UPS will not agree to money-back guarantees if third parties use tracking data - Freightwaves
In another salvo in the decade-long, low-level war between the two leading U.S. parcel carriers and a cluster of consultancies that work on behalf of carriers’ customers to optimize their parcel shipping spend, UPS Inc. said it will not agree to provide money-bank guarantees on late or missed deliveries if customers use a third party to track UPS shipments.
The language, which began appearing within the past 30 to 60 days in an undetermined number of contracts, is couched in broad terms. There are questions as to whether shippers could bargain that language out of their contracts or whether it would withstand a legal challenge. However, the directive’s language reads that the use of a third party to track UPS shipments is “strictly prohibited” and constitutes a “breach” of its service guarantee.
Mike Erickson, president of parcel consultancy AFMS LLC, said that FedEx Corp., UPS’ chief rival, has a similar policy and that the language is becoming more commonplace in both carriers’ contracts. Tracking data is essential to verifying a carrier’s on-time delivery performance.
In another salvo in the decade-long, low-level war between the two leading U.S. parcel carriers and a cluster of consultancies that work on behalf of carriers’ customers to optimize their parcel shipping spend, UPS Inc. said it will not agree to provide money-bank guarantees on late or missed deliveries if customers use a third party to track UPS shipments.
The language, which began appearing within the past 30 to 60 days in an undetermined number of contracts, is couched in broad terms. There are questions as to whether shippers could bargain that language out of their contracts or whether it would withstand a legal challenge. However, the directive’s language reads that the use of a third party to track UPS shipments is “strictly prohibited” and constitutes a “breach” of its service guarantee.
Mike Erickson, president of parcel consultancy AFMS LLC, said that FedEx Corp., UPS’ chief rival, has a similar policy and that the language is becoming more commonplace in both carriers’ contracts. Tracking data is essential to verifying a carrier’s on-time delivery performance.
