FedEx Ground
 | |
| Company 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 | Henry Maier, President and CEO |
| Products | Delivery |
| Revenue |  USD 9.6 billion (FY2012) |
Number of 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.
FedEx SmartPost
 | This article contains promotional content. (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 uses FedEx for the journey and uses 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. FedEx SmartPost also offers a Returns service for higher-volume clients that allows customers to complete returns at all U.S. Postal Service® (USPS) locations in addition to FedEx locations.
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]
Contrary to the trade publication reference above from 2010, the actual service provided by FedEx SmartPost, while costing more than regular mail generally takes four to six days longer to reach delivery points than standard mail. It is not uncommon for a small package that would be be delivered by USPS Standard Post in 3-4 days to take as long as 8-10 day by FedEx SmartPost.
Amazon.com uses FedEx SmartPost for many of its orders in the continental U.S. if the "Free Super Saver" option is chosen. Amazon.com is now also using FedEx SmartPost for its Prime 2-Day shipping service in select areas.
FedEx SmartPost hub locations
FedEx SmartPost is headquartered in New Berlin, WI, and operates 25 hubs[4] throughout the US:
- Phoenix, AZ
- Chino, CA
- Los Angeles (Commerce), CA
- Sacramento, CA
- Aurora, CO
- Orlando, FL
- Atlanta (Ellenwood), GA
- Indianapolis, IN
- Kansas City (Olathe), KS
- Northborough, MA
- Detroit (Belleville), MI
- Minneapolis (Brooklyn Park), MN
- St. Louis (Earth City), MO
- Charlotte, NC
- Edison, NJ
- Grove City, OH
- Clinton, PA
- Philadelphia (Allentown), PA
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Memphis, TN (Southaven, MS)
- Dallas, TX
- Houston, TX
- Salt Lake City, UT
- Seattle (Kent), WA
- New Berlin, WI (Main Hub & Headquarters)
- Martinsburg, WV
References
