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During Fashion Week, the latest styles appeared online within seconds of coming down the runway. There’s no time to waste. People see it, and they want it, now.

This same immediacy applies to a retailer’s supply chain. You don’t want to wait until next year to rock the fall trends from the designers and luxury brands.

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Today Santa’s helpers dressed in Brown® are going to be really busy – actually they’re breaking records as UPS delivers more than 28 million packages around the world – that’s more than 300 packages a second!

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It’s Cyber Monday and more people are predicted to shop online than ever before.   Special offers and the ability to shop even after the malls are closed are just two of the reasons why I click and purchase.

But what about the shipping?

That’s where UPS lends its expertise to get those holiday gifts under the tree in time – and if the gifts you receive aren’t quite what you wanted, UPS provides many options to make returns easy and hassle-free, too.

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It’s not quite Halloween but it’s already time to start thinking about the holidays.

I may not have my list for Santa ready, but here at UPS we’ve been planning our holiday logistics all year. We’ll add 55,000 extra brown-suited Santa helpers to help deliver more packages this year than ever – more than half a billion!

And, Thursday, December 20 – which is just 51 days away – will be the busiest day in our history when we’ll deliver more than 28 million packages – that’s more than 300 packages every second of the day.

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Turning one is a big deal!

For the past 365 days, UPS My Choice has been helping almost 2 million consumers get their shipments delivered when and where it’s convenient for them. UPS sends an email or text the day before the package arrives and if the delivery time doesn’t work, there are options to reschedule or reroute it.

Throughout the past year, UPS has sent more than 20 million of those delivery alerts and delivered 18 million UPS My Choice shipments! That’s pretty good for a service that’s just getting started.

To celebrate, @UPS is having two Twitter parties. Join us on Wednesday, October 3 to learn more about UPS My Choice and how it can help you have a hassle-free holiday. Our team of experts will offer tips on how to navigate the bustling shopping and shipping season.

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It’s hard to believe summer’s almost over and it’s time for the kids to head back to school. Parents and teachers are busy searching for supplies for their students to have a successful school year.  It can be a stressful time, but UPS is here to help.

Starting today, on our @UPS Twitter feed and Facebook page, we’re offering Back-To-School Small Business Daily Deals. From the classroom to the dorm room, you can get just about everything you need with great discounts from some of our small business customers. Hygloss Products has supplies for teachers and creative craft ideas for the artist in every child. Until the end of September, Hygloss is offering 10 % off everything on its website using the promo code AUGUSTSALE.

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I might be one of the last few people who doesn’t shop online. Forgive me, but I LOVE trying on fabulous shoes. Sometimes all you need is a little retail therapy and sorry – I can’t get that experience over the Internet. I’m definitely in the minority; about 75 million people out there buy something online once every three months.

Today, comScore and UPS released a new study analyzing consumers’ online shopping behaviors. The Online Shopping Customer Experience Study polled more than 3,100 online shoppers to gain insight from pre-purchase to post-delivery. Free shipping and even free returns is a hot topic in the retail industry and the survey confirmed it’s important to online shoppers, but the results also showed it’s not the only driver on the online super highway. In fact, 40% of consumers said they are willing to pay for shipping if it means they can receive their packages faster.

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In honor of Small Business Week (May 20-26), we’re offering Small Biz Daily Deals. Each day from the @UPS Twitter account, we’ll highlight a UPS small business customer.

Online shoppers can take advantage of deals on the food you’ll need for the grill, outdoor gear and flowers delivered right to your front door. Many of the customers are also offering free shipping with special promo codes.

White Flower Farm has a special on Casa Blanca Lily bulbs: order 1 dozen and get the 2^nd dozen half price.

White Flower Farm is a small business in Connecticut that has flowers and plants from all over the world.  They count on UPS to transport their delicate deliveries. 

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For sports fans it’s a great week – from March Madness to the tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club.  Kentucky won the Madness and now the world will be watching as Tiger Woods chases Jack Nicklaus’ record and battles with newcomer Rory McIlroy for that prestigious green jacket.  

It’s also been a great week for UPS.  Every year, The Business Journals conducts a very special survey to determine the brands that best meet the needs of small- and mid-sized businesses.  More than 2,000 leaders in that arena were surveyed this year regarding almost 300 brands and UPS came out a double-winner.  UPS was named the best brand in the Business Services category, and The UPS Store was named the best brand in the Retail category — 2012 American Brand Excellence Awards.

UPS pays a great deal of attention to its small- and mid-sized customers because they’re the backbone of the U.S. economy . . .  and we know we can help small companies become big companies.  Take BudgetGolf.com, where you can find great deals on clubs, clothes and bags.  Todd Messineo started out in a small Illinois store in 1999 with just five employees.  Since then, he’s grown the business into a multi-million dollar company and with UPS on his side, is able to deliver on the store’s promise of rapid, top-of-the-line service with same-day shipping.

Like many other small business owners, Messineo prepared for big losses during the 2009 recession.  But he also worked closely with UPS Business Solutions and devised a strategy to bolster e-commerce sales.  His bottom line – he grew 205%!  He also followed mobile commerce trends and enabled golfers to shop right from their phones.  Today, about 10% of the company’s sales are administered with a mobile device.   

Messineo is working hard to stay current with retail trends by offering free shipping.  He’s also looking to UPS to automate his delivery systems and identify a reasonable flat rate on international shipping that will increase sales in Canada.  Another goal is to increase efficiency even more without sacrificing the customer service that is the cornerstone of his business.

Helping Messineo and other entrepreneurs with the tools needed to make shipping, visibility and easy returns more efficient represents the power of logistics.  And it’s doubly nice when it helps small companies grow.

That UPS commitment to small business also is why The UPS Store is sponsoring “Entrepreneur” magazine’s “Entrepreneur of 2012” contest.  For the fifth consecutive year, the magazine is searching nationwide for exceptionally inspired entrepreneurs to share their story of how they have revolutionized their industry, employees and community.  Entrepreneurs can submit their entries at http://entrepreneur.com/e2012.

Starting a small business takes a lot of work. From developing a business plan, raising capital, inventing new technologies, applying for loans, searching for office space, negotiating with suppliers to finding potential customers – it can all be overwhelming.

Small business accelerators can help.  One such program is MassChallenge, a nonprofit organization assisting budding entrepreneurs gain access to resources and financing. The program starts with an annual competition; the top 125 finalists enter a 3-month accelerator program in Boston, where they have access to free office space, mentors, educational programs and legal support. Following the accelerator stage, the top 10 finalists share $1 million in cash awards to keep their businesses growing.

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