Atlanta-based United Parcel Service (UPS) has opened a new contract logistics distribution facility in Beijing, China.
The 6,500 square meters of non-bonded warehouse space located 19 kilometers from Beijing Capital International Airport can serve contract logistics orders with four-hour delivery within the metropolitan Beijing area and next-business-day orders for major cities throughout China.
“The Beijing facility is the latest addition to UPS’s portfolio of contract logistics facilities nationwide, which strengthens our integrated China network,” said Craig Foster, UPS Asia Pacific senior vice president of supply chain and healthcare logistics.
Additionally, the firm has expanded its post-sales services in China. This network now provides same-day critical-parts delivery within the metro area in 87 cities throughout China.
The opening of the Beijing facility follows closely the opening of similar UPS distribution centers in Chengdu and Shanghai in 2013. Together, the centers support industries in China, including high-tech, industrial manufacturing, aerospace, and retail.
According to market research firm Transport Intelligence, China is expected to overtake Japan in becoming the largest contract logistics market in the Asia-Pacific region by 2016, driven by rising domestic consumption from a growing middle class and the gradual move of Chinese businesses up the value chain.
In addition, UPS has developed its gateways in central and western China with flights connecting Chengdu and Zhengzhou to its global network. With dedicated healthcare facilities in Hangzhou and Shanghai, the company has further enhanced its capabilities in serving healthcare customers.
On the other hand, FedEx TechConnect has opened a new 30,000-square-foot package laboratory to provide FedEx mail, ground, and freight customers free package testing and design services.
The FedEx group said it handles about 10 million packages per day “and commerce on this scale requires a scientific focus on proper packaging.”
“Packaging is a critical part of the supply chain and the work done in this new state-of-the-art facility will help ensure the safe transportation of our customers’ shipments,” said Cary Pappas, president and CEO of FedEx TechConnect. “This new facility is not only a testing and design center, it’s a customer education center. This lab allows our engineers to test and develop new packaging solutions and provide our customers valuable guidance.”
The new laboratory uses the latest technology and testing protocols, including equipment that drops, squeezes, and shakes various forms of packaging to test their strength and effectiveness.
The facility’s advanced environmental controls maintain the temperature and humidity in the laboratory’s preconditioning room and materials testing room to within 5 percent industry tolerance.
“We can simulate any part of the FedEx network anywhere in the world, from the desert to the rainforest to the Arctic,” said Pappas. The facility allows the company to test and design packaging for a wide variety of products that their customers may ship, from perishables, glass, delicate electronics and life sciences to large freight shipments.
Photo: Francisco Anzola
