UPS Announces Sponsorship of Women's Business Organization

Business Wire, Sept 21, 2004

ATLANTA & MCLEAN, Va. -- In a continuing effort to better meet the diverse needs of small businesses, UPS (NYSE:UPS) today announced its support and sponsorship of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), an organization advancing the interests of women entrepreneurs.

The sponsorship affords UPS participation in NAWBO's annual conference; branding opportunities with the organization's publications, Web site and events and collaboration on other marketing initiatives. In addition, NAWBO has designated UPS as a preferred provider of worldwide express package delivery and logistics services. UPS is the first carrier to support women business owners in this manner.

According to an analysis by the Center for Women's Business Research, the latest Census Bureau data shows that nearly half of all privately-held U.S. firms are owned by women and are growing faster than the national average of private firms. Women business owners have the same questions and needs as their male counterparts but seek resources through a variety of support networks.

"Women-owned businesses represent an important segment of customers for UPS and we have been consistently recognized by organizations such as the Women's Business Enterprise National Council for that commitment," said Geoff Light, vice president of customer relationship management. "Our collaboration with NAWBO further strengthens UPS's ability to develop products and services that address the specific needs of small businesses in general."

No business is too small to leverage the services and resources of UPS to facilitate efficiency and growth. Examples include:

--Alliances with eBay and Yahoo! Small Business wherein UPS OnLine(R) Tools are integrated throughout the respective Web sites to enable small businesses to be successful online.

--Global Advisor, a one-stop resource featured on UPS.com (www.ups.com/globaladvisor) that provides detailed information about international trade and shipping, including resources for expanding a business, country regulations, trade tools, supply chain solutions and financing.

--UPS Exchange Collect(SM), an electronic payment option for trading internationally, reduces the risk of dealing with new customers and the collection cost associated with slow-paying customers.

--And a long-standing sponsorship of the Inc 500 Annual Conference.

"NAWBO is delighted to partner with UPS given its knowledge of specialized transportation and logistics services to assist our members in growing their businesses," said Beverly Inman-Ebel, NAWBO's president and chief executive officer of TLC Talk Listen Communicate, LLC in Chattanooga, Tenn. "We look forward to sharing with our members the benefits that UPS can provide with this enhanced partnership."

Founded in 1975, NAWBO (www.nawbo.org) propels women entrepreneurs into economic, social and political spheres of power worldwide. Nearly 30 years later, NAWBO is still the only organization that solely represents the interest of women entrepreneurs in all industries. The organization's mission is to strengthen the wealth-creating capacity of its members and promote economic development; to create innovative and effective change in the business culture; to build strategic alliances, coalitions and affiliations; and to transform public policy and influence opinion leaders.

UPS is the world's largest package delivery company and a global leader in supply chain services, offering an extensive range of options for synchronizing the movement of goods, information and funds. Headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., UPS serves more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. UPS stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange (UPS), and the company can be found on the Web at UPS.com.

To review the UPS Small Business Media Kit, visit www.pressroom.ups.com/mediakits/smallbusiness and for the UPS Supplier Diversity Program, visit www.pressroom.ups.com/mediakits/socialresponsibility/diversity/ 0,1386,,00.html. (Due to its length, this URL may need to be copied/pasted into your Internet browser's address field. Remove the extra space if one exists.)