UPS Launches Technology Company and Platform to Match Merchant Needs with Flexible Fulfillment

Ware2Go

• Creates turnkey, on-demand U.S. fulfillment network for B2B e-commerce
• Guarantees two-day order-to-delivery
• Allows small and medium-sized businesses to expand their reach with no minimums or long-term commitments
• Increases customer base for warehouse operators and provides merchant onboarding, management, and automatic payments

UPS has announced the launch of Ware2Go, a new technology company and digital platform that matches available warehouse space and fulfillment services with merchants who need to get online orders to customers fast.

The new business augments the company’s suite of custom ecommerce solutions designed to support small and medium-sized companies.

“Ware2Go uses innovative online technology to match excess warehouse and fulfillment capacity with merchant demand to provide transparent inventory, order fulfillment and final delivery,” said Scott Price, Chief Transformation and Strategy Officer.

“We’re solving for two major problems: speed to market and efficient warehousing.”

Ware2Go recruits and certifies warehouses in strategic locations, establishing a network of vetted fulfillment partners.

Merchants can then position products closer to their customers without the need for researching or vetting providers, or making long-term volume and time commitments.

Ware2Go’s cloud-based platform and solution provide merchants with seamless end-to-end order fulfillment – storage, pick/pack fulfillment and shipping – with guaranteed two-day delivery by UPS.

Because Ware2Go manages the relationships with warehouses, merchants get the service levels and pricing they might not receive on their own.

Merchants who use Ware2Go sell online, primarily to other businesses, and want fast, consistent, time-in-transit for shipments.

They have few distribution centers and could benefit from more warehouse space for rent in other areas of the U.S.

According to industry reports, the demand for warehouse space has outpaced new supply since the end of the recession.

Rising rental rates, coupled with ecommerce growth, have shifted warehousing from large centralized sites to localized facilities across major markets.

When a warehouse registers with Ware2Go, the platform matches unused capacity and capabilities with merchants.

Ware2Go identifies merchants looking for fulfillment services and then on-boards, manages and bills customers so warehouse operators can fill available capacity quickly and easily without sales teams or administrative oversight.

Warehouses can expand their customer network with a simplified management platform that provides visibility and invoicing.

Warehouse operators who use Ware2Go already provide small-package pick and pack but may not have a dedicated sales team.

They could benefit from working with customers outside their local area.

Here’s how Ware2Go works:

• Customers create an account (as a merchant, warehouse or both) and answer a few questions about their needs or capabilities.
• Merchants provide details about their products, orders, space requirements and specific regional delivery needs. A portal enables merchants to upload and manage their inventory and orders across the Ware2Go network. The merchant maintains ownership of the inventory and is responsible for getting the products to Ware2Go-certified warehouses.
• Warehouses provide their address and fulfillment services available, and Ware2Go inspects and certifies the warehouse.
• The platform matches warehouses with merchants.
• The Ware2Go platform also provides inventory visibility and tracks order progress for both the merchant and warehouse, streamlining communications.

“The flexibility Ware2Go offers merchants and warehouse operators, especially companies in the industrial, automotive and tech sectors, means they can compete more effectively and profitably in the market,” said Price.

“Ware2Go leverages the scope and scale of UPS’s network to provide an integrated delivery solution to improve management of the order-to-delivery experience.”

A UPS spokeswoman told Logistics Management there were various drivers that led to the rollout of Ware2Go, specifically what she called a void in the B2B e-commerce market.

“Small and mid-sized businesses often cannot afford to buy multiple distribution centers and warehouses often have unused capacity but cannot go looking for customers across the country,” she said.

“UPS has a phenomenal opportunity to help this underserved market (connecting SMBs with Warehouse space and a full suite of delivery services) – there’s a $26 billion market for on-demand warehouse space.”

Ware2Go was launched in July after an incubation process with BCG Digital Ventures, a corporate investment and incubation firm that owns a minority financial stake. The company is headquartered in Atlanta.

Related Article: Fulfillment Centers Demand for Vertical Warehousing Grows

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