A Shipper’s Guide to FedEx Parcel Shipments

Overview of FedEx’s Parcel Shipping Operations

FedEx offers various shipping services that deliver parcels to residential addresses such as FedEx Home Delivery®, FedEx Ground®, FedEx 2-Day®, FedEx Express®, and FedEx® International shipping. Shippers can compare these services based on their features, rates, and guidelines for package weight to find the best shipping option for their customers.

These services all come with the same basic features like printing shipping labels, receiving proof of delivery, and dropping off packages at any FedEx office location. However, FedEx Home Delivery stands out from the rest when it comes to delivering parcel shipments to your customers’ homes.

Here’s a quick guide to help you decide if FedEx Home Delivery is the right shipping option for your business.

FedEx Home Delivery for Parcels

In this section, we’ll look closely at the features and benefits that lead shippers to choose FedEx Home Delivery as a delivery option for their customers.

When to Use

FedEx Home Delivery is a time-sensitive shipping service available only for residential deliveries, Monday through Sunday. It guarantees a 1-5 business day delivery window for the continental United States and a 3-7 business delivery window to and from Hawaii and Alaska.

In addition, FedEx Home Delivery also offers customized delivery options based on date, time, and the customer’s schedule. This way, drivers only attempt deliveries when your customers are available at their address.

You can use the FedEx Delivery Manager to offer the following three customized residential delivery options to your customers:

• FedEx Date Certain Home Delivery: It is a day-definite delivery service that delivers Monday through Sunday between 9 AM to 8 PM, excluding holidays. However, customers can only choose a delivery date within or after the standard Home Delivery window, and has to be within 10 days from the pick up date.
• FedEx Evening Home Delivery: This delivery option allows your customers to receive packages at their homes address in the evening (between 5 PM and 8 PM) if they are unavailable during the day.
• FedEx Appointment Home Delivery: FedEx contacts your recipient to coordinate the delivery attempt. Your customer can choose a 2-hour delivery window on a specific date between 9 AM to 8 PM.

Refunds could be slipping through your grasp! Sifted’s automated parcel audit tracks carrier errors and files refund claims per the carrier’s Money Back Guarantee policy.

Weight Limitations

Package weight and size are two crucial factors FedEx uses to calculate your shipping costs. A package’s actual and dimensional weight is different, and FedEx uses the higher between the two values to calculate your shipping fees. This means a slight miscalculation in dimensions can lead to higher shipping costs, including applicable fees and surcharges.

Optimize your packages according to FedEx Home Delivery weight limit guidelines to offer the best possible rates to your customers.

FedEx Home Delivery packages can weigh up to 150 lbs. The box must not exceed 108 inches in length and 165 inches in combined length and girth.

You can use our DIM weight calculator to compare the billable weight between FedEx, USPS, and UPS.

Cost

Various factors affect a package’s shipping cost including its origin and destination, delivery times, and package size and weight. In addition, FedEx charges a $4 surcharge per package on residential deliveries.

For example, if you ship a package that weighs 5 lbs (measuring 3″ x 4″ x 5″) from Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Kings County, New York, the delivery cost for different FedEx shipping services using the FedEx shipping rate calculator is as follows:

FedEx Home Delivery is $27.97
FedEx 2Day = $82.09
FedEx Express Saver = $63.26

FedEx Home Delivery offers the lowest rates when shipping small, lightweight packages to your customers.

Sifted’s package-level billing details feature allows you to view, search, and filter through your package and charge data based on individual carrier, customer, service, date, and more.

Shipment Arrivals

FedEx Home Delivery delivers packages to your customers Monday through Sunday with no weekend surcharges.

Both FedEx Home Delivery and FedEx Ground have the same transit time (1 to 5 days) and weight limit (150 lbs). Plus, FedEx Home Delivery gives your customers more flexibility (date, time, and scheduling) for both lightweight and heavy packages, making it the go-to shipping option for your B2C customers.

Tracking

With FedEx Home Delivery, your customers can choose a 2-hour window on a specific date to receive their package. Alternatively, you can let them track their orders using tracking numbers for individual packages or deliver notifications and alerts about their shipment’s status.

Sifted uses AI and machine learning algorithms to monitor your shipping data and offers valuable insights to help you meet customer delivery expectations.

FedEx Home Delivery vs. FedEx Ground for Parcels

Besides FedEx Home Delivery, other FedEx services also deliver to residential addresses like FedEx Ground Economy, FedEx SmartPost, and FedEx Express. FedEx Ground and Home Delivery offer similar features, but there are some clear differences as well.

• * FedEx Home Delivery is the right option if your customers want their packages on the weekend. It delivers Monday through Sunday without any extra charges. In contrast, FedEx Ground charges an additional fee for delivery on Saturday.
• If customized delivery time is not an issue for your customers, choose FedEx Ground. It is slightly cheaper than FedEx Home Delivery, and your customers can stay updated about their delivery status using FedEx tracking alerts and notifications.
• FedEx Home Delivery doesn’t offer international shipping, so if you want to ship a parcel to Canada, send it through FedEx Ground.
• If you frequently ship heavier items in high volume, go with FedEx Ground or FedEx Freight (for LTL shipments), as they offer additional handling capabilities to your customers. In contrast, FedEx Home Delivery is ideal if you frequently ship lightweight packages in high-volume.

Sifted’s multi-carrier visibility feature lets you compare your shipping performance against several carriers based on relevant KPIs like shipping charges, package count, and average cost per pound.

Choose Sifted’s Solutions for Everything Shipping

Shippers can choose from various FedEx shipping options to deliver parcels to their customers. Depending on your business needs, FedEx Home Delivery can be the more suitable solution for shipping to residential addresses. Alternatively, you can use a combination of FedEx services based on your specific shipping needs.

Sifted Logistics Intelligence gives shippers 360-degree visibility into their shipping data and helps them reduce costs using AI-powered demand forecasting.

Ready to optimize your parcel shipping costs? Get a free demo from Sifted!