FedEx Corp., Memphis, yesterday announced the official launch of FedEx Home Delivery, a new FedEx Ground service dedicated to meeting the needs of business-to-consumer shippers and their residential customers with the industry's first money-back guarantee for residential ground delivery.
The ground service allows FedEx to compete more directly with leading ground carriers such as United Parcel Service, Atlanta, which ships the majority of ground business-to-business and business-to-consumer parcels.
However, delivery companies are changing their strategies and offering new services in a scramble to get a bigger bite of the e-commerce market.
FedEx Home Delivery was also created to respond to demand for better ground delivery service in the residential market — a sector that is expected to increase by 119 percent by 2003, according to the National Research Federation. Much of that growth can be attributed to an expected increase in online purchases, which Forrester Research projects will grow from $38 billion this year to $184 billion by 2004.
“We designed the FedEx Home Delivery model to fit the way we live, work and shop today,” said Daniel J. Sullivan, president/CEO of FedEx Ground. “This service leverages the strength of the FedEx Ground network for package pickup and fully automated processing, while offering residential customers a better delivery experience that is focused entirely on their needs.”
Yesterday, FedEx Home Delivery began making deliveries to residences in the largest U.S. metropolitan areas, which account for 50 percent of the U.S. population. It will offer a host of premium service options — most of them unique to the small-package ground market — such as:
* Money-back guarantee, a first in the residential ground market.
* Expanded delivery window of 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday.
* Guaranteed signature service, which ensures the capture of a signature for every package delivery.
* Guaranteed select day delivery, which enables recipients to choose the day of the week — including Saturday — for package delivery.
* Guaranteed evening delivery, which ensures that packages will be delivered between 5:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.
* Guaranteed appointment delivery, which confirms delivery within one hour of a specified time, which is designated by the recipient when contacted by the local FedEx Home Delivery terminal.
Sixty-seven dedicated delivery terminals have opened within the past week to support the launch, and FedEx Ground plans to add more dedicated Home Delivery facilities within the next year as part of an aggressive plan to rapidly expand its residential service area. Those terminals are located in the following cities: Fort Lauderdale, FL; Harrisburg, PA; Hartford, CT; Houston; Indianapolis; Kansas City, MO; Los Angeles; Memphis; Miami; Milwaukee; New Haven, CT; New York; Newark, NJ; Orlando, FL; Philadelphia; Phoenix; Pittsburgh; Portland, OR; Providence, RI; Rockford, IL; Sacramento, CA; San Diego; San Francisco; Seattle; St. Louis; St. Paul, MN; St. Petersburg, FL; Tampa, FL; Toledo, OH; Trenton, NJ; and Washington.
Companies that have signed up for the service include Omaha Steaks, Omaha, NE; Hanover Direct Inc., Weehawken, NJ; Summit Racing Equipment, Akron, OH; Northern Tool & Equipment Co., Burnsville, MN; Day-Timers Inc., Allentown, PA; and Tupperware Corp., Orlando. Most of these firms are current FedEx customers.
“We distinguish ourselves as being the top service provider in our market, and we see FedEx Home Delivery as a way to help support us in this effort,” said Bruce Schwartz, vice president of distribution for Day-Timers, a national shipper that participated in the pilot test of FedEx Home Delivery. “Through its special service offerings, FedEx Home Delivery will add value to the products and services we offer.''
FedEx Ground, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp., is the second-largest small-package ground carrier in North America. The company reported annual revenue of $1.9 billion in fiscal year 1999.
