UPS and Yahoo! offer integrated shipping tools
UPS and Yahoo! Inc. have announced the integration of a suite of online UPS shipping tools into Yahoo! Small Business, a leading provider of services enabling small businesses to be successful online.
The tools, now available to Yahoo! Small Business’ more than 30,000 merchants, provide easy access to UPS services that allow them to process and ship orders in a more efficient and cost-effective manner, while improving customer satisfaction by displaying key shipment information at check out.
“Our merchants rely on Yahoo! Small Business to bring them powerful and comprehensive tools to help them conduct online business easily and efficiently,” said Rich Riley, general manager and vice president of Yahoo! Small Business. “With the help of UPS, we have streamlined and greatly improved the shipping capabilities available to our merchants, reinforcing our commitment to provide small businesses with the innovative tools they need to improve their productivity and customer satisfaction.”
The UPS OnLine® Tools can be accessed in Yahoo!’s order management system and include:
Shipping – to process shipments and print labels;
Tracking – to allow package tracking by both merchants and purchasers;
Rates and Service Selection – to allow Yahoo! merchants real-time access to UPS shipping rates for their customers;
Time in Transit – to compare the speed of different UPS shipping services;
Address Validation – to ensure shipping addresses are correct at time of order and reduce costly delayed and returned shipments.
Additionally, high volume Yahoo! merchants will have access to import and export processing into UPS WorldShip®, eliminating address key entry and allowing merchants to easily download customer orders.
The integration allows UPS OnLine Tools to be easily available at the point of transaction in one location for Yahoo! Small Business merchants. UPS OnLine Tools were introduced in 1999 and are used by nearly 200,000 customers in 40 countries.
“By integrating UPS OnLine Tools, Yahoo! Small Business has created efficiencies in our shipping process and saved me a lot of time,” said George Pappas, owner of CollectorsParadise.com, a customer of Yahoo! Small Business and UPS. “Previously, I had to cut and paste data into various applications and toggle between different screens. This integration automatically populates the shipping screen and records the tracking number within the order. The result is improved productivity and accuracy in my shipping.”
Jordan Colletta, UPS vice president of e-commerce marketing, said the integration is an excellent example of UPS’s strategy of embedding easy-to-use, UPS-enabled e-commerce solutions to serve customers where they do business.
“Approximately one in eight online stores is hosted by Yahoo! Small Business, so this is a great relationship for us,” Colletta said. “Working with industry-leading providers like Yahoo! Small Business allows us to expand our reach while adding value to their applications.”
Yahoo! Small Business merchants can use the UPS OnLine Tools themselves for easy shipment processing, as well as provide the option for their customers to view Rates and Services and Time in Transit tools from the merchant’s site.
In addition to the integration for Yahoo! Small Business merchants, UPS Tracking, Rates & Service and Time in Transit Tools are available for general business and individual use within the Yahoo! Small Business Shipping Center.
