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UPS targets small, mid-sized shippers with "green" shipping initiative

"Smart Pickup" program will save fuel and cut carbon dioxide emissions, company executives say.

Traditionally, regular shipping customers of UPS Inc. receive a daily visit from one of the company's drivers even if the customer has no packages to be picked up that day. Now, for small to mid-sized businesses, the delivery game has changed.

Unveiled last week in New York, a new service called UPS Smart Pickup ensures that a UPS driver will stop at a location for a pickup only when there is a shipment to be picked up. The Atlanta-based giant said the service, which is now in effect, is ideal for customers who want the convenience of a scheduled pickup but who may not need to ship a package every day.


The move, which is part of the company's Decision Green environmental program, is designed to help the carrier reduce the amount of fuel it burns. Company executives said the new initiative will eliminate 8 million miles from the total driven by UPS each year in the United States. UPS said it will save 793,000 gallons of fuel and cut 7,800 metric tons of CO**subscript{2} emissions as a result.

"Before UPS Smart Pickup, UPS would often arrive at a customer's location only to discover that the customer had no packages for pickup that day," said David Barnes, UPS's chief information officer, in a statement. "For the first time, a UPS service integrates the company's operational and customer-facing technology to eliminate unnecessary stops."

Barnes said a customer using existing UPS shipping technology will be able to process a package for shipment each day prior to a predetermined cutoff time. The shipping system then automatically communicates with the carrier's internal operations systems to notify drivers via their handheld computers that a pickup is required, without the need for the customer to make a phone call or schedule a shipment online. The result is that a pickup is only scheduled when a customer processes a package in a UPS shipping system, Barnes said.

Barnes said the service is a good choice for customers "interested in cost-effective ways to make environmentally responsible choices, while at the same time helping UPS reduce miles and lessen our carbon footprint." UPS will charge a weekly flat fee of $10 for the service.

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Logistics gives back: February 2025

Here's our monthly roundup of some of the charitable works and donations by companies in the material handling and logistics space.

  • For the sixth consecutive year, dedicated contract carriage and freight management services provider Transervice Logistics Inc. collected books, CDs, DVDs, and magazines for Book Fairies, a nonprofit book donation organization in the New York Tri-State area. Transervice employees broke their own in-house record last year by donating 13 boxes of print and video assets to children in under-resourced communities on Long Island and the five boroughs of New York City.
  • Logistics real estate investment and development firm Dermody Properties has recognized eight community organizations in markets where it operates with its 2024 Annual Thanksgiving Capstone awards. The organizations, which included food banks and disaster relief agencies, received a combined $85,000 in awards ranging from $5,000 to $25,000.
  • Prime Inc. truck driver Dee Sova has donated $5,000 to Harmony House, an organization that provides shelter and support services to domestic violence survivors in Springfield, Missouri. The donation follows Sova's selection as the 2024 recipient of the Trucking Cares Foundation's John Lex Premier Achievement Award, which was accompanied by a $5,000 check to be given in her name to a charity of her choice.
  • Employees of dedicated contract carrier Lily Transportation donated dog food and supplies to a local animal shelter at a holiday event held at the company's Fort Worth, Texas, location. The event, which benefited City of Saginaw (Texas) Animal Services, was coordinated by "Lily Paws," a dedicated committee within Lily Transportation that focuses on improving the lives of shelter dogs nationwide.
  • Freight transportation conglomerate Averitt has continued its support of military service members by participating in the "10,000 for the Troops" card collection program organized by radio station New Country 96.3 KSCS in Dallas/Fort Worth. In 2024, Averitt associates collected and shipped more than 18,000 holiday cards to troops overseas. Contributions included cards from 17 different Averitt facilities, primarily in Texas, along with 4,000 cards from the company's corporate office in Cookeville, Tennessee.

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