UPS Cancels Online Delivery Service
United Parcel Service is discontinuing OnLine Courier, the electronic delivery service that had enabled customers to send critical, time-sensitive documents via the Internet.
In an announcement on its Web site, the package delivery company said that effective September 1, customers will no longer be able to send e-packages or access information to track previously sent packages.
The U.S. Postal Service discontinued a similar service earlier this year, according to a spokesperson.
Federal Express spokesperson Jim McCluskey said that FedEx never offered such a service. “We looked at it but decided it was not in our best interest to pursue it,” he said.
UPS spokesperson Laurie Mallis said that customers were looking for more customized alternatives, such as the company’s Document Exchange Invoices, which simplify the e-billing process by enabling legal departments to receive electronic invoices in their required format.
Nevertheless, Mallis said, UPS does not plan to expand the DEI service to other industries at this time.
OnLine Courier
The OnLine Courier service, announced with fanfare four years ago, provided a secure and reliable alternative to overnight letter service, traditional e-mail, fax, and first-class mail, according to UPS.
OnLine Courier permitted customers to send documents to anyone, regardless of the e-mail software, operating system, or hardware used by the sender or the recipient. It also enabled customers to track the documents to make sure they were received.
When the service was first announced, company officials said customer response had been “overwhelming” and they expected it to “change the way business is done on a global basis.”
That didn’t happen, said Donald Broughton, an analyst at A.G. Edwards & Sons in St. Louis. “They made an investment, but didn’t get any return,” he says.
John Fontanella, an analyst at AMR Research in Boston, said that he could never figure out the value of online document exchange. “No one ever [discusses] shipping documents via UPS,” he said.
