New UPS Service Improves Process for Returning High-Value Products

Mississagua, ON, November 29, 2011

Industry-First Option for Customers in North America

UPS (NYSE: UPS) recently unveiled UPS Returns® Exchange, a combined delivery and pick-up service that gives businesses more control over their reverse logistics for high-priority products.

The new service is particularly suited to shippers in the high-tech, healthcare and retail industries. UPS Returns Exchange makes the replacement of high value products, such as electronics, more efficient while enhancing the post-sales experience for end customers. UPS Returns Exchange is available immediately to customers in Canada using Express services. The solution will be extended to other eligible services in the New Year. The new service is an industry- first in North America and is also offered in multiple countries around the world.

With the new service, a UPS driver delivers a replacement item while simultaneously retrieving the item marked for return such as a defective laptop computer. The driver assists the customer in packing the return item in the box used for the replacement, then it’s shipped back to the original company. UPS tracking tools link the replacement and return shipments, providing end-to-end visibility of the entire transaction, and customers receive a pre-alert the day before delivery.

"Streamlining the returns process puts the control in the hands of the customer, giving them the advantage of speed and convenience," said Wayne Bosch, vice-president of Customer Solutions. "UPS Returns Exchange improves supply chain efficiency while the simplified process helps better manage customer satisfaction."

In addition to improving the customer experience, UPS Returns Exchange reduces CO2 emissions and optimizes inventory management through improved visibility of the return and repair process. For example, shippers who send empty boxes to customers and then dispatch UPS a second time to retrieve an item no longer will have to take that first step, eliminating one delivery. Also, waste is reduced by reusing the replacement item’s packaging for the return shipment. Finally, by ensuring that the return item is properly packaged, UPS translates damage reduction into cost savings and also ensures responsible disposition of items beyond repair.

UPS Returns Exchange is the latest addition to the comprehensive, market-leading suite of UPS Returns solutions. UPS makes the returns process more convenient for companies and their customers with services ranging from pre-printed return labels to web-based solutions seamlessly integrated into customer websites. Most UPS Returns services are available internationally, leveraging the efficiencies of streamlined returns from 137 countries or territories around the globe.