UPS, a global logistics organization, has recently announced that it is extending the same service that is currently enjoyed by small package shippers to its air freight customers - the ability to electronically clear customs in more than 90 countries, rather than using error-prone paper forms.

The extension of the UPS Paperless Invoice service to international air freight shipments saves time, money, and trees. The free-of-charge solution enables customers to increase efficiency by integrating order processing, shipment preparation, and commercial invoice data. It then transmits that data in advance of the shipment to customs offices across the globe, eliminating the problems that accompany paper documentation.

Because information is stored electronically, customers greatly reduce their chance of making manual errors while filling out customs documentation; the tech-enabled service prevents them from submitting incomplete paperwork, which is the main cause of delay for international deliveries.

In a second international technology enhancement, UPS also added 25 new origin countries to its UPS WorldShip shipping software. The availability of this technology option means customers can generate labels and prepare packages for shipping without resorting to pen and paper.

Greatly reducing the chance for manual errors, UPS WorldShip software can be used for small package and air freight shipments in 63 countries.

In the meantime, since UPS Paperless Invoice became available to UPS small package customers in 2008, the service has helped save almost 250 million sheets of paper or the equivalent of 21,650 trees. With the expansion of the service to air freight customers, UPS anticipates those numbers will grow considerably in the future.