FedEx Archives: 2002 Press Releases

( BW)(TN-FEDEX)(FDX) Breakthrough on fedex.com Gives Businesses Power To Estimate Costs of Global Shipping

    FedEx technology powers the "Estimate Duties and Taxes" application on fedex.com, offering shippers instant, round-the-clock, daily access and visibility to the information they need to make many important international shipping decisions. FedEx designed the business-planning tool to help customers obtain information before they ship about charges and fees they can expect in the overseas shipping process. This includes duty, excise, value-added tax (VAT), Most Favored Nation (MFN) rates and other governmental fees that are levied on international shipments to and from 42 countries.

    The new FedEx service is a valuable business tool for companies large and small that need to provide upfront duty and tax information to customers before shipping. Imperial Graphics, Inc. of Grand Rapids, Mich., said estimates of such costs helps streamline the shipping process.

    "International trade is complex, so it is critical that our 200 monthly international shipments don't get delayed in customs," said Dan Polkowski, distribution and logistics manager for Imperial Graphics. "We can estimate duties and taxes, but the process is very manual and time-consuming. The new FedEx duty and tax estimator speeds up the process. We can input a few facts then print out the calculation-results screen to send to our customers in advance of shipping."
    Polkowski said the FedEx estimator eliminates one invoice in his company's billing process, saving Imperial Graphics "tens of thousands of dollars annually in time, paper and postage."
    Another valuable feature of the FedEx duty and tax estimator is integrated Harmonized System (HS) Code identification. The HS Code is an internationally accepted uniform-description system for classifying goods for customs, statistical reporting and other purposes. FedEx includes this feature in its service, in contrast to many third-party providers that often charge customers to simply identify the code. In addition, unlike many expensive third-party providers, the FedEx estimator offers customers of any size simple, convenient and affordable transaction-based billing options.

    "International shippers now have an innovative, online shipping solution that makes it even easier for them to seamlessly get their products to market, with the confidence of knowing what the estimated inbound and outbound costs in many locations will be," said Michael L. Ducker, executive vice president, international, FedEx Express. "The duty and tax estimator enhancement to FedEx Global Trade Manager takes the guesswork out of figuring complicated customs duties and other charges and fees. It is fast, convenient, accurate and affordable."

    Cost-Efficient and Accurate Estimates

    The feature meets a growing need by many businesses for a fast and cost-efficient online calculation service for international shipments. Forrester Research Inc. found in a survey of 40 American, European and Asian logistics managers that more than half of the managers either had no way to predict duty and tax costs, or they had to calculate such costs manually; they did not know the degree of accuracy for their calculated information; and they did not know the frequency in which regulatory compliance information they had access to was updated.

    Regulatory policies for many countries fluctuate, according to Forrester Research, and global shippers must adhere to those product allotment and selling restriction policies. "Countries like Japan have more than 200 trade laws for each Harmonized Code, which create more than 17,000 different regulations on imports," Forrester said.

    The duty-and-tax estimation service from FedEx provides improved accuracy that international shippers need, using updated regulatory information that provides concise estimates.

    For only $5 per transaction, regardless of the number of commodities in a single shipment, customers can find out in advance an estimate of the duties and taxes to ship or receive goods to or from 42 countries in North America, South America, Europe and Asia. Two additional billing plans in the FedEx service provide a specified number of transactions at an affordable and competitive rate.

    Global Trade Manager Helps Small- and Medium-size Businesses

    The Estimate Duties and Taxes enhancement to fedex.com is one of several services available through FedEx Global Trade Manager, which is designed to help small- and medium-size businesses navigate the growing, complex and fast-paced world of international commerce.

    By using the "Find International Documents" service in FedEx Global Trade Manager, shippers can identify and prepare the appropriate import and export forms based on a commodity description and the country of import or export for shipments between 22 countries. The application also alerts customers to restrictions on shipping certain commodities, whether the country of import or export is under embargo, and provides information on some special licensing requirements.

    In addition to its comprehensive document determination capability and extensive document library, FedEx Global Trade Manager includes the "International Resource Center," which provides a variety of timely information on tasks related to global commerce. FedEx Global Trade Manager is located at www.fedex.com/us/international.

    About FedEx

    With annual revenues of $20 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, North America's second-largest provider of small-package ground delivery service; FedEx Freight, the largest U.S. provider of regional less-than-truckload freight services; FedEx Custom Critical, the world's largest provider of expedited time-critical shipments; and FedEx Trade Networks, a provider of customs clearance, international freight forwarding and trade facilitation.

    Benefits of Estimate Duties and Taxes

    With the FedEx Global Trade Manager duty and tax estimator, international shippers can:

    --30--DH/na*

    CONTACT: FedEx Corp., Memphis
             Jess Bunn, 901/434-7769
             jwbunn@fedex.com
             http://www.fedex.com

    KEYWORD: TENNESSEE INTERNATIONAL CANADA
    INDUSTRY KEYWORD: AIRLINES TRANSPORTATION INTERNET E-COMMERCE
    SOURCE: FedEx Corp.