UPS Invests $2 Billion to Future-Proof Global Supply Chains

UPS plans to invest a total of more than $2 billion into its international, healthcare and supply chain businesses between 2024 and 2028, an executive told CNBC in a report published Monday (Aug. 24).

These investments include new hubs or facilities in the Philippines, Canada and Hong Kong; a tech-enabled logistics center in Taiwan; a supply chain solutions facility in the Netherlands; and 27 temperature-controlled facilities across its network to support its healthcare initiatives, Scott Szwast, vice president of international strategy, said in the report.

UPS is making these investments to help businesses move faster and adapt to global supply chain disruptions, to compete to meet growing demand in niche markets like cold-chain storage, and to differentiate its logistics offering by offering solutions for every step of the logistics process, according to the report.

The Taiwan logistics center’s automation and robotics have helped the entire supply chain speed up by a day, per the report.

“We’re investing to give [businesses] tailored capabilities aligned to the needs of their specific industries that cover the markets they’re increasingly sourcing from and distributing to, and do it in a way that they can make commitments to their customers,” Szwast said, per the report.

The PYMNTS Intelligence report “Middle-Market CFOs Tag Competitive Positioning Among Top Drivers of Uncertainty” found that concerns over supply chain integrity highlight how larger external factors remain on chief financial officers’ radar.

“These challenges require robust, strategic planning to mitigate uncertainty and maintain business stability,” the report said. “To navigate these uncertainties effectively, CFOs must focus on improving financial forecasting, cost control and pricing strategies.”

PYMNTS reported in January that UPS was nearing completion of its multi-year plan to slash its low-margin Amazon package volume by over 50%, resize its network and rebuild the foundation for margin-led growth by focusing on high-margin package growth areas like healthcare, small- to medium-sized business, automotive and international B2B.

In July, PYMNTS reported that UPS CEO Carol Tomé said during an earnings call that UPS is attempting to rebuild the economics of parcel delivery around a different formula of less low-return volume, more automation and a technology layer that makes its physical network visible and adaptable in near real time.