UPS takes wireless to the next level

United Parcel Service (UPS) is widely recognized for its brown trucks that move more than 13 million packages a day, but among the IT community the company is better known for its cutting edge use of wireless technology. The $30 billion global package delivery service has been a pioneer in adopting wireless to streamline its business, and is about to launch the fruits of its next generation, $120 million end-to-end wireless network. This ongoing effort to leverage wireless technology makes UPS a stellar example of "Wireless that Works."

Four years ago, UPS put out a request for proposal (RFP) to migrate all of its wireless terminals to more standards-based, cost-effective technology. At the core of the RFP were the relatively nascent Bluetooth, WiFi (802.11), and GPRS and CDMA/1XRTT wireless technologies.

The RFP was part of UPS's corporate practice of refreshing its technology platforms every three years, and integral to a five-year plan to create a standards-based wireless platform-called UPS Standard Terminal Platform (SteP)-- for every facet of its business, according to Dave Salzman, project manager for the revamped wireless system. Today, UPS is set to replace up to 200,000 terminals used across all its business processes, from pick up and sorting to transportation and delivery.

"We deployed the first wearable scanner system in 1996, and the system consisted of a wearable terminal and a scanner, with a wire between the two," Salzman said. "We recognized that the wire between scanner and terminal was a clear weakness. Losing the wire was our number one objective, as well as reducing the number of trips that terminals had to make for repair. That's where Bluetooth came in."

Currently, 300 package loaders at four UPS hub facilities are testing the new wireless application, called UPScan. A pager-size cordless scanner worn on the loader's hand captures data from a package bar code and transmits the data via Bluetooth to a Symbol Technologies wireless terminal worn on the loader's waist. The terminal then sends the data to a local server via 802.11b access points.

		Case Study: United Parcel Service Headquarters: Atlanta, Georgia Business: This $30 billion company is the world's largest package delivery firm and a leading global provider of specialized transportation and logistics services. Chief Information Officer: Kenneth W. Lacy Project Manager: Dave Salzman Goal: To develop and deploy UPScan, a system that streamlines business practices and reduces costs by migrating the 200,000 terminals used in the company's pick-up, sorting, transportation and delivery to standards-based platforms. Technology platforms: Bluetooth, 802.11b, Windows CE, GPRS, CDMA/1XRTT, GPS Results: The elimination of cables that connect scanners, workstations and handhelds is expected to reduce repair costs by 30 percent and spare equipment costs by 35 percent. UPScan is expected to increase package loader productivity by 35 percent. Cost: $120 million budget over five years Future Plans: UPS plans to deploy UPScan company-wide in 1,700 facilities beginning in June.

UPS plans to deploy UPScan company-wide for about 55,000 wearable scanning devices beginning in June. When the deployment is finished, UPS will have about 15,000 access points across 1,700 locations.

Given the security concerns around wireless networks, UPS is using Symbol's proprietary MobiusGuard technology for now. "We have the capability to upgrade our access points when standard emerge like 802.11i, and we are evaluating Wireless Protected Access (WPA)," Salzman said.

It's a bit early to calculate exact return on investment for UPScan, but Salzman is confident the investment will pay immediate dividends. UPScan is expected to increase package loader productivity by 35 percent because the loaders will experience far less downtime due to repairs and battery replacement, Salzman said. The Bluetooth scanner has twice the battery life (six hours) of the previous generation scanner.

As a part of the $120 million project, UPS is also upgrading its nearly 12,000 GPRS-enabled Delivery Information Access Devices (DIADs), which are used by the drivers to scan packages. The new fourth-generation DIAD system uses GPRS and CDMA/1XRTT wireless technologies, as well as GPS, to create a real-time data feed. When a driver enters a UPS facility, the information stored in the DIAD is automatically updated to the host system via WiFi.

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The device also includes Bluetooth for communicating with peripheral devices, such as printers, and Bluetooth-enabled computers.. The GPS capability will allow drivers to access more detailed directions to pick-up and deliver locations. The new DIADs, built by Motorola and Symbol, will be tested throughout the summer and rolled out next year.

In addition, UPS recently launched its SMS (Short Message Service) Tracking Service in eight Asian countries, enabling customers to track package delivery status using a mobile phone.

The comprehensive wireless system also allows package information to be updated on the UPS website so customers can track their shipments in real time. The integration point for all the origin, transport and delivery tracking data is IBM mainframe systems and a 43-terabyte DB2 database. With WiFi installed in 2,000 UPS locations, Salzman said that the company would use Tivoli NetView and a proprietary system from Symbol Technologies, called AirBEAM software suite, to manage the farflung wireless network.

Another aspect of the $120 million project was establishing a standard terminal software platform. "In the mid-nineties, we had situation with 200,000 terminals with18 different models by 13 different vendors. The support issues were numerous, so we decided to standardize on three different terminals, all in same hardware and OS family," Salzman said. "We selected Windows CE mostly through direction from industrial terminal vendors. It has rich connectivity options, good real-time, and characteristics for multithreaded operations. We also have about 2,000 developers at UPS, predominately using Windows, so we saw a lot of skill-set sharing. It also puts in a good situation from competitive bidding by having standard operating platform."

You can expect the next generation of UPS's technology platform to continue pushing the wireless envelope, but not crashing and burning. "We try to stay close with key vendors like Cisco and Symbol Technologies. We look at their roadmap and collaborate with them, so that by the time products are introduced they will be mainstream. WiFi, for example, was a good bet, but if WiFi didn't take off and rest of world did not adopt it, we would have used it."

That's the kind of pioneering attitude that will keep UPS in the driver's seat, and help drive the industry toward a future of seamless wireless connectivity around the world.

Janice Hui contributed to this story.

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