UPS is gearing up its global logistics of love network to deliver an estimated 89 million flowers in time for Valentine’s Day on Thursday (14 February) as had added extra flights to meet global demand.
The express freight company said the projection is an increase of one million from the number of flowers delivered in 2018, means about nine million pounds of blooms will crisscross the globe in time for Cupid’s big day.
To ensure these precious flowers arrive at peak freshness, UPS shepherds the shipments from colorful growing fields in Latin America through the Miami International Airport, where UPS is one of the largest air cargo carriers, to final recipients in less than two days.
UPS has added 50 extra flights during this period to handle what is expected to be more than 517,000 bloom-filled boxes.
“UPS is ready to deliver flowers with a speed rivaling Cupid’s arrows,” said UPS’s chief marketing officer, Kevin Warren. “This is made possible by our intelligent logistics network, which can deftly handle everything from precious flowers to a critical healthcare supply and everything in-between.”
UPS’s state-of-the-art network ensures that flowers arrive in pristine condition. Temperature-controlled aircraft and trucks carefully transport the precious blooms from fields in countries like Ecuador and Colombia to the United States.
Teams then meet the shipments at the Miami UPS facilities and rush them to an enormous refrigerated warehouse cooler the size of about five basketball courts. U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents inspect and sort the boxes for fast clearance before flower distributors pick them up and get them to delivery.
“The need for a reliable logistics partner is crucial for us to spread joy and love to our customers around the globe,” said The Elite Flower executive vice president, Galo Sanchez, Colombia’s largest privately-owned flower farm. “Because we know millions of sweethearts are counting on us, every year, we depend on UPS’s operational expertise to ensure that love blooms on Valentine’s Day.”
UPS said according to the National Retail Federation US consumers will spend an estimated $20.7 billion, up from $19.6 billion a year ago, on gifts for Valentine’s Day. Roughly $1.9 billion of that will come from flowers.
