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. 

“We’ve worked with UPS for almost 31 years,” says Lorraine Calder, president of White Flower Farm. “When we’ve tried to switch carriers based on price, service or claims, we’ve been disappointed and always come back.”

UPS small business solutions help manage the farm’s year-to-year growth and seasonal business needs. “UPS is willing to go from zero to 120 [miles per hour] and back to zero again with us,” Calder says.

Learn more on how UPS helps White Flower Farm’s business bloom here.

Here’s a few other Small Biz Daily Deals:

• Heidi’s Heavenly Cookies is offering 10 % off sweet treats through June 13. Use promo code business
• Get 10 % off your order at Anderson Seafoods through May 31 using promo code SMALLBIZ10  
• Kansas City Steaks is bringing the steakhouse to your house with free shipping on all orders with coupon code TWTRFS
• Stock up on outdoor gear at Ramsey Outdoor with 15% of any order using promo code UPS15 through June 4

Follow the Twitter hashtag #UPSsmallbiz to save big when you shop small!

My role in the NASCAR sponsorship was recently expanded, and I’m now responsible for one of the more notable elements of the sponsorship, the Trackside Services Program.  As the Official Logistics Provider of NASCAR, we have the privilege and responsibility to provide exclusive shipping for customers within the NASCAR garage at all 38 Sprint Cup race event weekends. Check out the infographic below to see more of what we do.

Each week, local UPSers become part of the UPS Trackside Services program. We take care of shipping and receiving everything from promotional items for sponsors to fire suits for teams and drivers. We even assist in overnight shipping of critical parts for teams.

If you are a fan of UPS, NASCAR, or both, we encourage you to ‘Like’ our UPS Racing Facebook page and follow us on Twitter. Be sure to check out the Facebook page for the new Trackside Services video coming soon!

(click on infographic to see full size)

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Now that summer is approaching, I’m sure I’m not the only one with trips on the horizon. Summer vacations, Memorial Day and Labor Day getaways, Fourth of July trips – they are great, but wouldn’t it be wonderful to take a trip without worrying about what’s going on at home?

On May 18, UPS is proud to be a part of the Girls’ Lunch Out (GLO) party. It’s a networking event for women, and an opportunity to break from the blogging and connect with other busy women, moms and business owners who want to find the same solutions.   

And UPS is here to deliver help. Services like UPS My Choice™ can act as the personal assistant you wish you had. I signed up soon after registering for my wedding. It didn’t take long for packages to start coming to my house, and I was almost never there to sign for them. Now I get advanced delivery notices, I can waive the signature authorization, I can reschedule my deliveries based on my schedule, and I can redirect my packages to the nearest The UPS Store location. Genius!

With My Choice, you won’t miss those must-have shoes or that new laptop for your business while you’re out of town. No more waiting on the delivery when you have important places to be, like for example, the Girls’ Lunch Out party!

The UPS Store also helps women on-the-go with professional printing of business cards and other materials, and mailbox services, which include a mailbox with a real street address, package receiving from any carrier and text and email notifications when you have packages. There’s also The UPS Store Luggage Box, a convenient way to leave the suitcase behind and ship your clothes, souvenirs and conference swag home, reducing the hassle of long lines, security searches and, potentially, luggage fees.

So register for the Girls’ Lunch Out party to mingle with other women in social media and for your chance to win some great prizes! UPS is giving away two gift cards to Zappos worth $300 and $200! Both prizes include a premium membership to UPS My Choice so you can shop for great products and enjoy the convenience of delivery on your terms!

Join Girls’ Lunch Out and UPS on May 18 at Marathon Grill for a free networking event. Register here.

Jim took part in a conversation with other business leaders addressing a range of topics from supply chain practices and trends to how online commerce impacts the global economy. According to comScore, U.S. retail e-commerce spending reached a record $161 billion in 2011.  And Goldman Sachs forecasts e-commerce to be nearly $1 trillion by the end of next year. Before he left, I asked Jim for his thoughts about e-commerce.

The forum is only open to invited guests, though some of the footage will be available after the event. Be sure to visit Upside next week when we’ll have excerpts from Jim’s talk.

Either way, you’re probably not thinking about Nicaragua and Honduras.  But here’s something to consider: 

Did you know that…

• Coffee is one of the main export commodities in Nicaragua and Honduras?
• Nicaragua is the fastest growing exporter to the U.S.?
• Honduras is one of the top 3 largest suppliers of textiles and automobile wiring harnesses to the U.S.?

Source: CIA World Factbook

Global Trade Growth Opportunities in Latin America

Both countries are definitely top-of-mind for UPS.  Today we announced the expansion of UPS Express^SM Freight services to these markets.  Their young and rapidly urbanizing populations have increasing needs for U.S., European and Asian consumer products, which make them active players in the global economy.  Also, main imports to these countries include machinery, equipment and raw materials.  With access to UPS’s wide network and portfolio of transportation and logistics services, companies there can be connected to many more major trading cities around the world and experience international trade in a new way. 

So hopefully, the next time you get a whiff of freshly-brewed coffee or take another sip from your cup, you’ll make a mental connection to Brown.

Learn more about today’s announcement by visiting our press release.  To view a demo about how international air freight works, click here.

As director of humanitarian logistics at UPS, I spend 100 percent of my time working with the American Red Cross, CARE USA, UNICEF and the United Nations World Food Programme (all of whom are supported by The UPS Foundation and considered to be primary partners).  They also receive grants as well and in-kind transportation.  As for my role, I focus on capacity building efforts – reviewing their supply chain, warehousing and logistics operations, identifying opportunities to improve their effectiveness and efficiency and working with them to develop solutions that will ensure that when urgent humanitarian situations arise, they are even better equipped to respond.  My main responsibility happens on a daily basis before the disaster becomes news.

While I’m focused on capacity-building activities, several of my UPS colleagues are focused on logistics, transportation and operations after disaster strikes. Specifically via the Logistics Emergency Team with the World Food Programme (internationally), and the Logistics Actions Team developed with the American Red Cross (domestically), UPS team members are able to volunteer their expertise for significant impact following a disaster for one to six weeks at a time depending upon the situation. And, in 2011, UPS provided $2.7 million of in-kind transportation support and provided 200 shipments to 34 countries. We also have UPSers who are on loan in Joplin, Mo., assisting with the post-crisis recovery effort. While these aren’t the only skills-based volunteer opportunities at UPS, they do present a unique, highly rewarding way to apply our team members’ logistical expertise for the betterment of the world around us both domestically and internationally.

As a UPS employee, our humanitarian relief work brings me a lot of pride. Logistics and transportation are rarely considered an NGO’s core competency and one where there is tremendous need. Being able to help these critical relief agencies with highly specialized skills is an incredibly rewarding experience and just one of the many ways UPS shows that we heart logistics!

UPSers also stepped up to support the Haitian people. Several have been activated as part of the World Food Programme’s Logistics Emergency Team and other have helped through their communities. One such UPSer is Jerry Rutherford, an employee at UPS Worldport.

At UPS, Rutherford, a 14-year UPS employee, is responsible for helping load and unload the bellies of UPS aircraft, making sure that each load is safely handled and properly loaded. He has even been known to help with marshalling responsibilities when called upon, helping to make sure that the plane is parked and departed without incident.

“Out on the ramp, we make sure that everything is handled properly according to our training and, ultimately, we make sure that our employees and equipment are safe,” he said.

Rutherford said he goes where he is needed both on the ramp and in the world. When he is not working, he spends a lot of his time volunteering with his church, which helped lead him to his biggest volunteer effort to date, a trip to Haiti.

“My church was really involved with the relief efforts and I wanted to do whatever I could to help. We planned a mission trip to a place outside of Port Au Prince — a place so small, it’s not even on a map.”

When the mission group arrived in Haiti, they were overwhelmed by the number of orphans left in the aftermath of the earthquake. The group decided to build an orphanage. After raising more than $30,000, Rutherford and his mission group returned to Haiti in February to break ground on the new orphanage.

“I have a background in construction. I’ve poured concrete and I’ve done some electrical work, but this was a real challenge for us. But we have made the best of the situation by working together and focusing on the children that we are trying to help,” he said.

Rutherford’s group is headed back to Haiti to continue building and he is planning a trip later this month to help complete construction. “UPS has been very supportive and flexible with my volunteer efforts. The company has worked around my schedule and seems to really understand what I am doing and the desperate need for help in Haiti,” he said.

“The terminology [of sustainability] has changed, but it’s changed for very sound business reasons,” Abney said, adding that customers have become a powerful catalyst for sustainability in recent years.  

 “What really has changed is the number of customers looking at us to manage their supply chains from an environmental perspective. Customers were demanding we pay attention (to sustainability),” he said in response to questions from Fortune reporter Geoff Colvin.

By listening to customers, UPS has introduced new sustainable logistics products. For instance, with carbon neutral shipping, UPS offsets the environmental impact of the shipment. Last year, the company introduced UPS My Choice, which is a free service that saves fuel by providing receivers with more control to reduce missed deliveries.

UPS for many years has emphasized reduced fuel consumption, optimized transportation networks and smart routing as practical ways to lower costs and help the environment, Abney said. Senior executives tracked sustainability and discussed measures of performance with an eye toward improving efficiency.

For the past decade, sustainability has become an even more concerted effort, Abney said. The company has dedicated more resources and attention to engraining sustainability throughout the organization—not just in operations but also in the company culture. Sustainability is now prominent in the UPS Policy Book. This approach ensures that sustainability isn’t just a “topic of the month,” Abney said.

UPS seeks to engage all 400,000 employees in the effort to make the company more sustainable, he said. And sustainability performance is accounted for up to the level of Chairman and CEO Scott Davis. Also, the UPS Board of Directors takes an active interest in sustainability with frequent conversations on the topic in board meetings, he said.

UPS in 2011 named longtime engineer Scott Wicker as Chief Sustainability Officer and he regularly reports to the UPS Board of Directors on sustainability progress. Under Wicker’s leadership, the company recently assigned a team of executives to integrate all aspects of sustainability throughout the organization.

At Fortune Brainstorm Green, Abney also discussed fuel volatility and the growing call for fossil fuel independence. He cited natural gas as a clean fuel and a promising short-term opportunity. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is highly effective for long-haul transportation, he said. Compressed natural gas (CNG) is also widely used in the UPS transportation fleet for mediumroutes. But more natural gas infrastructure is needed to make natural gas more widely available and cost effective. And the company is looking to other sources of fuel for the long term.  UPS already has more than 1,000 natural gas vehicles in its alternative fuel fleet ranging frompropane to CNG and most recently, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) for tractor trailers.

UPS tests a wide range of fuels with its rolling laboratory, which is up to more than 2,600 vehicles and also includes propane, electric, biomethane and hybrid electric fuel technologies. 

Abney at Fortune Brainstorm Green emphasized that UPS has a broad view of sustainability, which extends to social issues. For instance, he cited UPS support for healthy communities. He noted UPS employees have given more than $1 billion to the United Way over the years—the only company to reach that milestone. And he said sustainability also includes the company’s growing commitment to humanitarian logistics as a way to help people in need using the company’s unique expertise and capabilities. In 2011, UPS gave nearly $7 million to humanitarian relief.

“Sustainability is a way of life” at UPS, he said. “It’s always high on our radar screen.”

A UPS cargo jet left our air hub in Cologne, Germany, and flew 49 metric tons (MT) of lifesaving supplies to Nouakchott, Mauritania, a city within the affected region.  The delivery included items from around Europe:

• 25 MT of hygiene kits from Spain
• 13 MT of miscellaneous items, including tents from Denmark
• 9 MT of UNICEF Plumpy (edible peanut-based paste containing calories and vitamins formulated to renourish starving children) from France
• 2 MT of water containers from Norway

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), in the countries of Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria and Senegal, “Hunger is affecting about 15 million people and threatening to put more than one million children into a state of severe malnourishment.”

To learn more about the situation in the Sahel Region, connect with others about this issue, or make an individual donation, please go to www.unicefusa.org/sahelups.

So how do you celebrate the “CEO” of the family?

Our #Deliver2Mom Twitter Parties will deliver fun ideas and a bit of inspiration to honor moms. We’ll also offer tips to keep your gift giving (and gift shipping) experience hassle free … such as packing advice from The UPS Store and how to manage your deliveries with UPS My Choice.

We’re hosting an afternoon and evening party to keep the ideas flowing throughout the day. Joining us is a team of savvy bloggers who will lead the conversation and share their own insights for celebrating mom. We compensated the bloggers for their participation.

Our afternoon party takes place from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. ET. Before hitting the stores (or the web) for gift ideas, join mom blogger Christine Young (@YoungMommy) and our team of panelists to chat about ways to make gift-giving memorable and stress free.

The evening party takes place from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. ET. Mom blogger Lisa Samples (@lisasamples) and our panelists will energize the evening with lively chatter and stories on gift ideas that are sure to please mom.

During our parties, we’re giving gifts, too. The #Deliver2Mom parties will feature prize drawings every 15 minutes. We’re giving away gift cards to The UPS Store, gift packages from Heidi’s Heavenly Cookies and complimentary premium memberships for UPS My Choice.

Want to win? Participate by tweeting during the parties and include the hashtag #Deliver2Mom. RSVP by posting a comment and your Twitter handle to this blog post. Read more for complete rules on the prize drawings: afternoon party rules, evening party rules.