2001 Press Release
CANADA'S E-COMMERCE LEADERSHIP MAY BE SURPASSED BY EUROPEAN BUSINESS
- QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR WEIGHS CANADIAN BUSINESS CLIMATE AGAINST SURVEY OF EUROPE'S BUSINESS LEADERS -
Mississauga, ON - June 13, 2001 - European executives' predictions for 2001 demonstrate such a strong embrace of e-business models that they may be surpassing Canada, says a Canadian business and technology expert after reviewing the tenth UPS Europe Business Monitor (EBM).
"The trend seems to be that European countries are progressing significantly faster than North American companies in their adoption of new e-business models," suggested Professor John Gordon, Chair of the MBA for Science & Technology at Queen's School of Business in Kingston, Ontario, based on data he and his students have collected over the past year. "Last year's EBM indicated that the European's were becoming bullish about the future of e-commerce and beginning to embrace it, although Canada had a distinct head start. Now, for instance, Europe is a more mature wireless market.
1 This information should act as a wake up call to Canadian businesses that want to remain competitive in the world markets."
Professor Gordon also noted that the EBM indicates European business leaders clearly favour two markets - the UK (33 per cent of executives) and Germany (27 per cent) - as leading the way in pioneering Europe's e-economy. The majority of Europe's business leaders say their companies have adopted new business strategies to take account of the challenge of e-business, have adjusted their procedures to become more on-line, and have employed e-commerce experts or consultants.
At the end of the 1990s Europe's business executives expressed concern that their companies were under utilizing communications technologies. UPS Canada Director of E-Commerce Wayne Bosch , Director of Customer Automation, UPS Canada, welcomes the new attitude evident in the most recent EBM results: "UPS's vision is that by 2007 - the 100
th anniversary of UPS - the concept won't be
e-business, it will just be
business, with technology as the underpinning. In a global marketplace driven by the Internet, the supply chain revolution will be where businesses see the greatest gains." Currently, UPS e-commerce solutions are available in 19 variations of 9 languages in 109 countries covering all of the world's major business centres.
UPS Canada The Europe Business Monitor data provides Canadian businesses with a better understanding of the attitudes, opinions and habits of Europe's business leaders. The results provide the company and its customers insight into the latest conditions, trends and obstacles predicted to influence businesses in Europe. UPS Europe Business Monitor allows Canadians to stay in touch with the crucial issues that drive business decisions in Europe and the world.
UPS is the world's largest express courier and package delivery company. Employing more than 6,500 people in Canada and 359,000 people worldwide, UPS delivers to every address in Canada and the U.S., and operates in more than 200 countries and territories. In 2000, UPS generated revenues of (US)$29.8 billion and delivered more than 3.5 billion packages and documents worldwide. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company resides on the Web at ups.ca.
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Note to Editors:
For further discussion of a Canadian perspective of the EBM with Professor Gordon . . .
or
For discussion with Wayne Bosch of UPS Canada's online shipping and supply chain solutions for Canadian business . . .
Interview can be arranged by contacting:
Nolan Reeds
Edelman Public Relations
416-979-1120 ext 316
About the Europe Business Monitor
The EBM helps identify trends and perceptions concerning such areas as technology use, human resources practices, European executives' opinions of each other, economic and employment forecasts, and the European business climate.
The tenth edition of the UPS Europe Business Monitor surveyed 1,477 business leaders from Europe's top companies between October 10 and November 20, 2000. Interviews with respondents at the director level were conducted in the following countries: Belgium (109), France (256), Germany (254), Italy (255), the Netherlands (101), Spain (252) and the UK (250).
Executives interviewed represent companies with an average revenue of us (US)$1.64 billion (1.94 billion euro) and an average employee size of 3,310. Interviewing was conducted in the respondents' native tongue at the TaylorNelsonSofres Harris international telephone unit in London, UK. The results of all ten Monitors are available at
www.ebm.ups.com.
1 According to IDC Canada Ltd., Canada is expected to reach a 50% penetration rate of wireless subscribers by 2004, which still places Canada well behind the Western European figure of 77%. Currently in Canada, networks are too slow to handle many applications and wireless devices are not extremely user-friendly with plain text and much scrolling through menus.
Except for historical information contained herein, the statements made in this release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements involve certain risks and uncertainties, including statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of UPS and its management regarding the company's strategic directions, prospects and future results. Certain factors may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, including our competitive environment, economic and other conditions in the markets in which we operate, strikes, work stoppages and slowdowns, governmental regulation, increases in aviation and motor fuel prices, cyclical and seasonal fluctuations in our operating results, and other risks discussed in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which discussions are incorporated herein by reference.
For more information, contact:
Susan Webb/Jennifer Moncion
Public Relations UPS Canada
(905) 676-1708 / 6275
mediarelations@ups.com
www.ups.ca
Nolan Reeds
Edelman Public Relations
(416) 979-1120 ext.316
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