UPS 2008 Annual Report Download - page 19

We have approximately 2,900 pilots who are employed under a collective bargaining agreement with the
Independent Pilots Association (“IPA”). The current contract becomes amendable at the end of 2011. Our airline
mechanics are covered by a collective bargaining agreement with Teamsters Local 2727, which became
amendable on November 1, 2006. We began formal negotiations with Teamsters Local 2727 in October 2006. In
addition, the majority of our ground mechanics who are not employed under agreements with the Teamsters are
employed under collective bargaining agreements with the International Association of Machinists and
Aerospace Workers (approximately 3,000). These agreements run through July 31, 2009.
We believe that our relations with our employees are good. We survey all our employees to determine their
level of job satisfaction. Areas of concern receive management attention as we strive to keep UPS the employer
of choice among our employees.
We consistently receive numerous awards and wide recognition as an employer-of-choice, resulting in part
from our emphasis on diversity and corporate citizenship.
Competition
We are the largest package delivery company in the world, in terms of both revenue and volume. We offer a
broad array of services in the package and freight delivery industry and, therefore, compete with many different
local, regional, national and international companies. Our competitors include worldwide postal services, various
motor carriers, express companies, freight forwarders, air couriers and others. Through our supply chain service
offerings, we compete with a number of participants in the supply chain, financial services and information
technology industries.
Competitive Strengths
Our competitive strengths include:
Integrated Global Network. We believe that our integrated global ground and air network is the most
extensive in the industry. It is the only network that handles all levels of service (air, ground, domestic,
international, commercial, residential) through a single pickup and delivery service system.
Our sophisticated engineering systems allow us to optimize our network efficiency and asset utilization on a
daily basis. This unique, integrated global business model creates consistent and superior returns.
We believe we have the most comprehensive integrated delivery and information services portfolio of any
carrier in Europe. In other regions of the world, we rely on both our own and local service providers’ capabilities
to meet our service commitments.
Leading-edge Technology. We are a global leader in developing technology that helps our customers
optimize their shipping and logistics business processes to lower costs, improve service and increase efficiency.
Technology powers virtually every service we offer and every operation we perform. Our technology
initiatives are driven by our customers’ needs. We offer a variety of on-line service options that enable our
customers to integrate UPS functionality into their own businesses not only to conveniently send, manage and
track their shipments, but to provide their customers with better information services. We provide the
infrastructure for an Internet presence that extends to tens of thousands of customers who have integrated UPS
tools directly into their own web sites.
Broad Portfolio of Services. Our portfolio of services enables customers to choose the delivery option that
is most appropriate for their requirements. Increasingly, our customers benefit from business solutions that
integrate many UPS services in addition to package delivery. For example, our supply chain services—such as
freight forwarding, customs brokerage, order fulfillment, and returns management—help improve the efficiency
of the supply chain management process.
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