It has been said that a journey of 10,000 miles begins with a single step. For UPS that saying neatly describes the simple but ambitious origins of what is now the world’s largest package distribution company.

In 1907, Jim Casey, a resourceful teenager who believed in perfect service for a fair price, founded UPS in Seattle. Casey began his delivery service with foot messengers. As the business expanded, the company put those messengers on bicycles. Times changed, and cyclists were transformed into drivers, commanding a huge fleet of trucks that grew larger and in some cases “piggybacked” onto railroad cars. Ultimately, UPS launched its air service.

UPS’s Canadian journey also began with a single step. When UPS came to Canada in November of 1974, the company was, literally, a one-man show operating out of a 10 x 10 sq. ft. office in the basement of a hotel just outside Toronto. The company’s first revenue — 27 cents — was earned even before it was officially in business when a hotel guest asked that a parcel be taken downtown.

Today, UPS serves every address in Canada and more than 185 countries and territories. Striving to maintain a financially strong company, UPS delivers millions of packages, while continuing to offer high quality service at competitive rates.
 

UPS serves every address in Canada and more than 185 countries and territories.

UPS has evolved from a company offering essentially one product with little emphasis on technology and limited modes of transportation, into a worldwide enterprise with a wide range of products, using advanced technology and many different types of transportation.

Customer service is the moving force behind the evolution of UPS. The company is committed to anticipating and meeting its customer’s needs. In September 1993, for example, the company activated Canada’s first nationwide cellular data transfer network, enabling customers to receive immediate tracking information about their shipments. For the first time in Canada, businesses relying on the predictable delivery of goods to stay competitive are able to track packages using the pinpoint accuracy of cellular technology.

UPS strives to work with its customers confronted by a wide range of modern distribution problems. Using advanced logistics management, UPS assists corporate clients with all aspects of the movement of their goods from warehouse management to industrial engi-neering. With its advanced technology, UPS helps its clients improve their inventory turnover, eliminate the need for paperwork to track the flow of goods, electronically provide shipment information to U.S. and Canadian Customs — ahead of actual shipments — to speed customs clearance and save time.

From its earliest days, Canada, geographically vast, has depended on reliable, predictable transportation for survival. The country’s origins are inextricably linked with its history as an international trading partner, and transportation linking east with west helped bring Canada together as a country. Today, Canadian business still depends on the reliable, predictable transportation of goods, both domestically and internationally. UPS, truly a pathfinder, is committed to help Canadian customers to meet their transportation needs, now and in the future.