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FedEx Ground

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Not to be confused with FedExField.
FedEx Ground
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryTransportation
Founded1985 as RPS; Merged with Federal Express in 1998, rebranded as FedEx Ground in 2000
HeadquartersMoon Township, Pennsylvania
Key people
Henry Maier, President and CEO
ProductsDelivery
RevenueIncrease USD 9.6 billion (FY2012)
Number of employees
More than 65,000 employees and independent contractors (June 2010)
ParentFedEx Corporation
WebsiteWebsite

FedEx Ground is a package 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.

History

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

FedEx SmartPost logo

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 for final delivery to residences.[2]

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]

FedEx SmartPost hub locations

FedEx SmartPost was headquartered in Brookfield, Wisconsin, United States and operates 26 hubs throughout the US:[4]

References

FedEx Ground truck
  1. ^ Delivering the goods
  2. ^ "FedEx SmartPost - SmartPost - SmartPost Shipping". www.fedex.com.
  3. ^ "Carrier Consolidation Services: An Inside Guide to UPS Basic & FedEx SmartPost".
  4. ^ "FedEx Distribution - FedEx Distribution Center - FedEx Transportation". FedEx.
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