Dive Brief:
- FedEx's platform for e-commerce merchants is now live and available for the carrier's U.S. customers, according to an announcement last week.
- FedEx first unveiled the platform, called fdx, in January, letting select shippers access it via private preview. It brings together a mix of services that aim to help online businesses grow demand, optimize fulfillment and streamline order returns.
- The platform offers integrations with Shopify, Etsy, Salesforce and other providers used by online merchants, according to its website. It also has capabilities that support major carriers outside of FedEx, including UPS, the U.S. Postal Service and DHL.
Dive Insight:
The official launch of fdx advances FedEx's push to deepen its ties with e-commerce merchants and "make supply chains smarter for everyone," President and CEO Raj Subramaniam said in the announcement. FedEx highlighted the fashion brand Z Supply’s revenue growth since signing onto fdx, in addition to interest from other e-commerce, healthcare and beauty product shippers.
Among the features fdx offers is more precise delivery timeframes, which FedEx says can help incentivize customer purchases. The company leverages data derived from the more than 15 million packages it moves daily to improve delivery date estimates.
Other capabilities in fdx include using FedEx Sustainability Insights to predict future emissions, customized order tracking pages and a centralized platform to handle the returns process.
"We are going to be able to help all retailers, brands and merchants process their returns on their website, manage their exchanges, manage the inventory, integrate their branded tracking and communications to customers," EVP and Chief Customer Officer Brie Carere said in a March earnings call. "It's a really powerful offering."
Some experts are skeptical that fdx will be able to differentiate itself in a crowded market of solutions providers for e-commerce merchants, at least in the near term. FedEx said in the announcement that fdx "will continue to evolve" with new enhancements and features in the future.
