UPS invests $200m in global wireless push

Parcels giant UPS is making a $200m global investment in Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and cellular wireless technology - a move that should put an end to delays caused by snapped connector cables linking workers' equipment.

In Europe, 73 parcel sorting centres and some 10,000 delivery drivers will by the end of 2005 use wireless devices. UPS, with annual revenues of around $33bn, reckons that should speed up package-tracking and enable customised services.

The first phase of the largely in-house project will involve equipping package sorters with Bluetooth barcode scanners - worn on a middle finger - that send tracking data to Wi-Fi transmitters worn on belts. Previously, scanners were connected to data collection devices by cables that proved easily breakable.

UPS expects to reduce repair costs by 35 per cent and gain similar savings on the cost of spare equipment as well as improved uptime from the project, which the company says will create the largest Wi-Fi network in the world, connecting 55,000 devices when it is complete in 2007.

In addition, company drivers will this month begin to take delivery of UPS-designed handheld data-collection terminals called DIAD IV. The frisbee-sized devices, developed with Motorola and Symbol Technologies at a total cost of $100m, can be connected to Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) networks.

Faster data collection means UPS can let addressees know in advance that they can expect to receive a parcel and when it will arrive, said UPS CEO Mike Eskew.

"Visibility has already allowed us to improve our service and cut costs [of customer queries] from $2 to one penny," he said. Drivers will also be able to transmit parcel data directly into customers' systems when they make deliveries using Bluetooth and Wi-Fi technologies.

Information about routes and how to pack a vehicle will be downloaded to the DIAD IV terminals. The company also plans DIAD IV terminals to connect via satellites using global positioning system (GPS) so it will be possible to tell drivers if they are in the right place for a particular delivery.