FedEx Ground
Encyclopedia
FedEx Ground is a shipping company which 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. 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.
for final delivery to residences. FedEx SmartPost’s customers include e-tailers and catalog companies. Through its network of distribution hubs, FedEx SmartPost provides delivery Monday through Saturday to all residential addresses in the U.S., including P.O. Boxes and military destinations.
Pickups are completed by two different groups within FedEx Ground based on expected volume:
The resulting service is one that is less expensive than FedEx Ground, but more expensive than regular mail, and generally takes one to two days longer than standard FedEx ground shipping, with tracking information but without a guarantee of service.
FedEx
FedEx Corporation , originally known as FDX Corporation, is a logistics services company, based in the United States with headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee...
. It is headquartered in Moon Township, Pennsylvania
Moon Township, Pennsylvania
Moon Township is a township along the Ohio River in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. Moon is a part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area and is located northwest of Pittsburgh. The origin of its name is unknown for certain, although it has been suggested that it derives from a...
, a suburb of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
. Originally conceived as a lower cost competitor to UPS
United Parcel Service
United Parcel Service, Inc. , typically referred to by the acronym UPS, is a package delivery company. Headquartered in Sandy Springs, Georgia, United States, UPS delivers more than 15 million packages a day to 6.1 million customers in more than 220 countries and territories around the...
, Roadway Package System (RPS) was created to take advantage of new barcode
Barcode
A barcode is an optical machine-readable representation of data, which shows data about the object to which it attaches. Originally barcodes represented data by varying the widths and spacings of parallel lines, and may be referred to as linear or 1 dimensional . Later they evolved into rectangles,...
, 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
Akron, Ohio
Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
-based Roadway Services
Roadway Services
Roadway Services was a transportation holding company located in Akron, Ohio, which owned several trucking companies, including Roberts Express, Viking Freight, and Roadway Express....
. 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
Frederick W. Smith
Fred Sidney Smith III , or Fred Smith, is the founder, chairman, president, and CEO of FedEx, originally known as Federal Express, the first overnight express delivery company in the world, and the largest in the United States...
, founder of FedEx, contacted Dan Sullivan, co-founder of RPS and now president of Caliber Systems, Inc. about merging the two companies. 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 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 specializes in the consolidation and delivery of high volumes of low-weight, less time-sensitive business-to-consumer packages, using the US Postal ServiceUnited States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
for final delivery to residences. FedEx SmartPost’s customers include e-tailers and catalog companies. Through its network of distribution hubs, FedEx SmartPost provides delivery Monday through Saturday to all residential addresses in the U.S., including P.O. Boxes and military destinations.
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 one to two days longer than standard FedEx ground shipping, with tracking information but without a guarantee of service.