UPS Inc. and consumer-to-consumer package delivery company Polonez Parcel Service, which serves 31 European countries, have announced an agreement under which Polonez's U.S. customers can drop off Europe-bound parcels at UPS' 8,700 alternative pickup and delivery locations in the U.S., known as "Access Points."
Under the service, consumers using Polonez can tender shipments at locations that include nearly 5,000 UPS Store retail outlets and an array of locations such as dry cleaners, hardware stores, convenience stores, and other neighborhood retail establishments.
"The UPS Access Point locations augment our existing Authorized Shipping Outlet network and give us extensive coverage for convenient and cost-effective connections, so our consumers can ship to more than 30 countries," said Tom Nightingale, Polonez's CEO, in a statement.
Polonez, headquartered in West Springfield, Mass., consolidates all shipments at its facility there. It then arranges for air and ocean transport to its European clearance hub in Poland. Once de-consolidated, the parcels are tendered to the company's last-mile carrier partners for delivery across Europe. Nightingale said the service is ideal for consumers who can wait 10 to 18 days for air shipments or 4 to 7 weeks for ocean transit. Polonez touts itself as the leading consumer-to-consumer (C2C) delivery service into Poland.
The company is seeking to tap into a burgeoning market for shipping by foreign-born U.S. residents. There are more than 43 million U.S. residents not born in this country, according to data from the Migration Policy Institute.
