the.world.is.flat-第41章

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using。　That　is　insourcing。　
146　
Consider　the　collaboration　today　among　eBay　sellers；　UPS；　PayPal；　and　eBay　buyers。　
Say　I　offer　to　sell　a　golf　club　on　eBay　and　you　decide　to　buy　it。　I　e…mail　you　a　PayPal　
invoice；　which　has　your　name　and　mailing　address　on　it。　At　the　same　time；　eBay　offers　
me　an　icon　on　its　Web　site　to　print　out　a　UPS　mailing　label　to　you。　When　I　print　that　
mailing　label　on　my　own　printer；　it　comes　out　with　a　UPS　tracking　bar　code　on　it。　
At　the　same　time；　UPS；　through　its　computer　system；　creates　a　tracking　number　that　
corresponds　to　that　label；　which　automatically　gets　e…mailed　to　you…the　person　who　
bought　my　golf　club…so　you　can　track　the　package　by　yourself；　online；　on　a　regular　
basis　and　know　exactly　when　it　will　reach　you。　
If　UPS　had　not　gone　into　this　business；　someone　would　have　had　to　invent　it。　With　
so　many　more　people　working　through　horizontal　global　supply　chains　far　from　home；　
somebody　had　to　fill　in　the　inevitable　holes　and　tighten　the　weak　links。　Said　Kurt　
Kuehn；　UPS's　senior　vice　president　for　sales　and　marketing；　〃The　Texas　machine　parts　
guy　is　worried　that　the　customer　in　Malaysia　is　a　credit　risk。　We　step　in　as　a　trusted　
broker。　If　we　have　control　of　that　package；　we　can　collect　funds　subject　to　acceptance　
and　eliminate　letters　of　credit。　Trust　can　be　created　through　personal　relations　or　
through　systems　and　controls。　If　you　don't　have　trust；　you　can　rely　on　a　shipper　who　
does　not　turn　＇your　package＇　over　until　he　is　paid。　We　have　more　ability　than　a　bank　
to　manage　this；　because　we　have　the　package　and　the　ongoing　relationship　with　the　
customer　as　collateral；　so　we　have　two　points　of　leverage。〃　
More　than　sixty　companies　have　moved　operations　closer　to　the　UPS　hub　in　Louisville　
since　1997；　so　they　can　make　things　and　ship　them　straight　from　the　hub；　without　having　
to　warehouse　them。　But　it　is　not　just　the　little　guys　who　benefit　from　the　better　
logistics　and　more　efficient　supply　chains　that　insourcing　can　provide。　In　2001；　Ford　
Motor　Co。　turned　over　its　snarled　and　slow　distribution　network　to　UPS；　allowing　UPS　
to　come　deep　inside　Ford　to　figure　out　what　its　problems　were　and　smooth　out　its　supply　
chain。　
〃For　years；　the　bane　of　most　Ford　dealers　was　the　auto　maker's　Rube　Goldberg…like　
system　for　getting　cars　from　factory　to　showroom；〃　BusinessWeek　reported　in　its　July　
19；　2004；　issue。　〃Cars　could　take　as　
147　
long　as　a　month　to　arrive…that　is；　when　they　weren't　lost　along　the　way。　And　Ford　
Motor　Co。　was　not　always　able　to　tell　its　dealers　exactly　what　was　coming；　or　even　
what　was　in　inventory　at　the　nearest　rail　yards。　'We'd　lose　track　of　whole　trainloads　


of　cars；'　recalls　Jerry　Reynolds；　owner　of　Prestige　Ford　in　Garland；　Tex。　'It　was　
crazy。'〃　But　after　UPS　got　under　Ford's　hood；　〃UPS　engineers。　。　。　redesigned　Ford's　
entire　North　American　delivery　network；　streamlining　everything　from　the　route　cars　
take　from　the　factory　to　how　they're　processed　at　regional　sorting　hubs〃…　including　
pasting　bar　codes　on　the　windshields　of　the　4　million　cars　coming　out　of　Ford's　U。S。　
plants　so　they　could　be　tracked　just　like　packages。　As　a　result；　UPS　cut　the　time　
it　takes　autos　to　arrive　at　dealer　lots　by　40　percent；　to　ten　days　on　average。　
BusinessWeek　reported：　〃That　saves　Ford　millions　in　working　capital　each　year　and　
makes　it　easy　for　its　6；500　dealers　to　track　down　the　models　most　in　demand　。。。　'It　
was　the　most　amazing　transformation　I　had　ever　seen；'　marvels　Reynolds。　'My　last　
comment　to　UPS　was：　'Can　you　get　us　spare　parts　like　this？'〃　
UPS　maintains　a　think　tank；　the　Operations　Research　Division；　in　Timonium；　Maryland；　
which　works　on　supply…chain　algorithms。　This　〃school〃　of　mathematics　is　called　
〃package　flow　technology；〃　and　it　is　designed　to　constantly　match　the　deployment　of　
UPS　trucks；　ships；　airplanes；　and　sorting　capabilities　with　that　day's　flow　of　
packages　around　the　world。　〃Now　we　can　make　changes　in　our　network　in　hours　to　adjust　
to　changes　in　volume；〃　says　UPS　CEO　Eskew。　〃How　I　optimize　the　total　supply　chain　
is　the　key　to　the　math。〃　The　sixty…person　UPS　team　in　Timonium　is　made　up　largely　
of　people　with　engineering　and　math　degrees；　including　several　Ph。D。's。　
UPS　also　employs　its　own　meteorologists　and　strategic　threat　analysts　to　track　which　
atmospheric　or　geopolitical　thunderstorms　it　will　have　to　work　around　on　any　given　
day。　To　further　grease　its　supply　chains；　UPS　is　the　largest　private　user　of　wireless　
technology　in　the　world；　as　its　drivers　alone　make　over　1　million　phone　calls　a　day　
in　the　process　ofpicking　up　and　delivering　packages　through　its　eighty…eight　thousand　
package　cars；　vans；　tractors；　and　motorcycles。　On　any　given　day；　according　to　UPS；　
2　percent　of　the　world's　GDP　can　be　found　in　UPS　delivery　trucks　or　package　cars。　
Oh；　and　did　I　mention　that　UPS　also　has　a　financing　

arm…UPS　Capital…that　will　put　up　the　money　for　the　transformation　of　your　supply　chain；　
particularly　if　you　are　a　small　business　and　don't　have　the　capital。　
For　example；　notes　Eskew；　UPS　was　doing　business　with　a　small　biotech　company　in　Canada　
that　sold　blood　adhesives；　a　highly　perishable　alternative　to　stitches。　The　company　
had　a　growing　market　among　the　major　hospital　chains；　but　it　had　a　problem　keeping　
up　with　demand　and　could　not　get　financing。　It　had　distribution　centers　on　the　East　
and　West　coasts。　UPS　redesigned　the　company's　system　based　around　a　refrigerator　hub　
in　Dallas　and　extended　it　financing　through　UPS　Capital。　The　result；　said　Eskew；　was　
less　inventory；　better　cash　flow；　better　customer　service…and　an　embedded　customer　
for　UPS。　A　maker　of　bridal　headpieces　and　veils　in　Montreal　wanted　to　improve　its　
flow　of　business　with　the　U。S。　Eskew　recalled；　〃We　designed　a　system　for　consolidated　
＇customs＇　clearances；　so　their　veils　and　headpieces　would　not　have　to　come　over　＇the　
border＇　one　by　one。　And　then　we　put　＇the　merchandise＇　in　a　warehouse　in　＇upstate＇　
New　York。　We　took　the　orders　by　Internet；　we　put　the　labels　on；　we　delivered　the　
packages　and　collected　the　money；　and　we　put　that　money　through　UPS　Capital　into　their　
banks　electronically　so　they　had　the　cash　back。　That　allows　them　to　enter　new　markets　


and　minimize　their　inventory。〃　
Eskew　explained；　〃When　our　grandfathers　owned　shops；　inventory　was　what　was　in　the　
back　room。　Now　it　is　a　box　two　hours　away　on　a　package　car；　or　it　might　be　hundreds　
more　crossing　the　country　by　rail　or　jet；　and　you　have　thousands　more　crossing　the　
ocean。　And　because　we　all　have　visibility　into　that　supply　chain；　we　can　coordinate　
all　those　modes　of　transportation。〃　
Indeed；　as　consumers　have　become　more　empowered　to　pull　their　own　products　via　the　
Internet　and　customize　them　for　themselves；　UPS　has　found　itself　in　the　interesting　
position　of　being　not　only　the　company　actually　taking　the　orders　but　also；　as　the　
delivery　service；　the　one　handingthe　goodsto　the　buyer　at　the　front　door。　As　a　result；　
companies　said；　〃Let's　try　to　push　as　many　differentiating　things　to　the　end　of　the　
supply　chain；　rather　than　the　beginning。〃　And　because　UPS　was　the　last　link　in　the　
supply　chain　before　these　goods　were　loaded　onto　planes；　trains；　and　

trucks；　it　took　over　many　of　these　functions；　creating　a　whole　new　business　called　
End　of　Runway　Services。　The　day　I　visited　Louisville；　two　young　UPS　women　were　putting　
together　Nikon　cameras；　with　special　memory　cards　and　leather　cases；　which　some　store　
had　offered　as　a　weekend　special。　They　were　even　putting　them　in　special　boxes　just　
for　that　store。　By　taking　over　this　function；　UPS　gives　companies　more　options　to　
customize　products　at　the　last　minute。　
UPS　has　also　taken　full　advantage　of　the　Netscape　and　work　flow　flat…teners。　Before　
1995；　all　tracking　and　tracing　of　UPS　packages　for　customers　was　done　through　a　call　
center。　You　called　a　UPS　800　number　and　asked　an　operator　where　your　package　was。　
During　the　week　before　Christmas；　UPS　operators　were　fielding　six　hundred　thousand　
calls　on　the　peak　days。　Each　one　of　those　calls　cost　UPS　2。10　to　handle。　Then；　through　
the　1990s；　as　more　and　more　UPS　customers　became　empowered　and　co