UNITED PARCEL Service, Inc. (UPS) is targeting to expand its presence in the Philippines, particularly in the key sectors of industrial manufacturing, automotive manufacturing, and retail.

Chris Buono, the new managing director of UPS Philippines, said  focusing on these sectors and employing their target sale strategy for the whole country are part of the logistics giant’s plan to grow its market share in the country.

In a roundtable interview on Thursday, Mr. Buono said UPS wants to offer its services to more small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and provide them with more avenues to grow internationally.

“They are undoubtedly the backbone of this economy,” he said.

The challenge now for SMEs, Mr. Buono said, is to grow digitally and to deliver more quickly to more destinations.

Mr. Buono said the company has deployed tools to help SMEs, such as  its online portal that allows enterprises to adapt the system without harnessing additional technology.

“[Our aim is to] connect local businesses to regional and global supply chains to reach their potential,” he added.

However, Mr. Buono said the whole country is a “growth area” for UPS.

”We have a target sale strategy for the whole country, and Mindanao is a part of that,” he said, adding there are delays in the Mindanao expansion due to the declaration of martial law in the region and the on-going crisis in Marawi.

In 2016, UPS expanded its services to more than 1,600 postal codes across seven major areas, namely Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, Valenzuela [CAMANAVA], Angeles in Pampanga, North Luzon, South Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao and Cavite. This was done its partnership with local express, freight and cargo forwarding company Airfreight 2100, Inc.

Last March, UPS expanded its alcohol shipping services, with wine, beer, and spirits (liquor) being delivered to businesses and consumers in 10 destinations in the Asia-Pacific, including the Philippines, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, and others.

This expansion was done to cater more to the business-to-customer type of service, such as restaurants having products shipped directly from winemakers instead of buying from distributors. — Patrizia Paola C. Marcelo