UPS, FedEx Ease Signature Rules to Protect Against Virus

(Bloomberg) -- FedEx Corp. and United Parcel Service Inc. are dropping the normal signature rules for package deliveries to protect customers and workers as the coronavirus outbreak worsens.

In a small sign of how the disease is changing business as usual, FedEx said it’s suspending the need to sign for most packages. UPS is also forgoing routine signatures.

For parcels that require one, UPS drivers leave sticky notes before retiring to a safe distance. The customer signs the form, which the UPS employee then picks up after the client has left, a spokesman for the courier said.

Logistics companies are now more than ever the lifeblood of the economy as people shelter at home from the virus and use delivery networks for work, supplies and food. FedEx and UPS drivers are the most exposed for their companies, but can’t work from home or stop operations.

To contact the reporter on this story: Thomas Black in Dallas at tblack@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Brendan Case at bcase4@bloomberg.net

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