FedEx announced today that it will launch a “new data-driven commerce platform” this fall called fdx that it says will provide online merchants with “comprehensive e-commerce solutions,” including supply chain management data. The platform will build on what it offers with ShopRunner, an online e-commerce store the company acquired in 2020.
The company writes that fdx will combine new features with those already in ShopRunner, such as enabling merchants to give estimated delivery times to customers as they shop and order, or data on the carbon impact of supply chain resources. FedEx says that when fdx launches in the fall, it will add “more efficient and cost-effective deliveries” using its data. FedEx’s system will also enable a “personalized post-purchase experience” so brands can provide customers with more accurate shipping information.
FedEx has lost ground to Amazon, and so has UPS, to the point that Amazon made more U.S. home package deliveries in 2022 than either of them. It comes just a few years after the online retail giant created a logistics operation that largely uses tightly controlled third-party contractors who Amazon insists are not its employees.
the edge I contacted FedEx for more information, but they did not immediately respond.
Updated January 14, 2024 at 3:43 PM ET: Updated to add clarity.