For UPS, Olympics "Like A New Start-up"
What can Big Brown do for the Olympics? More than you might think. UPS, in its role as the official logistics and express delivery sponsor of the Beijing 2008 Olympics, delivered more than 19 million items through the closing ceremonies. But more than just delivery, UPS has its eye on supply chain management, too. Although UPS has been an Olympic sponsor since 1996, Dan Brutto, President of UPS International, talks about the company's changing sponsorship strategy and tells the Atlanta Journal Constitution that every set of Games is its own adventure:
“Before, we would essentially write a check,” Brutto said. “But then we said, ‘Let’s do what we do best.’ And that’s manage the supply chain of the Olympics.”
UPS now donates its services as a “value in-kind” contribution for the sponsorship. UPS declined to put a dollar value on its London services, but some European news outlets have pegged them at about $30 million.
“Every Olympics is like a new start-up,” Brutto said. “It’s like starting up a new company that lasts for five years and then shuts down.”
UPS’ Olympics sponsorships play a vital role in its international outreach and its ability to compete. UPS has been an Olympic sponsor for the 1996 Games in Atlanta, the 1998 Winter Games in Japan and the 2000 Summer Games in Australia. But it was at the 2008 Beijing Games where the company began to take a hands-on role.
photo credit: ups.com
