See what Brown can do for the Red and the Blue

Founded in 1740 and based in Philadelphia, the University of Pennsylvania is one of the world's premier teaching and research institutions. Its four undergraduate schools and 12 graduate and professional schools are ranked at or near the top in their fields. Penn's diverse population consists of about 20,000 students and an additional 20,000 faculty and staff from all over the country and around the world.

Looking for a "Penn" solution

Penn needed a carrier who could handle anything from critical documents to temperature-sensitive research materials like animal specimens or biological samples. With 174 research centers around the world and regular shipments to places like Botswana, Greece, Switzerland and China, Penn also needed a reliable global carrier who could make shipping items around the world as easy as down the street.

What's more, Penn needed to manage costs, effectively allocate expenses to each department and maintain reports on shipping and billing activity.

"We were looking for a comprehensive solution, not just an online shipping module," explains JoAnn Murphy, Director of Purchasing for the University.

When UPS stepped in to help in May 2008, it was able to offer not only the reliable UPS Next Day Air® and international shipping services Penn needed, but also the technology solutions to help the University manage costs and shipping activity.

UPS makes the grade

About 90 percent of Penn's shipments are sent via air, so reliability and cost efficiency are essential. Fortunately, UPS helps users meet both their deadlines and their budgets by offering more day and time definite delivery options than any other carrier. Express options range from same-day to third-day delivery, so Penn can manage each shipmen's priority and cost.

UPS also offered technology solutions to meet Penn's wide-ranging requirements on a tight deadline.

"UPS had a very small window in which to work," says Murphy. "The entire team worked very closely with us to get it done."

With over 4,000 users and employees spread across multiple buildings, Penn needed a tool that was simple to use and easy to access from various locations. UPS offered a customized version of its web-based shipping tool which enabled users in separate locations to create shipping labels for letters and packages from their desktops.

The integrated system helped the University better allocate shipping charges, track shipping activity, reduce the risk of human error through shared address books and address validation, and keep recipients informed of incoming shipments. The program can also generate reports on shipping activity. The combination of powerful features and ease of use made UPS an ideal solution for Penn.

Penn uses UPS Quantum View® to track shipments in transit and UPS Billing Data® to view comprehensive reports on shipping activity, which in turn helps simplify the billing and reporting process.

By teaming up with UPS, Penn was able to streamline each step of the shipping process–from label to invoice–without going over budget.