Union Pacific logo

Union Pacific Product

To connect businesses and communities through innovative transportation solutions by building America's safest, most reliable network.

|

To connect businesses and communities through innovative transportation solutions by building America's safest, most reliable network.

Strengths

  • NETWORK: Unmatched 32,000-mile rail network across 23 western states
  • TECHNOLOGY: Advanced PSR implementation yielding 15% efficiency gains
  • REVENUE: Strong financial performance with $23.5B annual revenue
  • CUSTOMERS: Diverse customer base across multiple industrial sectors
  • INFRASTRUCTURE: $3.4B investment in infrastructure improvements

Weaknesses

  • TECHNOLOGY: Legacy systems limiting digital transformation efforts
  • INTEGRATION: Siloed product development causing 23% project delays
  • WORKFORCE: Talent gaps in data science and AI engineering roles
  • AGILITY: Slow decision-making processes averaging 45+ days
  • CUSTOMER: Digital experience lags behind competitor offerings

Opportunities

  • AUTOMATION: Autonomous technology could reduce operating ratio by 8%
  • SUSTAINABILITY: Growing market for carbon-efficient shipping options
  • ANALYTICS: Predictive maintenance to reduce unplanned downtime by 35%
  • INTEGRATION: Intermodal shipping growth projected at 7% annually
  • EXPANSION: Cross-border Mexico trade increasing 12% year-over-year

Threats

  • COMPETITION: Trucking industry gaining market share with 5% growth
  • REGULATIONS: Changing environmental regulations requiring adaptation
  • CYBERSECURITY: Rising threats to critical infrastructure systems
  • LABOR: Workforce challenges including 15% increase in attrition
  • CLIMATE: Extreme weather events disrupting network reliability

Key Priorities

  • PLATFORM: Develop integrated digital experience platform for customers
  • AUTOMATION: Accelerate AI-powered operational automation initiatives
  • TALENT: Address critical skill gaps in technology implementation
  • RESILIENCE: Enhance network resilience against disruptions
|

To connect businesses and communities through innovative transportation solutions by building America's safest, most reliable network.

DIGITAL LEAP

Transform customer experience through digital innovation

  • PLATFORM: Develop and launch integrated customer digital platform with 95% of core functions by Q4
  • ADOPTION: Achieve 65% adoption rate of new digital tools across top 200 customers
  • AUTOMATION: Implement self-service booking for 80% of intermodal shipments
  • SATISFACTION: Increase digital experience satisfaction score from 72 to 85 by year-end
AI POWERHOUSE

Lead industry in AI-powered operational excellence

  • DEPLOYMENT: Implement predictive maintenance AI on 75% of locomotive fleet reducing failures by 30%
  • EFFICIENCY: Deploy AI-powered trip planning system cutting fuel consumption by 8% across network
  • VISIBILITY: Launch real-time shipment visibility platform with 99.5% accuracy for top 50 customers
  • TALENT: Recruit 15 AI/ML specialists and upskill 50 existing engineers on AI technologies
TALENT ENGINE

Build world-class product and technology capabilities

  • SKILL GAPS: Complete digital skills assessment for 100% of product/tech teams and address critical gaps
  • TRAINING: Deliver 25,000 hours of specialized technical training across product organization
  • RETENTION: Improve tech talent retention by reducing attrition from 15% to 9% by year-end
  • STRUCTURE: Implement agile product development methodology across 80% of technology teams
NETWORK STRENGTH

Create the most resilient and efficient rail network

  • VELOCITY: Increase network velocity from 27 mph to 30 mph through tech-enabled process improvements
  • RESILIENCE: Implement predictive weather impact system reducing weather-related delays by 25%
  • INTEGRATION: Launch intermodal integration platform connecting with 5 major logistics partners
  • VISIBILITY: Deploy real-time network visualization tool used by 100% of operations teams daily
METRICS
  • Network Velocity: 30 mph (7% improvement)
  • Customer Satisfaction Score: 85/100 (13 point improvement)
  • Digital Adoption Rate: 65% across top customers
VALUES
  • Safety: We protect the well-being of one another, our customers, and the communities we serve
  • Integrity: We act with honesty, respect, and unwavering ethical standards
  • Performance Excellence: We strive for industry-leading efficiency and service quality
  • Innovation: We embrace new technologies and ideas to continuously improve
Union Pacific logo
Align the learnings

Union Pacific Product Retrospective

|

To connect businesses and communities through innovative transportation solutions by building America's safest, most reliable network.

What Went Well

  • FINANCIAL: Achieved operating ratio of 60.7%, best in company history
  • VOLUME: Intermodal volumes increased 6.2% year-over-year in Q1 2023
  • EFFICIENCY: Fuel efficiency improved 3.5% reducing costs significantly
  • SAFETY: Personal injury frequency rate decreased 8% from prior year
  • TECHNOLOGY: Successful implementation of PTC across 100% of network

Not So Well

  • VELOCITY: Network velocity decreased 2.1 mph impacting service metrics
  • DWELL: Terminal dwell time increased by 4.8 hours affecting reliability
  • ATTRITION: Employee turnover increased 3.2% above industry average
  • ADOPTION: Digital tools adoption rate 15% below targets for Q1 2023
  • INTEGRATION: Supply chain integration initiatives missed by 2 quarters

Learnings

  • STRATEGY: Need for better alignment between tech initiatives & outcomes
  • COMMUNICATION: Cross-functional alignment critical for digital success
  • PRIORITIZATION: Focus on fewer, high-impact projects yields better ROI
  • FEEDBACK: Customer input earlier in product cycle increases adoption
  • MEASUREMENT: More granular performance metrics drive better outcomes

Action Items

  • PLATFORM: Develop integrated customer-facing digital products by Q4
  • AUTOMATION: Accelerate AI implementation in service planning by Q3
  • TALENT: Launch digital upskilling program for 500 employees by Q3
  • INTEGRATION: Create cross-functional product development teams in Q2
  • MEASUREMENT: Implement real-time performance dashboards for executives
|

To connect businesses and communities through innovative transportation solutions by building America's safest, most reliable network.

Strengths

  • DATA: Massive operational dataset spanning decades of rail operations
  • INFRASTRUCTURE: Growing investment in IoT sensors across network
  • AUTOMATION: Early success with automated inspection technologies
  • EXPERTISE: Strong engineering talent in control systems development
  • PILOTS: Successful AI pilot programs showing 12% efficiency gains

Weaknesses

  • INTEGRATION: Fragmented AI initiatives across multiple departments
  • TALENT: Limited specialized AI and ML engineering expertise
  • ARCHITECTURE: Legacy systems not designed for modern AI workloads
  • GOVERNANCE: Immature data governance limiting AI application
  • CULTURE: Traditional corporate culture resistant to AI adoption

Opportunities

  • PREDICTIVE: AI-powered predictive maintenance reducing costs by 25%
  • OPTIMIZATION: Real-time network optimization improving velocity 18%
  • SAFETY: Computer vision systems enhancing track inspection accuracy
  • CUSTOMER: AI-driven logistics planning improving customer experience
  • EFFICIENCY: Fuel efficiency gains of 15% with AI optimization

Threats

  • COMPETITION: Tech companies entering logistics optimization space
  • STANDARDS: Lack of industry AI standards creating compatibility issues
  • SECURITY: AI systems creating new cybersecurity vulnerabilities
  • REGULATION: Emerging AI regulations creating compliance challenges
  • ADOPTION: Customer readiness for AI-driven solutions varies widely

Key Priorities

  • PLATFORM: Develop unified AI platform for operational excellence
  • TALENT: Strategic AI talent acquisition and development program
  • GOVERNANCE: Establish robust data and AI governance framework
  • PRIORITIZATION: Focus AI initiatives on highest-impact applications