UPS has put a comprehensive logistics plan into action to deliver Apple’s new iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro and iPad Air devices to stores, distribution centers and customers in more than 20 countries over the last few days.
The US company said it is a ‘major carrier’ involved in the US and international launch of the new iPhone and iPad products last Friday (October 23) and had “worked for weeks” to ensure that pre-ordered devices are delivered to customers and retail stores as promised.
“We are using the full power of UPS’s global logistics network, our people and our technology to ensure customers are delighted with our service when they receive their new products,” said UPS Airlines President Brendan Canavan.
“It really is a symphony,” added UPS Customer Solutions Director Julie McKenzie. “The strength and resilience of the teams working together is amazing.”
Teamwork across different business areas
Supporting the launch of a new Apple product requires a wide variety of UPS services, including Global Freight Forwarding, UPS Airlines and Small Package ground delivery, the company explained. Its Customer Solutions and Program Management group is the ‘conductor’, directing a complex special operating plan.
Both UPS Worldport, the global air hub in Louisville, Kentucky, and UPS Airlines play a pivotal role in the launch. UPS Airlines and charter cargo jets transport phone shipments, pre-positioning the products in the U.S. before launch day.
The Worldport hub ran a special sort, dedicated solely to sorting iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro and iPad Air shipments.
On Oct. 22, the day prior to the launch, package handlers at Worldport unloaded hundreds of thousands of shipments onto conveyor belts for sorting throughout the 5.2 million square foot facility. They included both single devices destined for customers, and larger shipments of phones to Apple Stores and other retailers.
“It’s a big launch, it’s a lot of package volume, which is why we have the special sort dedicated just to Apple shipments. We add additional employees to our small package sort, giving us the capability to support this launch,” Worldport Second Day Air Hub Manager Garry Kelley said.
While that experience is important, every launch is different with different logistics requirements. But the end goal always is the same. “We’re obsessed with providing perfect service. That’s what drives us,” McKenzie said.
As previously reported by CEP-Research, Apple has reorganized part of its logistics operations for the iPhone 12 launch, shipping directly to customers in the US and Canada from its own network of 300 retail stores in the two countries. FedEx is handling US distribution while UPS is delivering the goods in Canada. Apple is expected to have shipped about 50 million new iPhone 12s in total for the international product launch.
