Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Web
  3. News

FedEx takes on Amazon with the new FedEx Fulfillment program

Lulu Chang
By

FedEx Van delivering shipments on a city street.
Erik Leenaars / Flickr
For the last several months, when we’ve mentioned Amazon and FedEx in the same sentence, it’s been to report on how the online retail company has been encroaching upon the shipment firm’s space. After all, Amazon now has its own fleet of airplanes, ships, and more. But now the tables are making a bit of a turn. Earlier this week, FedEx announced the launch of FedEx Fulfillment, a new network geared towards small and medium-sized businesses that will allow them to store their goods at FedEx warehouses across the United States and Canada. The global shipment company then sends packages off to their final destinations when customers place orders.

Rather than making their way into the world in FedEx-branded boxes, the company is instead offering participants in FedEx Fulfillment the option to use custom boxes branded with unique logos. This might help FedEx to become increasingly competitive in its ongoing battle with the digital retailer.

Recommended Videos

Notably, the main component of the new program — storage in FedEx warehouses — is something Amazon has been doing for nearly two decades. In fact, Amazon has made it possible for sellers to not only sell their goods via Amazon Marketplace, but also store them in Amazon warehouses since 2000. It’s convenient for sellers, but also a great money-maker for Amazon, which gets a percentage of every sale. And aside from that immediate product, it gives the Seattle-based company information on what products are most popular, helping it make decisions when it comes to stocking its own goods (and thereby competing with the small businesses on its Marketplace).

Related

And its this particular pitfall that small retailers can avoid with FedEx. “We’re focused on the retailer, and doing what’s right for the retailer, in helping them grow their business,” Ryan Kelly, senior vice president of FedEx Supply Chain, told CNNTech. “I think that is differentiated in the marketplace. It’s why we’re getting such great feedback.” FedEx already has a pilot program up and running with some businesses, and has modified its 130 or so warehouses throughout North America to allow for the storage of customer goods.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Lulu Chang
Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
Amazon’s new Alexa Together is an aging-in-place solution for seniors
amazon releases new video calling features group on echo show 8 still

Amazon’s fall 2021 event certainly didn’t disappoint, showcasing everything from a new wall-mounted Echo Show to an Amazon home robot (no, really). But the company is also adding new services to its lineup, including a brand new Alexa ability called Alexa Together.

While services like Alexa Guard focus on security, Alexa Together is specifically targeted to those aging in place, seniors who are remaining in their own homes or moving into independent living situations like granny pods. It works with a variety of Amazon devices and is compatible with third-party monitoring devices as well -- such as some fall detectors -- so it can draw in data from multiple sources. Key features include:

Read more
Amazon Halo View launches alongside new nutrition and fitness features
Cycler riding while wearing the Amazon Halo View.

As a part of the Amazon fall event hosted by the tech giant earlier today, Amazon has announced the new Halo View.

The new iteration of Amazon's wearable fitness tracker features a plethora of upgrades, namely an integrated AMOLED touchscreen that shows the user tracking features such as heart rate, intensive workout tracking, and time. The Halo View will also monitor sleep tracking and blood oxygen levels, as well as show notifications on the screen. It also has waterproofing for optimized fitness use, but despite all these new features it's not technically a replacement of the Halo Band, since the Band will still be sold by Amazon.

Read more
Amazon’s New World gets a last-minute delay following beta
Two players fighting each other in New World

New World, Amazon’s upcoming MMO, has been delayed until September 28. This is the game's fourth delay, as Amazon had originally pushed it to August 31. The developers explained that the reason for the delay is to incorporate player feedback from the beta.

On Twitter, the official New World account posted about the positive reception the beta had. The social media account claimed that over one million players tried out the beta, accumulating over 25 million hours of playtime. Because of the player feedback that the developers received, they have decided to push the release date of New World to the end of September. The developers apologize for the continued delay but want to assure players that they are focused on the "highest quality game possible at launch."

Read more