UPS Expands its Deal with Google Cloud

United Parcel Service Inc is planning to announce an expansion to its deal with Alphabet Inc’s Google Cloud as the company rolls out new data initiatives. 

As part of the extension, UPS will increase network, storage, and calculated capacity. It will continue to use Google's artificial intelligence and Machine running tools to analyze incoming data, which is expected to grow with the introduction of initiatives such as putting radio-frequency identification chips on packages. 

RFID data and other packet information are analyzed in the Harmonized Enterprise Analytics Tool of UPS developed in recent years in cooperation with Google Cloud. HEAT determines the most efficient path for packages to go from their points of origin to local delivery facilities taking into account circumstances like significant weather and traffic events.

The president of Google Cloud for North America, Kristen Kilphouse has said that the timing to expand the partnership is right and UPS in part due to the increased data points coming out of UPS’s operations and the need for deeper analysis.

Jordan Speer, a supply chain research manager at International Data Corp has said that the covid-19 pandemic, supply chain disruptions and the rise in e-commerce have spurred logistics companies to seek more detailed data on things like locations of truck and delivery routes.