the.world.is.flat-第36部分

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China；　and　while　there　I　was　afflicted　with　jet　lag　one　night　and　was　watching　CNN　
International　to　pass　the　wee　hours　of　the　morning。　At　one　point；　a　commercial　came　
on　for　UPS；　and　its　tag　line　was　UPS's　new　slogan：　〃Your　World　Synchronized。〃　
The　thought　occurred　to　me：　That　must　be　what　Nandan　was　talking　
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about！　UPS；　I　learned；　was　not　just　delivering　packages　anymore；　it　was　synchronizing　
global　supply　chains　for　companies　large　and　small。　The　next　day　I　made　an　appointment　
to　visit　UPS　headquarters　in　Atlanta。　I　later　toured　the　UPS　Worldport　distribution　
hub　adjacent　to　the　Louisville　International　Airport；　which　at　night　is　basically　
taken　over　by　the　UPS　fleet　of　cargo　jets；　as　packages　are　flown　in　from　all　over　
the　world；　sorted；　and　flown　back　out　again　a　few　hours　later。　（The　UPS　fleet　of　270　
aircraft　is　the　eleventh　largest　airline　in　the　world。）　What　I　discovered　on　these　


visits　was　that　this　is　not　your　father's　UPS。　Yes；　UPS　still　pulls　in　most　of　its　
36　billion　in　sales　by　shipping　more　than　13。5　million　packages　a　day　from　point　
A　to　point　B。　But　behind　that　innocuous　facade；　the　company　founded　in　Seattle　in　
1907　as　a　messenger　service　has　reinvented　itself　as　a　dynamic　supply…chain　manager。　
Consider　this：　If　you　own　a　Toshiba　laptop　computer　that　is　under　warranty　and　it　
breaks　and　you　call　Toshiba　to　have　it　repaired；　Toshiba　will　tell　you　to　drop　it　
off　at　a　UPS　store　and　have　it　shipped　it　to　Toshiba；　and　it　will　get　repaired　and　
then　be　shipped　back　to　you。　But　here's　what　they　don't　tell　you：　UPS　doesn't　just　
pick　up　and　deliver　your　Toshiba　laptop。　UPS　actually　repairs　the　computer　in　its　
own　UPS…run　workshop　dedicated　to　computer　and　printer　repairs　at　its　Louisville　hub。　
I　went　to　tour　that　hub　expecting　to　see　only　packages　moving　around；　and　instead　
I　found　myself　dressed　in　a　blue　smock；　in　a　special　clean　room；　watching　UPS　employees　
replacing　motherboards　in　broken　Toshiba　laptops。　Toshiba　had　developed　an　image　
problem　several　years　ago；　with　some　customers　concluding　that　its　repair　process　
for　broken　machines　took　too　long。　So　Toshiba　came　to　UPS　and　asked　it　to　design　a　
better　system。　UPS　said；　〃Look；　instead　of　us　picking　up　the　machine　from　your　
customers；　bringing　it　to　our　hub；　then　flying　it　from　our　hub　to　your　repair　facility　
and　then　flying　it　back　to　our　hub　and　then　from　our　hub　to　your　customer's　house；　
let's　cut　out　all　the　middle　steps。　We；　UPS；　will　pick　it　up；　repair　it　ourselves；　
and　send　it　right　back　to　your　customer。〃　It　is　now　possible　to　send　your　Toshiba　
laptop　in　one　day；　get　it　repaired　the　next；　and　have　it　back　the　third　day。　The　UPS　
repairmen　and　…women　were　all　certified　by　Toshiba；　and　its　customer　complaints　went　
down　dramatically。　

packages　delivered　or　goods　repaired　quickly　anywhere　in　the　world；　you　can　act　really　
small。　
In　addition；　by　making　the　delivery　of　goods　and　services　around　the　world　
superefficient　and　superfast…and　in　huge　volumes…UPS　is　helping　to　level　customs　
barriers　and　harmonize　trade　by　getting　more　and　more　people　to　adopt　the　same　rules　
and　labels　and　tracking　systems　for　transporting　goods。　UPS　has　a　smart　label　on　all　
its　packages　so　that　package　can　be　tracked　and　traced　anywhere　in　its　network。　
Working　with　the　U。S。　Customs　Service；　UPS　designed　a　software　program　that　allows　
customs　to　say　to　UPS；　〃I　want　to　see　any　package　moving　through　your　Worldport　hub　
that　was　sent　from　Cali；　Colombia；　to　Miami　by　someone　named　Carlos。〃　Or；　〃I　want　
to　see　any　package　sent　from　Germany　to　the　United　States　by　someone　named　Osama。〃　
When　the　package　arrives　for　sorting；　the　UPS　computers　will　then　automatically　route　
that　package　to　a　customs　officer　in　the　UPS　hub。　A　computerized　arm　will　literally　
slide　it　off　the　conveyor　belt　and　dump　it　into　a　bin　for　a　closer　look。　It　makes　
the　inspection　process　more　efficient　and　does　not　interrupt　the　general　flow　of　
packages。　These　efficiencies　of　time　and　scale　save　UPS's　clients　money；　enabling　
them　to　recycle　their　capital　and　fund　more　innovation。　But　the　level　of　collaboration　
it　requires　between　UPS　and　its　clients　is　unusual。　
Plow　&　Hearth　is　a　large　national　catalog　and　Internet　retailer　specializing　in　
〃Products　for　Country　Living。〃　P&H　came　to　UPS　one　day　and　said　that　too　many　of　its　


furniture　deliveries　were　coming　to　customers　with　a　piece　broken。　Did　UPS　have　any　
ideas？　UPS　sent　its　〃package　engineers〃　over　and　conducted　a　packaging　seminar　for　
the　P&H　procurement　group。　UPS　also　provided　guidelines　for　them　to　use　in　the　
selection　of　their　suppliers。　The　objective　was　to　help　P&H　understand　that　its　
purchase　decisions　from　its　suppliers　should　be　influenced　not　only　by　the　quality　
of　the　products　being　offered　but　also　by　how　those　products　were　being　packaged　and　
delivered。　UPS　couldn't　help　its　customer　P&H　without　looking　deep　inside　itsbusiness　
and　then　into　its　suppliers'　businesses…what　boxes　and　packing　materials　they　were　
using。　That　is　insourcing。　
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Consider　the　collaboration　today　among　eBay　sellers；　UPS；　PayPal；　and　eBay　buyers。　
Say　I　offer　to　sell　a　golf　club　on　eBay　and　you　decide　to　buy　it。　I　e…mail　you　a　PayPal　
invoice；　which　has　your　name　and　mailing　address　on　it。　At　the　same　time；　eBay　offers　
me　an　icon　on　its　Web　site　to　print　out　a　UPS　mailing　label　to　you。　When　I　print　that　
mailing　label　on　my　own　printer；　it　comes　out　with　a　UPS　tracking　bar　code　on　it。　
At　the　same　time；　UPS；　through　its　computer　system；　creates　a　tracking　number　that　
corresponds　to　that　label；　which　automatically　gets　e…mailed　to　you…the　person　who　
bought　my　golf　club…so　you　can　track　the　package　by　yourself；　online；　on　a　regular　
basis　and　know　exactly　when　it　will　reach　you。　
If　UPS　had　not　gone　into　this　business；　someone　would　have　had　to　invent　it。　With　
so　many　more　people　working　through　horizontal　global　supply　chains　far　from　home；　
somebody　had　to　fill　in　the　inevitable　holes　and　tighten　the　weak　links。　Said　Kurt　
Kuehn；　UPS's　senior　vice　president　for　sales　and　marketing；　〃The　Texas　machine　parts　
guy　is　worried　that　the　customer　in　Malaysia　is　a　credit　risk。　We　step　in　as　a　trusted　
broker。　If　we　have　control　of　that　package；　we　can　collect　funds　subject　to　acceptance　
and　eliminate　letters　of　credit。　Trust　can　be　created　through　personal　relations　or　
through　systems　and　controls。　If　you　don't　have　trust；　you　can　rely　on　a　shipper　who　
does　not　turn　＇your　package＇　over　until　he　is　paid。　We　have　more　ability　than　a　bank　
to　manage　this；　because　we　have　the　package　and　the　ongoing　relationship　with　the　
customer　as　collateral；　so　we　have　two　points　of　leverage。〃　
More　than　sixty　companies　have　moved　operations　closer　to　the　UPS　hub　in　Louisville　
since　1997；　so　they　can　make　things　and　ship　them　straight　from　the　hub；　without　having　
to　warehouse　them。　But　it　is　not　just　the　little　guys　who　benefit　from　the　better　
logistics　and　more　efficient　supply　chains　that　insourcing　can　provide。　In　2001；　Ford　
Motor　Co。　turned　over　its　snarled　and　slow　distribution　network　to　UPS；　allowing　UPS　
to　come　deep　inside　Ford　to　figure　out　what　its　problems　were　and　smooth　out　its　supply　
chain。　
〃For　years；　the　bane　of　most　Ford　dealers　was　the　auto　maker's　Rube　Goldberg…like　
system　for　getting　cars　from　factory　to　showroom；〃　BusinessWeek　reported　in　its　July　
19；　2004；　issue。　〃Cars　could　take　as　
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long　as　a　month　to　arrive…that　is；　when　they　weren't　lost　along　the　way。　And　Ford　
Motor　Co。　was　not　always　able　to　tell　its　dealers　exactly　what　was　coming；　or　even　
what　was　in　inventory　at　the　nearest　rail　yards。　'We'd　lose　track　of　whole　trainloads　


of　cars；'　recalls　Jerry　Reynolds；　owner　of　Prestige　Ford　in　Garland；　Tex。　'It　was　
crazy。'〃　But　after　UPS　got　under　Ford's　hood；　〃UPS　engineers。　。　。　redesigned　Ford's　
entire　North　American　delivery　network；　streamlining　everything　from　the　route　cars　
take　from　the　factory　to　how　they're　processed　at　regional　sorting　hubs〃…　including　
pasting　bar　codes　on　the　windshields　of　the　4　million　cars　coming　out　of　Ford's　U。S。　
plants　so　they　could　be　tracked　just　like　packages。　As　a　result；　UPS　cut　the　time　
it　takes　autos　to　arrive　at　dealer　lots　by　40　percent；　to　ten　days　on　average。　
BusinessWeek　reported：　〃That　saves　Ford　millions　in　working　capital　each　year　and　
makes　it　easy　for　its　6；500　dealers　to　track　down　the　models　most　in　demand　。。。　'It　
was　the　most　amazing　transformation　I　had　ever　seen；'　marvels　Reynolds。　'My　last　
comment　to　UPS　was：　'Can　you　get　us　spare　parts　like　this？'〃　
UPS　maintains　a　think　tank；　the　Operations　Research　Division；　in　Timonium；　Maryland；　
which　works　on　supply…chain　algorithms。　This　〃school〃　of　mathematics　is　called　
〃package　flow　technology；〃　and　it　is　designed　to　constantly　match　the　deployment　of　
UPS　trucks；　ships；　airplanes；　and　sorting　capabilities　with　that　day's　flow　of　
packages　around　the　world。　〃Now　we　can　make　changes　in　our　network　in　hours　to　adjust　
to　changes　in　volume；〃　says　UPS　CEO　Eskew。　〃How　I　optimize　the　total　supply　chain　
is　the　key　to　the　math。〃　The　sixty…person　UPS　team　in　Timonium　is　made　up　largely