UPS, which is the Atlanta-based global provider when it comes to freight transportation and logistics services, announced on September 01, 2026, that it has launched a new global operating model starting on September 1 and adding a number of executive appointments.
The company said it has redirected its focus to speeding up profitable growth after carrying out its Amazon volume glide-down and network reconfiguration in June 2026.
This will be achieved by transitioning from a global business to a truly global enterprise with its new global operating model, which will enable it to better utilize the strength of its global network, the company officials said.
As per UPS, the new global operating model will allow UPS to bring higher levels of consistency, agility, and scale to customers. It additionally endorses the continuing evolution of the company from small package carrier to provider of integrated logistics solutions.
This kind of approach will enable UPS to standardize key procedures for operation throughout geographies while being flexible enough to address the particular needs of local markets.
This comes as no surprise, as UPS has been vocal about its focus on making a major play in particular sectors and deviating from low-yield residential and e-commerce delivery, which is basically what has taken place with its business relationship with Amazon.
Carol Tomé, the UPS CEO, said the company’s Amazon glide-down attempts, which began in early 2025 and extended through June 2026, were conceived in the second-quarter earnings call and a complex undertaking by the company.
She added, “Over that period, we executed a deliberate structural reset of our U.S. business. Specifically, we eliminated approximately two million pieces per day of lower-quality Amazon volume. We reconfigured and further automated our U.S. network for higher return opportunities. We removed approximately $4.5 billion of related expense, with more to come as we finish out 2026.”
This kind of transition within the operating model takes into consideration that the next chapter of growth of UPS does not come from only lining up more packages through the network, but rather from getting more value from the network, which apparently, they already have by linking transportation, healthcare, and international as well as logistics into a more unified kind of a global offering, said founder of San Diego-based parcel consultancy Shipware, Rob Martinez.
Martinez added that “the strategy is increasingly less about how many packages UPS can carry and more about how much value—and margin—it can extract from each customer. UPS has spent several years deliberately walking away from lower-margin volume and reengineering its network. Now it has to prove it can grow profitably without simply extracting more from existing customers through higher rates and surcharges. It’s important to note that customers don’t care whether UPS calls itself ‘international’ or ‘global.’ They’ll care whether this makes UPS easier to do business with, improves service, and creates better solutions without simply producing another avenue for higher prices.”
John Haber, who is a long-time parcel industry consultant, said that it makes sense for UPS because the move is about getting away from consumer-focused e-commerce and getting into more lucrative areas, including, for example, healthcare.
Haber added, “This is something UPS has been signaling for a while. How effective it will be remains to be seen, as they have not executed for a significant period of time and the stock price has been lagging the competition and the overall market. They will have to prove it.”
