ANY DAY YOU WANT IT
U. S. consumers have spoken loud and clear they want seven-day-a-week delivery capabilities when shopping online. FedEx Corp. has heard them and is responding. “Expanding our operations to include Sunday residential deliveries further increases our ability to meet the demands of e-commerce shippers and online shoppers,” said FedEx President and COO Raj Subramaniam in a statement released on May 30th. The company’s FedEx Ground unit will start delivering packages on Sundays in 2020. That brings customers an extra 52 days of shipping each year.
Seven-day-a-week service was previously only available during the peak holiday season. During these periods the carrier beefs up temporary staffing to provide Sunday services. Patrick Fitzgerald, senior vice president for the company indicated that FedEx already knows what it takes to maintain its service on Sunday based on its holiday season experience.
To fill their trucks and improve destination density on ground routes, FedEx will take back into its own network the packages it has been pushing into the postal system for last-mile delivery. It also expands capacity in FedEx’s network by using existing facilities an extra day to handle what the company expects will be a doubling of small package shipments in the U.S. by 2026.
In September of last year that FedEx Ground established a presence in the Saturday delivery market throughout the year. UPS responded with its own Saturday service in April of this year. Although it is likely to follow suit, UPS has yet to comment on when it will move to seven-days-a-week delivery.
FedEx anticipated early on that the growth of e-Commerce would significantly increase demand throughout its network. The company underwent a significant transformation by opening new facilities and investing in highly advanced technology and innovations. As a result, they have a highly automated network.
As highly automated as the FedEx process maybe shippers should expect to see additional charges on their bill for Sunday delivery service in the not-too-distant future.
It is important for all shippers to determine how the new delivery option will impact their business from both a competitive and cost perspective. Remember there is no such thing as free shipping regardless of what the website says. Someone is going to have to pay.
Data2Logistics has a dedicated “Professional Consulting Services” team that can help you identify opportunities across all modes. We provide various services such as data metrics/analytics, market studies, carrier strategy/negotiation, etc. For more information, please contact Dan Leva at [email protected] or 973-222-5882.