ATLANTA (April 29) — UPS fired the latest volley in the e-commerce revolution today, announcing the formation of a special electronic commerce sales force and technical support team to help companies compete in the digital marketplace.

The group of 40 electronic commerce sales and technical support managers is led by Dale Hayes, vice president of electronic commerce marketing.

UPS, the world’s largest express carrier and package delivery company, is in a race with FedEx Corp. to establish itself as the the shipping industry leader in e-commerce. The company delivered 55% of all purchases made online during the 1998 holiday season. It also handles shipping for six of the top 10 Internet retailers.

UPS also has rolled out an array of electronic commerce products in recent months. The latest is UPS OnLine Tools, a suite of seven advanced shipping and logistics applications that provide businesses with perhaps the most extensive web-based transportation technology solutions to date. UPS Online Tools can provide rates and service selection, time-in-transit, shipping and handling, address validation, service mapping, electronic manifesting, and enhanced package tracking — all within a seller’s own electronic commerce systems.

“Companies today are under significant pressure to bring value to their organizations by leveraging information. UPS is in the unique position of having a robust portfolio of physical and virtual delivery offerings, a well-trusted brand, and an innovative set of electronic commerce solutions,” said Hayes.

“Expanding our sales force to include a specialized electronic commerce team is the next natural step in UPS’s commitment to provide our customers with more advanced web-based solutions that can be integrated throughout the entire enterprise.”