole process of delivery by classifying and zoning the parcels. In addition to this, the system controls the punctuality of delivering process by informing the customers about the delays. As it can be seen that, these Online Tools are giving UPS the competitive advantage for the customer satisfaction. Another aspect of the CRM is for returns management which is an integrative part of a company (Smith et al.,2004). From the customer`s view, return of product is very important especially for online shopping. Specifically, for a logistic service provider, such as UPS, it is necessary to have a relevant program in CRM for the returns management and reverse logistics. UPS inc. has a few reverse logistic programs such as UPS Return on the Web, UPS Returns Plus, and UPS Return. These programs are very significant for the UPS inc. to resolve the problems in terms of hassling of returns. UPS Returns on the Web is a self service return program for the customers who want to manage their returns. This return process is an automated online system easily used by the client. The option of UPS Returns Plus gives chance to arrange convenient pickup options for the return. Apart from this, UPS Returns provides service to accomplish return labels for packages. This also has several methods which are called UPS Print Return Label, UP S Print & Mail Return Label and UPS Electronic Return Label. Any of these three methods can be used for the returning processes.

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2.2 Supply Chain Management in UPS At the beginning, UPS inc. has started to offer Supply Chain Management(SCM) service and consultancy to others. This action has helped the company to develop activities of supply chain. However, the software of SCM was launched in UPS in 2000s which was called UPS Roadnet Transportation Suite. This software was offering planning option for the delivery routes to the distributor companies independently. This system was specifically effective on reducing the costs of distribution by increasing the productivity of resources and their utilisations and determining the cost of each stop and regulating standards for drivers in delivery . Additionally, UPS inc. supports its Supply Chain Management by making alliances and joint venture with technology companies such as Ford and Yahoo. These steps helped the company carry out its growth and dominance by using their MIS technologies. UPS inc. has modified its business to logistics by adopting a fourth party logistics (4PL) business model. With the adaptation of 4PL, the supply chain was rebuilt and change from supply-based to customer-based (Van Hoek, 2001). Since 4PL was implemented to the supply chain management, the communication between customers and supply chain members has been increased. The increase of communication in the organisation of UPS was to ensure that UPS inc. could deliver the parcel as it was promised. Additionally, for the same purpose, supply chain interfaces were created such as eSCM software to transition suppliers. UPS 4PL model also considers interfaces on manufacturing process. The coordination from manufacturing to delivering the customers is made by dealing with partners from manufacturers to the client (Van Hoek, 2001). Ultimately, the result of switching to SCM differentiated UPS services to adding value to supply chain management for the customers. On the other hand, UPS inc. also utilises from SAP and ERP systems in order to support the supply chain of the organisation by integrating the functions of shipping and by eliminating the requirements of external shipping. In the SAP and ERP system, ShipERP is the SAP certified solution for shipping process. This system performs accurate time for the parcels and also to perform the verification of delivery addresses and the rate quoting and the label printing for parcels and manifesting. The ShipERP system associates with all operations of UPS services. With the SAP solutions, ERP system can provide business efficiency and also provides strong return on investment.

3. Studying Other Organisations 3.1 Federal Express (FedEX) 3.1.1 Customer Relationship Management in FedEx Inc. The Customers, Operations and Services Master Online System (COSMOS) has been launched by FedEx in order to manage the people, parcels, vehicles and the weather conditions for delivery operations. After that the Digitally Assisted Dispatch

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System (DADS) has been implemented for the coordination of on-call pickups scheduling times for the customers. FedEx inc. has the advantage of being first user of this customer self service software which gives opportunity to provide parcel pickups, print mailing slips and tracking option for the parcels online to the customers. The implementation of new methods and technology helps the FedEx inc. have a competitive advantage comparing to its competitors. At present, they have a SuperHub with a few local hubs and parcels are automatized by the COSMOS system. With this technological system customers are able to track their deliveries at all times on the internet. UPS inc also has a similar system for the same purpose which is to do the same job. This action of UPS has decreased the FedEx competitive advantage but still in terms of efficiency and productivity of the system FedEx is still staying ahead of competition against UPS inc. The updating of information significantly helps the capture of value to the customers. Similarly, customers of FedEx can keep tracking on the information and it also affects the estimating date of receiving the delivery. This means that in the CRM system, FedEx can easily update itself from the company website. Furthermore, the system has a quick access for receiving information of shipment, invoices and fuel surcharge information is easy to access by the customers. The model that used by FedEx in the customer relationship management is very helpful in order to provide information of the tools and packaging of deliveries for the clients. On the website, FedEx inc. provides instruction for customers such as Easy Payment Options and Timely Alert For Special Events, which enables to fill invoices and bills in a picture format. This activity makes the system very understandable and easy for the clients and also it is important for time saving in a operation. These are very significant for already customers and also for gaining new customers. In this case, FedEx is staying ahead of UPS in terms of CRM system. Additionally, in terms of providing more varieties of different services such as billing methods, delivery options, holding or dropping off the parcels FedEx inc. is still ahead of UPS inc. 3.2 DHL Express (DHL) 3.2.1 Supply Chain Management in DHL Inc. DHL inc. has made some seasonable developments in the supply chain management according to changes of customer requirements. Firstly, they made a deal with an SAP partner which is called IGZ Logistics & IT GmbH in order to set up the software of SAP logistic and warehouse automation. The DHL inc. keeps upgrading the SAP software system. The system enables efficiency and productivity in the supply chain organisation by eliminating the local material flows and also provides new management of resources in order to increase functionality of communication for each warehouse site. All these activities help to decrease the potential sources of error and to develop the visibility of processes and to enhance the collaboration into the supply chain.
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With the SAP software, DHL inc. has made a development by a different approach which is a multistage implementation. They differentiated the business functionality between different modules such as logistic execution and resource management in order to run the systems different by using the SAP software. At this time, DHL inc. has one of the most multidirectional SAP warehouse management software system. This is because; all the operations, application controls and coordinations are managed by centralised data centre. Ultimately, the SAP system gives opportunity to track internally all the operations in the supply chain. At this point, DHL inc has a significant competitive advantage against competitors by providing real-time visibility in the operations and also much easier connection between other enterprises with the SAP system. As a result, DHL supply chain benefits from SAP software in terms of improving the quality of service. Technology of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is used in order to perform the duty of custom clearance by having less delay time.From the perspective of Hsu, Shih and Wang (2009), using of RFID is to enhance the efficiency in the cargo process by decreasing the inventory and the cost of labor. By implementation of RFID system in the organisation, the delays on the network system of custom and on the clearance process are able to be improved. According to EPCGlobal inc. report (2005), this activity has been successfully carried out in one of the well known logistic company which is DHL inc. Since they has started using RFID, they have done more than 15 experiments in order to make a improvement in the service and minimise the costs. The use of RFID technology in DHL is to enhance the product availability and also is to make better transparency in the supply chain system. The use of RFID system has recognisably added value to the supply chain of DHL inc. by providing the facility to track every single unit of the parcels without scanning the barcodes. As an example from DHL inc, they are using the RFID system in Asia market especially in textile products which they are multi-part products and it is hard to track every single part. Therefore by using the electronic product code, which includes the identification of each part, the organisation is able to know the place of each item. Similarly, scanning process is needed by the system but this process is carried out by tunnel reading very rapidly.

4.Conclusion and Recommendations As mentioned in section 2.2 the CRM system of UPS can be modified by the use of one of the MIS system of FedEx inc. as mentioned in section 3.1 which is the COSMOS system. This is because; for the same purpose UPS inc. should use plenty of programs and this may cause problems, however only with COSMOS and DADS systems FedEx is able to manage the whole processes which UPS company is doing with more than two programs. Nevertheless, FedEx company still can use the competitive advantage of being first mover of the online customer relationship management. Specifically, UPS company can develop one multidirectional software program instead of having a plenty of them as they currently use. Ultimately it may enhance the efficiency and productivity and also it may cause to reduce the costs by spending less for the maintenance and
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upgrading of the systems. Furthermore, customers can use the FedEx website more functionally comparing to UPS website, this is because it is easy to manage the processes online by using one program. For instance, the UPS company is offering many IT solutions for different levels of customer needs in billing process for having maximum customer satisfaction. In that case, they might be satisfying some major demands of customers by offering multi level service options. However, it is not a cost effective way to develop the billing system and databases; so it is getting harder for UPS to keep pace with its competitors in terms of cost effectiveness. On the other hand, the use more than one program also may be causing more confusion among the employees of the organisation. However , this does not mean that FedEx company is carrying out all of processes of CRM in a perfect way. Furthermore, in the past the service of UPS inc. was known as a poor service according to FedEx service and so customers was looking for more secure service for their parcels with the FedEx. Therefore UPs company has done significant implementations such as entering into a partnership with Yahoo. This activity offers customers a platform on the web for having a more reliable and secure service for their parcels. In order to offer an enhanced service to the customers, these activities are not enough and so UPS inc needs to go further in these fields. United Parcel Service (UPS) is utilising IT programs by using those programs and nearly all these programs are based on internet. Moreover, the use of internet is carried out via wireless connections according to structure of handheld devices and other computerised systems. These devices will work out smoothly when the efficiency of network is provided. However, when it is looked at some developing countries in Africa and Asia in terms of having efficient wireless networking system, UPS might have challenges sometimes because of the lack of sustainability of wireless network. UPS company still work on increasing the performance and capability of handheld devices (DIAD) by upgrading new generations. However, it is still not good enough to carry out the business in those countries because of deficiency in resources. It can be recommended UPS inc. to strengthen the infrastructure of signalisation system by placing extra transmitters. On the other hand, the cost of all these facilities should be considered and also the competitors`s activities in those countries are needed to be considered in terms of which level of service quality is provided by the competitors. As studied in section 2.2, the supply chain management of UPS need to be improved in terms of being more secure by the use of some extra activities like banking security system programs. For instance UPS can design a software which it should be compatible with third generation mobile phones and smartphones. Firstly, customers need to have a account on the UPS website. And then, when the parcel is picked up, customer should login to its account for getting the tracking number of parcel via email or texting. The tracking number should only be available for single use login into the account. In an imaginary situation, if the tracking number is accessed by someone else for the first time, and then that tracking number will not be able to be used by the real user. Therefore the real user can easily realise that his or
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her tracking number has been stolen by someone else. This solution might be beneficial for the security system of UPS and it might resolve some identification problems in the organisation. In the scanning the barcodes process, more than 10 million delivery packages need to be scanned by employees at United Parcel Service company and also the customers demand is still increasing as well. In the near future, barcode scanning process will be getting hard to use for a big global company like UPS inc. Therefore, as mentioned section 3.2.1 the supply chain management of DHL company which can be improved by the use of RFID system for UPS supply chain management and the barcode scanning can be distinguished by becoming more practical for the organisation. In order to enhance productivity and decrease the equipment maintenance costs, in 2000s UPS company has invested more than $100 million for having wireless scanning system that utilised Bluetooth short-range radio. From this point of view, RFID system can be recommended instead for using barcode scanning. According to some experts RFID system is not as accurate as barcoding system but it needs also new developments for the accuracy and efficiency. This might be costly however some of competitors (such as DHL inc.) has already started using it in the organisation.

5.References Kenneth C. L., Jane Price L.(2001), Management Information Systems, Fourth Edition, Prentice-Hall UPS 2012, UPS's Next-Generation Mobile Devices Are Here, accessed 28 November 2012, <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0B2-o6BKMM> Smith A.D. (2004), Information exchanges associated with Internet travel marketplaces, Online Information Review, 28(4): 292-300. Smith A.D. (2004), Empirical exploration for a Product Data Management (PDA) System at a major telecommunications firm, Industrial Management and Data Systems, 104(6): 513-525. Smith A.D. (2004), E-traveling via information technology: An inspection of possible trends, Services Marketing Quarterly, 25(3):00-00. Xue M., Harker P. (2002), Customer efficiency: concept and its impact on e-business management. Journal of Service Research, 4(4): 253-261. Anton J., Petoufoff N. (2002), Customer Relationship Management The BottomLine To Optimizing Your ROI. 2nd Ed. New Jersey: Pearson Education Prentice Hall Beverly W., Paul S., Naveen D. (2008), Application Of Media Richness Theory To Data Collection, The Journal of Applied Business Research Second Quarter 2008, Volume 24, Number 2

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Van Hoek R. (2001), The contribution of performance measurement to the expansion of third party logistics alliances in the supply chain, International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 21, No. 1-2, pp. 15-29. Van Hoek R. (2004), UPS logistics and to move towards 4PLOr not?, Proceed ings of the Annual Supply Chain Management Educators Conference, Philadelphia (PA), pp. 1-19 (CDrom). UPS (2012), Enterprise Resource Planning, available at: http://www.ups.com/content/us/en/resources/techsupport/alliances/application_erp.ht ml FedEx (2012), available at: http://about.van.fedex.com/article/fedex-timeline#19701979 Management Information Systems: Business Driven MIS, Chapter 1, available at: http://highered.mcgrawhill.com/sites/dl/free/0073376825/892707/Sample_Chapter.pd f Grimview 2010, salesforce PDF invoice packing slip for FedEx Salesforce CRM system solution, accessed 28 November,2012,<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_hKBSYBDYg&noredirect=1> http://www.vessage.com EPC Global Inc (2005), Specification for RFID Air Interface, available at: <http://www.gs1.org/gsmp/kc/epcglobal/uhfc1g2/uhfc1g2_1_1_0-standard20071017.pdf>