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About FedEx
FedEx Archives: 2000 Press Releases
( BW)(PA-FEDEX-GROUND)(FDX) FedEx Home Delivery Helping Retailers Meet Holiday Demands; Residential Shippers Such as Omaha Steaks and ProTeam.com Turn to FedEx to Deliver the Goods This Holiday SeasonNOTE TO MEDIA: Photo is available in a Smart News Release(TM) on Business Wire's Home Page at www.businesswire.com PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 11, 2000--In its first peak season, FedEx Home Delivery service has become the preferred shipping solution for many retail shippers of all sizes who are looking to distinguish themselves in a crowded online retail market and meet customer demand during the busiest time of the year. Launched in March 2000 by FedEx Ground, the second largest small-package ground carrier in North America, FedEx Home Delivery is the only ground service dedicated exclusively to residential delivery and the first to offer a money-back guarantee and premium service options such as appointment delivery. FedEx Ground created the service in response to demand for better ground service in the growing residential-delivery market. According to the National Retail Federation, the number of packages shipped each day to residential customers is expected to increase by 119 percent over the next three years, with 60 percent of those shipments attributed to online purchases. This holiday season is expected to set a new record for online buying, with electronic shoppers targeted to spend almost $20 billion. "The reality for online marketers is that every point in the customer experience is absolutely critical, and that includes delivery," said Daniel J. Sullivan, president and CEO of FedEx Ground. "Through FedEx Home Delivery, we offer residential shippers of all sizes the opportunity to add value to the products they sell through a delivery service created exclusively for them." Online Retailers Take On Peak Omaha Steaks According to Ron Eike, director of Distribution for Omaha Steaks, a leading manufacturer and distributor of premium steaks and gourmet foods, his company has been tackling the challenges of catalog fulfillment and residential delivery since it distributed its first direct-mail flyer in 1963. A dot.com pioneer -- with products sold online as early as 1990 -- the company's goal has always been to provide "an incredible customer experience." "Our online business is the fastest growing part of our business, with online sales more than doubling on an annual basis over the last three years," said Eike. "Of course, we see a surge in all orders over the holidays. We expect to more than meet the demand this year with the help of FedEx Home Delivery. "Customer response to FedEx Home Delivery has been great," said Eike, who signed on as a FedEx Home Delivery pilot customer last year. "They like the unique features of the service, such as early-evening and Saturday standard delivery times and personalized service at the door." ProTeam.com Steve Dodson, vice president of operations for Cranberry, N.J.-based ProTeam.com, a catalog and online retailer of sports apparel and memorabilia, began using FedEx Home Delivery this summer. "FedEx Home Delivery suits our needs in both performance and price," he said. "Its focus on residential-only deliveries combined with FedEx tracking is an unbeatable combination." According to Dodson, the fulfillment shortcomings experienced by some online retailers during last year's holiday peak were easy to explain: "A great product is only as good as the plan for getting it into customers' hands," he said. "Our experience in catalog marketing and product fulfillment was invaluable as we branched out into online sales. We already understood this." ProTeam.com expects to see a volume spike of well over 100 percent this year, and Dodson is confident that "we're ready for our most important quarter." That includes the delivery side of the equation, he said: "FedEx Home Delivery has been beating our estimated delivery times. Customers are thrilled, and so are we." AHH! Products, Inc. Not all online retailers have successful direct-mail businesses to build on. Jade Nguyen started her own handcrafted, bean-bag chair company -- AHH! Products, Inc., of Annandale, Va. -- two years ago, choosing to sell entirely online at www.ahhprods.com. Quitting her day job last year to address the business full-time, she began looking for a better and more cost-effective residential-delivery option for shipping her larger-sized packages to homes. "Because we're a small business totally dependent on the Internet, it's critical that customers have a good experience -- from the moment they click on our home page to the moment they receive a custom order," Nguyen said. "The service we're getting from FedEx Home Delivery is a big part of that customer experience. At FedEx, every shipper is important and every delivery is important. "The Internet is our storefront, and FedEx is our distribution arm. That's all we've needed to succeed," said Nguyen. She expects her average weekly volume of 10 to 20 packages to more than double this holiday season, to up to 50 shipments a week. About FedEx Home Delivery Created by FedEx Ground to meet shipper demand for a better residential-ground delivery solution, FedEx Home Delivery provides service options never before available in the ground market--including extended evening delivery, standard Saturday delivery, and premium options such as appointment and day-certain delivery. Currently, FedEx Home Delivery reaches 50 percent of the U.S. population through 67 dedicated delivery terminals. In June 2000, FedEx Ground announced plans to accelerate the expansion of FedEx Home Delivery's service coverage by adding 150 new delivery terminals over the next year to reach 80 percent coverage by the fall of 2001 and full coverage one year later. FedEx Ground is the second-largest small-package ground carrier in North America with a network of 370 distribution hubs and local pick-up-and-delivery terminals throughout the United States and Canada. The company reported annual revenue of $2 billion in fiscal year 2000. With annual revenues of $19 billion, FedEx Corp. (NYSE:FDX) is the premier global provider of transportation, logistics, e-commerce and supply chain management services. The company offers integrated business solutions through a network of subsidiaries operating independently, including: FedEx Express, the world's largest express transportation company; FedEx Ground, the second-largest small-package ground carrier in North America; FedEx Logistics, an integrated logistics, technology and transportation-solution company; FedEx Custom Critical, the world's largest provider of expedited time-critical shipments; and FedEx Trade Networks, a provider of customs brokerage, consulting, information technology and trade facilitation solutions. More than 2.5 million customers are connected electronically through the FedEx information network and approximately two-thirds of its U.S. domestic transactions are now handled on-line. Editor's Note: B-Roll footage is available.
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CONTACT: FedEx Ground
Betsy Momich, 412/747-4214
betsy.momich@fedex.com
KEYWORD: PENNSYLVANIA VIRGINIA
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: PHOTO PHOTOWIRE TRANSPORTATION RETAIL INTERNET
CONSUMER/HOUSEHOLD E-COMMERCE
PHOTO: bb1
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