November 10, 2026 • 7 minute read
Author: Phyllis Jackson, Senior Manager, US Marketing, UPS

• Reliable shipping and timely delivery updates can help wholesalers earn customer trust and encourage repeat business.
• Improvements to tracking, support and returns processes can help reduce costly mistakes.
• The right enterprise resource planning integrations can bring companywide improvements that boost customer satisfaction.
• It takes end-to-end planning to create solid buyer experiences. From inventory and order fulfillment to shipping, delivery and scheduled pickups, wholesalers must operate efficiently and accurately to ensure buyers’ needs are met.

UPS offers shipping and logistics solutions that can improve the customer experience through reliable delivery, shipment tracking and flexible pickup options. UPS Ready^® Business Solutions is a network of vetted partners that can help wholesalers connect shipping tools with business systems, making it easier to manage orders and give customer support teams access to the shipping information they need to answer questions.

Like you, your buyers depend on reliable deliveries to ensure they get their products in time to fulfill orders.

When a retailer asks about an order, your customer support team needs end-to-end visibility to provide a useful answer. UPS’s wholesale solutions include real-time tracking, giving wholesalers and their retail customers visibility into shipment progress and helping support teams respond to delivery questions.

“Standing out isn’t about making promises; it’s about keeping them,” says Charles Cawthorn, Strategic Lead, UPS. “The little things set you apart, such as orders that land a day early, updates that arrive before buyers ask or seamless fixes when things go wrong. For wholesalers, loyalty is built on reliability, and those small, personal touches make a big difference. With real-time tracking, flexible delivery, and responsive support that’s there when it matters most, UPS helps you create experiences your buyers remember.”

There are few things more frustrating for buyers than waiting on a customer service representative to wade through cumbersome systems as they search for delivery updates.

When customer support teams have access to current shipment information, they can answer delivery questions quickly. That can mean fewer follow-up calls, faster responses and less uncertainty for retailers waiting on inventory. When a delivery doesn’t go as planned, timely communication also allows wholesalers to address the issue before it affects the customer relationship.

Retailers have different receiving schedules, staffing constraints and delivery requirements. When shipping arrangements don’t account for those needs, deliveries can disrupt daily operations or create additional work for the receiving team.

UPS offers a variety of pickup options for wholesalers, which vary by package volume and size. Depending on the service and shipment, delivery options can also provide more flexibility for recipients. When shipping arrangements align with both the wholesale and retail customers, orders become easier to manage.

Your returns policy can win or lose retailers. Create a successful returns policy that includes when shipments can be returned, what condition the return must be in, and how restocking costs are structured. Once you know exactly what your returns policy is, communicate it to customers.

A clear policy is just the beginning. Retailers need a straightforward returns process that keeps them informed about the status of their return and when they can expect a credit or replacement. An efficient returns process can reduce the time both retailers and wholesalers spend resolving issues.

UPS^® Reverse Logistics Solutions can help wholesalers improve their reverse logistics processes through practices such as:

• Clear returns policies
• Simple return initiation
• Flexible return shipping options
• Shipment tracking and transparent processing
• Efficient inventory reconciliation
• Fast credit processes

As you build new business relationships and onboard new products for your retailers, your company’s risk management strategy will play an important role in your costs and buyer satisfaction.

UPS helps you mitigate shipping and delivery risk through insurance solutions that include protection across all carriers and shipping modes, a 90-day window for your buyers to report concealed damage and a nine-month window for your buyers to file a claim.

“Wholesalers work hard to build loyal relationships with retailers,” says Charles Cawthorn, Wholesale Strategic Lead, UPS. “Our risk management solutions protect that relationship by offering liability coverage and efficient solutions when unanticipated issues arise.” When a shipment is lost or damaged, how you respond can affect the retailer relationship. Having a plan for shipment protection and claims resolution helps wholesalers manage such situations and provide customers with a clearer path.

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is the heartbeat of your operations. Margins can rise and fall depending on how well you integrate your ERP and the inventory accuracy it provides. If your ERP is out-of-date or lends itself to human error, you lose time (and even a buyer) that you may not be able to get back.

Through the UPS Ready^® Business Solutions network, UPS helps businesses integrate a wide range of functionality into your ERP, opening new levels of flexibility and automation that can boost your business process and, ultimately, improve your bottom line. Automation can cut down on human-generated pricing and shipping errors, giving you a way to improve revenue and provide your buyers with an efficient shipping and delivery experience they won’t soon forget.

Retailers remember when wholesalers deliver on their commitments and respond quickly when something doesn’t go as planned. Winning that customer loyalty means making those experiences consistently reliable throughout the entire journey.