Circular Thought and Growth

A Q&A on the power of the circular economy.
Jon So | Optoro

We talked recently about the UPS-Optoro campaign to enable sustainable e-commerce. But you can’t have a forward-looking conversation about sustainability without discussing the circular economy. By circular economy, we mean an economic model based on a “continuous positive development cycle that preserves and enhances natural capital, optimizes resource yields and minimizes system risks by managing […]

Building a Transparent, Digital Food Supply Chain

Consumers are demanding more information about their food products and hope to get it from mobile devices and UPC barcodes.
Andy Kennedy | FoodLogiQ

The good old UPC barcode has been around for nearly a half century, but savvy consumers are pushing hard for advancements in the way we track supply chains and deliver product information. The ubiquity of web-connected mobile devices with high-quality cameras enables mobile app developers to leverage the barcode in fresh ways. They can now […]

Decoding Harmonized Tariff Codes

In global trade, a label is more than just a label.
Bill Ansley | UPS

The word harmony itself is soothing. Think about it. Harmony evokes images of consistency, pleasure and order in chaos. If your company is shipping to other parts of the world, that order is not only appreciated but also critical. How does this apply to shippers? Through the use of harmonized tariff codes and the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS). According […]

Cash is Falling Out of Fashion – Will It Disappear Forever?

Let's take a look at the future of money.
Bhaskar Chakravorti | Tufts University

On June 27, the ATM turned 50. Former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker once described it as the “only useful innovation in banking.” But today, the cash that ATMs dispense may be on the endangered list. Cash is being displaced in so many ways that it’s hard to keep track. There are credit cards […]

Becoming Visible: Insights for Working Women From the Women of Hidden Figures

These five quotes from the acclaimed film provide valuable insight on leadership and inclusion.

Photo above: Mary Jackson adjusts a control on an instrument. Courtesy, NASA. Hidden Figures is the incredible, previously untold story of Katherine G. Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson. These three brilliant “computers” worked for NASA in the early 1960s and were the brains behind the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit. Think about it: […]

It’s Time to Turn to Asia for Growth

The Asian middle class is rapidly transforming. Is your company ready?
Tim Gohoc | UPS

In past years, Asia’s cheap labor and production methods were global differentiators that powered economic growth. But another factor is propelling China’s new growth: a middle-class expansion in Asia’s emerging markets. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development projects that the Asian middle class will reach 3.3 billion by 2030. This may result in a middle-class […]

Why Robots Should Inspire Hope, Not Fear

Robotic enhancement is revolutionizing how we work.
Stephan Howeg | The Adecco Group

The future of work looks full of promise. Combining human brainpower with artificial intelligence, virtual reality and automatization will revolutionize how we work. Already, robotic enhancement is helping humans exceed their natural capabilities. AI is opening the door to real-time, personalized intelligent services, cutting waste and maximizing results. And virtual and augmented reality are enabling […]

What’s Powering the Digital Economy?

From the data center to the cloud, analytics makes digital transactions smarter.
Alison Bolen | SAS

As the digital economy infiltrates almost every aspect of our lives – from banking and shopping to dating and learning – it begs the question: Is the digital economy simply becoming, well, the economy? Perhaps. Even more importantly, what makes the digital economy profitable? And how can you create ongoing value in the digital economy? […]

Is the Mailbox Going the Way of the Rotary Phone?

Keeping European postal infrastructure open.

PARIS – Everyone has a mailbox. But beneath their everyday veneer, mailboxes are in a state of radical transition. Just as the rotary phone was replaced by more adaptive technology, your mailbox may soon be at the center of a groundbreaking transformation. According to Copenhagen Economics, mail volumes are decreasing at a rate of roughly […]

3 Principles for Bringing Augmented Intelligence to Life Sciences

Investments in better data will drive better decision-making.

In today’s healthcare system, we are not getting value out of our spending. It’s a complex issue, with an equally complex set of potential solutions. But as the industry shifts to value-based care, we’ve reached a tipping point. It is important, now more than ever, that all players within the healthcare ecosystem are rowing together […]

Growing Global: Lessons Lived and Learned

Companies of all sizes could benefit from riding the e-commerce wave in China.
David Abney | UPS

Fifty years ago, U.S. total trade equaled $50 billion. Today we import and export more than $4 trillion annually in goods and services. A growing percentage of those U.S. exports are bound for China, as the number of Chinese middle-class consumers, along with their interest in U.S. products, continues to grow. In fact, U.S. exports […]

How IoT Challenges the Way We Measure Energy

Will the traditional electricity meter eventually disappear?
Colin I’anson | Hewlett Packard Enterprise

The revolution of connected objects brings into question the way we meter consumed energy. Smart meters have been considered the future of metering technology, but even these are now being questioned as a long-term solution. The invention of the electricity meter was vital to the development of electricity distribution by allowing customers to be billed […]

5 Trends for the Future of Manufacturing

The next Industrial Revolution will change the way we produce and consume goods.

Manufacturing is a hot topic again, undergoing the industry’s greatest change in more than 100 years. The way we build and deliver the goods and products that fuel our economies and our lives will never be the same. As Professor Klaus Schwab has articulated in his book, The Fourth Industrial Revolution, we are in the middle of […]

Sustainable E-Commerce

Against the backdrop of growing consumer demand, two logistics leaders discuss their sustainability pursuits.
Ed Rogers | UPS

Larisa Summers | Optoro

Known as the Motor City, you might not associate Detroit with sustainability. But in recent weeks, Ed Rogers, Senior Director of Global Sustainability at UPS, and Larisa Summers, Senior Vice President of e-Commerce and Marketing at Optoro, presented at the Sustainable Brands conference, right in the heart of the city synonymous with the automobile. With the […]

Can Digital Technologies Make You Tougher?

Digital technology could promote increased resilience among individuals and communities.
Josh Woodard | FHI 360

We live in an increasingly volatile and uncertain world. The risks to much of the world’s population that stem from climatic, political and economic fluctuations have played out again and again in recent years. While emergency response and humanitarian aid still have an important role to play, the development community is increasingly interested in how […]

People Analytics: Make Smarter Decisions

Finding new ways to fill the in-demand jobs of today and tomorrow.
Sarah Harden | SAS


It may seem unimaginable, but by 2030, many of the world’s largest economies will have more jobs than available people to fill them. This looming shortage points to the need for better approaches to every aspect of managing the workforce, such as talent recruitment, retention and development. In this case, “better” means more evidence-based, precise […]

Working Memory: How You Keep Things ‘In Mind’ Over the Short Term

Here's some insight on our quest to understand consciousness itself.
Alex Burmester | NYUAD

When you need to remember a phone number, a shopping list or a set of instructions, you rely on what psychologists and neuroscientists refer to as working memory. It’s the ability to hold and manipulate information in mind, over brief intervals. It’s for things that are important to you in the present moment but not […]

Finding Your Sustainability Values

Is your company missing out on sustainable opportunities?
Peter Harris | UPS

We’ve entered the season of sustainability reporting, when companies release their latest summary of achievements and provide a peek into what’s on the horizon. What typically gets less attention in these reports is how a company focuses on certain issues and, more importantly, how they develop their sustainability strategy. In many cases, companies use a […]

Collaboration for a Cleaner World

Real-world partnerships are delivering unexpected results.
Mike Britt | UPS

I live about 40 miles from work. If I leave at 6 a.m. when the morning rush begins, it takes me an hour to get to the office. And it takes me 70 minutes to get home if I leave at 5 p.m. This is the norm for the average commuter in Atlanta. Without changes, […]

Sustainability at UPS: The Road Ahead

Setting goals is the easy part. We’re getting to work on an ambitious sustainability agenda.

For more than a century, UPS has been helping people and businesses move goods by focusing on the road ahead — both literally and figuratively. Our success reflects relentless attention to emerging trends, innovative ideas and transformative technologies that enable global commerce, growth and sustainable solutions. Our 15th annual Sustainability Report, published Tuesday, reflects this […]

Canada is Open for Business

Assessing Canada’s changing trade landscape can help uncover new international business opportunities.
Aylin Lusi | UPS Canada

According to the World Bank’s Doing Business 2017 ranking, Canada is the second best place in the world for starting a business, and let’s face it – the reasons are quite clear. Beyond the federal government’s plan to advance trade, Canada is located next to one of the world’s largest economies and has access to […]

Enterprise IT at Cloud Speed

Here's why hybrid IT speed is critical for business success.
Markus Herber | Hewlett Packard Enterprise

In digital business, speed is critical to gaining a competitive advantage. That’s why rapid software development concepts such as DevOps and Continuous Delivery are gaining popularity. This requires a shift in mindset by IT departments – so-called “cloud speed” must also be possible in the enterprise data center. According to a recent Oxford Economics study, […]

What Skydiving Taught Me About Mentorship

Personal growth begins with humility.
Diana Tsai | Veterati

I had an epiphany about mentorship after throwing myself out of a plane (solo) at 13,000 feet on my seventh skydive in three days. To learn how to skydive solo, you take the Accelerated Free Fall course. It is four to five hours of coaching, plus seven levels and takes about a week. You can […]

3 Questions to Help You Live a Purposeful Life

Finding the right answers in life often starts with asking the right questions.
Paolo Gallo | World Economic Forum

My dad made a major commitment to my twin sister and I when he promised to be there for our first day of school. He worked in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and only came back home to Milan, Italy, twice a year, in August and at Christmas. So the big day finally came, but when we […]

A Greener Fashion Industry – and a Brighter Future

This is what a sustainability makeover looks like.
JK Rha | UPS

Sustainability is a buzzword in today’s business world. That’s because it’s no longer a choice – but a requirement – for remaining competitive in the retail industry. But what does sustainability actually mean for businesses? Sustainability is often about creating or doing less throughout the product lifecycle: less waste, lower emissions and fewer impacts. It also means […]

America Deserves a Modern Transportation System

Here are five ways to improve transportation and infrastructure in the e-commerce era.
Tom Jensen | UPS

At UPS, we see the impacts of lagging infrastructure investment in real time, as 85,000 UPS drivers hit the roads every day. Congestion comes with costs  —  if our fleet is delayed by an extra five minutes every day, it costs us more than $100 million annually. And the impact is seen in more than […]

How to Read a Cardboard Box

Every box tells a story if you know how to decipher it.
Mary Roach | Bestselling Author

People whose profession involves cardboard boxes — making, packing and shipping things in them — don’t say cardboard box. That’s a layman’s term, vague and imprecise. Professionals say corrugated fiberboard container. Even that is imprecise. Do you mean singlewall corrugated fiberboard or doublewall – that is, is there one layer of corrugation between two linerboards […]

Global E-Commerce Fraud – Are Your Customers Real?

Here are four tips to reduce risk in the e-commerce space.

E-commerce brings many opportunities to quickly reach more customers nationwide and across the globe. It also brings risks of domestic and international fraud. In the U.S., online fraud increased 39 percent between January and June last year, according to the October 2016 Global Fraud Attack Index. Global e-commerce certainly carries risk, as well as opportunity. […]

Evolving Nanoscale Communication

As molecular biology, nanoscale engineering and robotics converge, we can better target problems in the human body.
Mike Liebhold | Institute for the Future

Today networks of smart devices have already transformed our world, and we’re just starting to connect our bodies to them in meaningful ways. We see signs that we might be able to create new bio-based networks inside our own bodies and manipulate the ones already there. As molecular biology, nanoscale engineering and robotics converge, we […]

Gearing Up for 21st Century Supply Chains

Intuitive networks hold great potential for businesses — if they seize the opportunity.
Juan Perez | UPS

The way we move goods has never been static. In the 1940s, innovation meant streamlining processes with forklifts and ocean-bound shipping containers. Then computers brought ones and zeros into the mix, and suddenly we could make better, faster decisions to modernize our supply chains. Our systems are getting smarter every day, with decades of progress […]