FedEx announced today that it will launch a new “data-driven commerce platform” called fdx this fall that will provide online retailers with “end-to-end e-commerce solutions,” including data for supply chain management. The platform will build on the offering of ShopRunner, an online e-commerce store that the company purchased in 2020.
The company writes that fdx will combine new features with those already included in ShopRunner, such as allowing merchants to provide customers with estimated delivery dates during shopping and ordering, or data about the carbon impact of supply chain resources. FedEx says it will add “more efficient and cost-effective deliveries” using its data when it launches fdx in the fall. FedEx's system would also enable a “customized post-purchase experience,” allowing brands to provide their customers with more accurate shipment information.
FedEx, like UPS, has lost ground to Amazon, with Amazon making more U.S. home package deliveries than both companies in 2022. That's just a few years after the online retail giant built a logistics operation that mostly uses tightly controlled third-party vendors that Amazon insists are not its employees.
The Verge contacted FedEx for more information but did not immediately respond.
Update as of January 14, 2024, 3:43 p.m. ET: Updated to provide greater clarity.