UPS is at a crucial point in its history. Here's how it got here - and where it might be going.

• UPS is in the midst of a business overhaul at the hands of CEO Carol Tomé.
• The company seeks to boost profitability by reining in spending and carefully choosing packages.
• Demand for faster and faster delivery could put pressure on UPS to move into unfamiliar territory.

Carol Tomé is heading into her second peak shipping season as CEO of UPS. The continuation of the pandemic and surge of the Delta variant have already ensured that this one, like Tomé's first, won't be anywhere near normal. What has changed is UPS itself.

After more than a year in the top spot, Tomé has seen her business strategies and management style start to take hold. Preaching "better, not bigger," she's carefully choosing customers whose business benefits UPS the most. She's embracing controversial labor strategies that fit closer to the rest of the gig-economy-obsessed delivery world rather than UPS's 114-year-old history. She's keeping a laser focus on UPS's spending.

More than 2020, the 2021 holiday shopping season will test whether Tomé's UPS can keep up its profitability push while maintaining it's place near the top of the e-commerce delivery pyramid. Catch up on the elements of that effort with these stories.

Tomé takes the reigns

Carol Tomé was hired to whip UPS into shape, but some insiders worry she's killing what made the company great in the first place

Why UPS' new CEO is building her strategy around leaving some packages behind

Tensions at UPS are brewing between leadership and unionized drivers as the new CEO doubles down on drivers who make deliveries in their own cars

UPS faces its rivals

The biggest threat to UPS and FedEx isn't Amazon. It's the gig economy.

UPS wants to bring the fight to Amazon by offering same-day delivery. Experts share just how hellishly complex that task could be.

UPS is quietly testing same-day delivery services to compete with gig economy players like Instacart and Shipt

UPS is splashing out for 10 futuristic electric aircraft that could revolutionize package delivery. Here's how the investment could give the company a competitive leg up.

The pandemic ushered in a new normal for parcel carriers

UPS, FedEx, and DHL are already planning for a frantic holiday season without enough workers by jacking up fees, giving raises, and buying robots