UPS COMPETES GLOBALLY WITH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Djenane Jeanty
MCAP303
Professor V. Hadzi-Jordanov
Assignment I
10.21.12
UPS COMPETES GLOBALLY WITH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
What are the inputs, processing, and outputs of UPS’s package tracking system?
Inputs: UPS use a very advanced technology system to track package delivery. The inputs of UPS package tracking start with the scannable bar-coded label attached to the package (Laudon and Laudon, 2012). It contains detailed information about where the package came from (sender), the destination of the package, and when the package should arrive. As soon as the driver logs on, his day’s route is downloaded onto a handheld computer called DIAD (Laudon and Laudon, 2012). The inputs include package information, customer signature, pickup, delivery, time-card data, current location (while en route), and billing and customer clearance documentation.
Processing: Before the package is even picked up, the data from the scannable bar coded label is transmitted to one of UPS’s computer centers in Mahwah, New Jersey, or Alpharetta, Georgia and sent to the distribution center nearest its final destination. Dispatchers at this center download the data from the label and use special software to create the most efficient delivery route for each driver that considers traffic, the weather, and the location of each stop. After UPS driver checks out DIAD, which automatically captures customers’ signatures along with pickup and delivery information, package tracking information is then transmitted to UPS’s computer network for storage and processing (Laudon and Laudon, 2012). The data are transmitted to a central computer and stored for retrieval. Data are also reorganized so that they can be tracked by customer account, date, driver, and other criteria such as the consolidation of orders for efficient final delivery of packages.
Outputs: The information on the UPS computer network can then be accessed worldwide to provide delivery information to customers or to respond to
MCAP303
Professor V. Hadzi-Jordanov
Assignment I
10.21.12
UPS COMPETES GLOBALLY WITH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
What are the inputs, processing, and outputs of UPS’s package tracking system?
Inputs: UPS use a very advanced technology system to track package delivery. The inputs of UPS package tracking start with the scannable bar-coded label attached to the package (Laudon and Laudon, 2012). It contains detailed information about where the package came from (sender), the destination of the package, and when the package should arrive. As soon as the driver logs on, his day’s route is downloaded onto a handheld computer called DIAD (Laudon and Laudon, 2012). The inputs include package information, customer signature, pickup, delivery, time-card data, current location (while en route), and billing and customer clearance documentation.
Processing: Before the package is even picked up, the data from the scannable bar coded label is transmitted to one of UPS’s computer centers in Mahwah, New Jersey, or Alpharetta, Georgia and sent to the distribution center nearest its final destination. Dispatchers at this center download the data from the label and use special software to create the most efficient delivery route for each driver that considers traffic, the weather, and the location of each stop. After UPS driver checks out DIAD, which automatically captures customers’ signatures along with pickup and delivery information, package tracking information is then transmitted to UPS’s computer network for storage and processing (Laudon and Laudon, 2012). The data are transmitted to a central computer and stored for retrieval. Data are also reorganized so that they can be tracked by customer account, date, driver, and other criteria such as the consolidation of orders for efficient final delivery of packages.
Outputs: The information on the UPS computer network can then be accessed worldwide to provide delivery information to customers or to respond to
References: Kenneth C. Laudon and Jane P. Laudon (2012) Management Information Systems-Managing the Digital Firm 12th ed.