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With a 10-year, $3 billion technology plan, UPS hopes to strengthen electronic links with its 1.2 million customers
TECHNOLOGY LEADERS are made, not born. Just ask Frank Erbrick. In 1985, board members at Atlanta-based UPS concluded that the shipping company was lagging behind archrivals Federal Express Corp. and Roadway Services, Inc. in information technology.
Executives split. Some argued that "Big Brown" needed to pull itself into the technological age. Others noted UPS already had the best on-time record in the industry.
And the new UPS CIO? "I was dragged in kicking and screaming," laughs Erbrick, a 33-year UPS veteran.
The rest is industry history: Led by Chairman Kent "Oz" Nelson, the world's largest package delivery service launched a five-year, $2 billion...