FedEx Ground
 |
|
| Type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Transportation |
| Founded | 1985 as RPS; Merged with Federal Express in 1998, rebranded as FedEx Ground in 2000 |
| Headquarters | Moon Township, Pennsylvania |
| Key people | David F. Rebholz, President and CEO |
| Products | Delivery |
| Revenue |  USD 9.6 billion (FY2012) |
| Employees | More than 65,000 employees and independent contractors (June 2010) |
| Parent | FedEx Corporation |
| Website | [1] |
FedEx Ground is a shipping company that is a subsidiary of the FedEx Corporation. It is headquartered in Moon Township, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh. Originally conceived as a lower cost competitor to UPS, Roadway Package System (RPS) was created to take advantage of new barcode, material handling and computer technologies. After beginning service on March 11, 1985, the company grew, expanding service from its initial coverage of the Mid-Atlantic states, so much so that it eventually became the largest subsidiary of its parent company, Akron-based Roadway Services. By 1996, RPS had achieved 100% coverage of the United States and Canada. In addition, Roadway Services had been reformed as a new holding company called Caliber System, Inc.
In 1997, Fred Smith, founder of FedEx, contacted Dan Sullivan, co-founder of RPS and now president of Caliber Systems, Inc., about merging the two companies.[1] In 2000, FedEx merged the Caliber System, Inc. operating companies into the FedEx organization with Robert's Express becoming FedEx Custom Critical and RPS becoming FedEx Ground. Viking Freight, which initially operated under its original name, was re-branded FedEx Freight in 2001.
FedEx Ground now provides 1-5 day delivery of small packages to all 50 states, plus Canada. Ground also delivered to Puerto Rico, but this service was discontinued in 2009. The subsidiary also offers a specialty service known as FedEx Home Delivery which, coupled with Ground, serves all home addresses in the United States.
Contents |
FedEx SmartPost [edit]
 |
This article appears to be written like an advertisement. (February 2013) |
FedEx purchased the parcel consolidator Parcel Direct in September 2004 from Quad Graphics. This FedEx Ground subsidiary was re-branded as FedEx SmartPost in October 2004. FedEx SmartPost specializes in the consolidation and delivery of high volumes of low-weight, less time-sensitive business-to-consumer packages, using the US Postal Service[2] for final delivery to residences. FedEx SmartPost’s customers include e-tailers and catalog companies who have little urgency to have deliveries fulfilled to their customers.
Pickups are completed by two different groups within FedEx Ground based on expected volume:
- FedEx Ground Contractors pick up packages for "Smart Post Small Shipper" clients and transfer these packages to SmartPost within the FedEx Ground Hubs
- FedEx SmartPost trailers pick up packages for "Smart Post Large Shipper" clients and move the packages within the FedEx SmartPost network directly.
The resulting service is one that is less expensive than FedEx Ground but more expensive than regular mail and generally takes two to four days longer than standard FedEx ground shipping, with tracking information but without a guarantee of service.[3]
Amazon.com uses FedEx SmartPost for many of its orders in the continental U.S. if the Free Super Saver option is chosen.
FedEx SmartPost hub locations [edit]
FedEx SmartPost is headquartered in New Berlin, WI, and operates 25 hubs[4] throughout the US:
- Phoenix, AZ
- Chino (Anaheim), CA
- Los Angeles (Commerce), CA
- Sacramento, CA
- Denver, CO
- Orlando, FL
- Atlanta, GA
- Indianapolis, IN
- Kansas City (Shawnee Mission), KS
- Northborough, MA
- Detroit (Belleville), MI
- Minneapolis (Brooklyn Park), MN
- St. Louis (Earth City), MO
- Charlotte, NC
- Greensboro, NC
- Edison, NJ
- Grove City, OH
- Philadelphia (Allentown), PA
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Memphis, TN
- Dallas TX
- Houston, TX
- Salt Lake City, UT
- Seattle (Kent), WA
- New Berlin, WI
- Martinsburg, WV
References [edit]
- ^ Delivering the goods
- ^ FedEx SmartPost - SmartPost - SmartPost Shipping
- ^ Parcel Magazine April 2010 “Carrier Consolidation Services: An Inside Guide to UPS Basic & FedEx SmartPost” By Michael Bentley “…consolidation services offered by parcel carriers and the United States Postal Service … FedEx labels their service SmartPost.” "The advantage of using consolidation services lies in the cost savings achieved through lower rates and the elimination of most accessorial charges..." “The first downside is transit time. Using a consolidation service such as … SmartPost will generally add two to three days on top of standard ground shipping time (possibly longer to Alaska and Hawaii). Hence, this might not be a viable option for shipping time-sensitive materials. The second drawback goes hand in hand with delivery time in that the parcel carriers do not adhere to delivery commitments. In order to take advantage of the lower rates consolidation services offer, the carrier will not provide a service guarantee. This means that shippers do not have the ability to file claims for service failures.”
- ^ FedEx SmartPost network
External links [edit]
- FedEx Ground official website
- FedEx Ground recognizes owner of local trucking firm as entrepreneur of year - Memphis Commercial Appeal Article on FedEx Ground
- The Ground War At FedEx - BusinessWeek Article on FedEx Ground
- FedEx Ground vs. UPS: Two Worldviews
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
