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Founded in 1985 by Roadway Services Inc., Roadway Package System Inc. (RPS) pledged to exceed customer expectations in all aspects of the business. In other words, it was not enough for our company to be just another small-package carrier. RPS had to offer more than "status quo" service to customers who had established strong ties with United Parcel Service (UPS), the company which previously held a virtual monopoly on the small-package delivery market. We created our niche in the marketplace by marrying basic transport logistics with high technology to offer our customers advanced, state-of-the-art services.
For example, RPS was the first small-package carrier to apply barcode technology to road transport, and the company has remained the technological and information leader through extensive commitment to computers, barcode scanners, and high speed automatic material handling and sort equipment which is among the most advanced in the world.
The growth of RPS over the past eight years is one of the fastest ever accomplished in the transport industry. The company began operations in March 1985 with 36 terminals, serving 33 per cent of the US population. By the end of 1993, in addition to services to Mexico and Puerto Rico, RPS will operate 271 terminals and 21 hubs across the United States and Canada and serve 92 per cent of the US population. By 1996, we plan to service 100 per cent of the US population, completing our rapid geographical expansion in the domestic market.
TOTAL COMMITMENT TO QUALITY
RPS's first president, Dan Sullivan, and his management team realized early on that meeting our goal of being the leader in the small package delivery market would require an extensive commitment to quality. In 1987, RPS formally established a quality process when we convened a quality steering committee to determine the direction of our quality process. The steering committee, the precursor of our corporate quality involvement team (CQIT), issued a company goal and mission statement that directly linked quality to RPS's future.
But what exactly does the word "quality" imply? Every company has to develop its own definition of quality to reflect its mission. At RPS we define quality (with a capital Q) as: "Meeting or exceeding our customers' expectations". Through a total commitment to quality, we believe that...