FedEx has expanded its FedEx Group US operations to a six-day week in order to cope with increased demand. The company has seen volumes more than double in the last ten years and is preparing for what it says will be another record holiday season.
The company said it had recognised the impact of increased growth and prepared its infrastructure to cope. “FedEx anticipated early on that the growth of e-commerce would significantly increase demand throughout our network, and we underwent a transformation by opening new facilities and investing in highly-advanced technology and innovations that have resulted in the most automated network in the industry, delivering the speed and reliability our customers value highly,” said Raj Subramaniam, executive vice president, chief marketing and communications officer, FedEx.
“These significant facility and automation investments have been taking place for many years, but are now largely complete. This expanded capacity and increased efficiency will create margin and profitability benefits at the same time that FedEx Ground capital investment will be decreasing,” he said.
Ten years ago the company’s shipment record was 12 million in a day. Today the company handles 14 million shipments on average on a daily basis. It has more than 425,000 staff and will hire for a further 55,000 staff during the holiday season. The company will run six and seven-day operations during the peak but continue the six-day operations throughout its US network all year-round.
“The rise in demand for e-commerce goes beyond peak. It’s a year-round phenomenon and we are ready to meet that demand,” said Subramaniam. “FedEx Ground has operated six- and seven-day operations during the holidays for several years as e-commerce has grown, and thanks to strategic investments in our network, we are now well-positioned to operate six days a week in the U.S. all year to best serve the rapidly growing demand.”
Since 2005 FedEx Ground has opened 15 new hubs featuring advanced material-handling systems and in the past five years has added nearly 36 million square feet to its network, including the opening of nine new hubs and 58 automated stations.
Image credit: FedEx
