By Debbie Hauss, Editor-In-Chief
Recently I had the opportunity to visit the 1.5 million sq. ft. UPS Chicago Area Consolidation Hub, or “CACH.” Joined by other retail editors and some UPS executives, we left the IRCE event at McCormick Place in Chicago for a 45-minute ride to the Hodgkins, Ill. facility.
Admittedly, I was wondering what I’d gotten myself into — a multi-hour excursion to learn about package shipping. But the experience turned out to be interesting, educational and inspiring. What I learned about the people who work for UPS is that they are loyal and dedicated to their company and the brand. It shows in many ways, which I’ll touch on in this blog.
Advertisement
It started with the ride out to CACH…we found out that Natalie, our UPS host, had gotten married the week before and postponed her honeymoon in part to take us on the tour. Upon arrival at the 240-acre site, we were greeted by Tracy, a 26-year UPS veteran with 10 years of experience taking groups on tours. After an airport-like security check-in, we were on our way to the heart of the operation.
CACH is the hub for all ground package deliveries in the U.S. that travel more than 400 miles to their destination. Employing 5,700 full- and part-time workers, the facility processes up to 1.8 million shipments each day on average. Conveniently located near the railroad line, CACH provides staging capability for 4,000 trailers. A control room features the latest technology that tracks every package as it moves in, out and through the facility.
It’s an impressive operation from a large-scale technical standpoint, but the real success story is in the details:
- UPS actively recruits and employs local college students, who work part-time and receive full benefits after one year; the company also provides partial tuition payments for college student workers, as well as a shuttle to the facility from the college campus.
- UPS is proud of its fleet of drivers, initiating a new group of safe drivers into its Safe Driving Hall of Fame on a regular basis. More than 20 drivers were being inducted in the latest round, Tracy told us during the tour. More on UPS’ dedication to safety can be found on the Corporate Responsibility page of the UPS site.
- During the tour we noticed posters hanging throughout the building offering a $5,000 reward to any employee reporting inappropriate or illegal behavior by another employee.
- UPS is environmentally active: the company is adding hybrid vehicles, and reuses and recycles the thousands of bags used to transfer packages throughout the facility.
Again, it’s the little things…although on first glance the facility seems dark, we found out there’s a reason for that: UPS keeps lighting dim within the building in order to save energy and reduce heat levels for employees.
Our tour guide Tracy continued to impress…she answered all questions posed by the reporters very effectively. During the tour I wondered about how they handled damaged packages. She noted that UPS offers assistance to customers to help determine the best way to package items; and she noted that, overall, package damage is minimal.
All in all it was a worthwhile experience to visit UPS CACH. I think other companies can learn a lot from the best practices implemented by this 107-year-old organization.
