United Parcel Service: The Balanced Scorecard Delivers the Goods for a Company on the Move

United Parcel Service was hardly on the skids when it adopted the Balanced Scorecard--in fact, it had been one of the most admired companies in its industry for more than a decade. But at the same time, it wasn't exactly what you'd call a nimble, customer-focused enterprise. Implementing the scorecard changed all that; it helped UPS drive the vision and strategy up and down the entire organization. One company manager described the effect of the transformation this way: "The service provider in front of the customer is now a salesperson, helping market the company and develop sales leads." As a result, UPS was named company of the year for 1999 by Forbes magazine.